Activists protest reggae show.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

Although most people might not understand the message those lyrics are trying to get across, local gays and lesbians say they mean one thing and one thing only: hatred toward homosexuals.

"Bringing gay bashing, violence-inciting performances to town is not what we want our Community Center for the Performing Arts to be about," said Sally Sheklow, a Eugene gay and lesbian activist who led about a dozen protesters Tuesday in front of the center, better known as the WOW Hall.

Sheklow and other gays and lesbians are upset over the concert venue's scheduled performance Thursday of reggae dance hall artist Buju Banton.

Prior shows by the 33-year-old Jamaican singer have been canceled around the nation and in England after protests by gay and lesbian organizations, including an Oct. 2 show in Los Angeles.

Banton played Portland's Crystal Ballroom Monday without incident, said Mike Thrasher of Portland, the promoter for that show and Thursday's show at the WOW Hall.

Banton also played Eugene's McDonald Theatre in 2003. Although he said he doesn't remember the show, Kit Kesey, who operates the theater, said he would remember if there had been any incidents surrounding Banton.

The song that got Banton in trouble with homosexuals, 1992's "Boom Bye Bye" - whose lyrics, critics say, incite listeners to shoot gay people in the head, pour acid on them and set them on fire - was written by Banton when he was 15, according to his record label.

After learning of possible protests against Banton in Oregon, Gargamel Music of New York City sent a letter to Thrasher on Friday saying Banton's anti-gay ways are long past and he no longer performs any songs that could be construed as anti-gay or that promote violence against gays.

When they booked Thursday's show, concert organizers said, they had no idea of past controversy surrounding Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie. Banton could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"I guess we plead ignorance," WOW Hall spokesman Bob Fennessy said. "We had no idea he was just blacklisted."

Despite calls and e-mails from local gay and lesbian activists since Friday, Banton's show will go on as scheduled, Fennessy said.

"If we canceled the show, we would be responsible for the loss Thrasher would have to take," he said. The WOW Hall, which is run by the nonprofit Community Center for the Performing Arts, promotes most of the shows at the West Eighth Avenue concert hall, but rents the facility out on occasion. That is the case with the Banton show that was booked two months ago, said Thrasher, who also says he was unaware of any controversy surrounding Banton.

Fennessy says the WOW Hall will ask Thrasher to provide extra security for the concert in light of opposition to the show.

If the show is not canceled, Tuesday's protesters promised a much larger "ruckus" before Thursday's 9 p.m. performance.

Adding to the controversy is the fact that Banton was one of about a dozen men charged in Kingston, Jamaica, with the June 24, 2004, beating of six gay men as attackers shouted anti-gay comments, according to the Internet edition of the Jamaican Observer newspaper. Banton was acquitted of those charges in January.

According to the Web site for "AllHipHop News," Banton was banned from entering the United States in 2003 after being cited in Jamaica for possession and cultivation of marijuana.

"We see him as a guy who is completely unrepentant over what he's said and the action he's taken," said Todd Simmons of Eugene, chairman of the Equality Network, a local group that works to increase the political power of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.

Simmons has been following news about Banton "on and off" since controversy arose over "Boom Bye Bye" in the early 1990s, he said. When Simmons, who has lived in Eugene for three years, heard Banton was coming here Thursday, he helped organize Tuesday's protest.

"He still performs this song," Simmons said of "Boom Bye Bye."