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INSIDEYOURMIND -> OOPS (12/13/2004 11:25:50 AM)
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Tracy Lawrence Banned from Oregon Airwaves
Medford, OR - You won't be hearing "Sticks and Stones," "Today's Lonely Fool," or "Alibis" on KRWQ-FM for a while. That's because country music singer Tracy Lawrence has been banned from the airwaves after being caught watching a bondage scene.
Lawrence was the opening act at the Jackson County Fair on July 21st. He and his keyboard player, Richard Toops, were walking around Medford before sunrise the next morning when they were approached by a man who invited them to watch a bondage scene. According to Lawrence and Toops, the man said his wife had a fantasy about being bound and raped.
The pair, along with another couple, watched as the 33-year-old man had sex with his wife under the Jackson Street bridge while she was duct-taped to a fence. Police arrived during the incident, having been called by a passer-by who thought a real rape was in progress.
"It sure appeared to be a rape scene," said Deputy Chief Tom Lavine.
Lawrence and Toops fled, but were caught by the officers responding to the call. Once the "victim" informed the police that the scene was consensual, the officers cited the former exotic dancer for public indecency and released the others, since they had committed no crime.
Unfortunately, the decision makers behind KRWQ weren't that lenient.
"We're going to take a little stand here and say, 'Hey, Tracy, either you clean up your act or we're not going to support you as a country artist,'" said KRWQ Program Director Judi Austin. It was her decision to ban Lawrence's music. According to morning personality Larry Neal, an informal listener poll overwhelmingly supported the ban.
Lawrence was named the 1993 Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music, has had 13 hit singles, and is well on the way to the five million mark in album sales. According to one country music authority, the blackout will have little bearing on Lawrence's success unless it is picked up across the country. However, there are other recent incidents which may affect Lawrence's reputation. He was convicted of a spousal battery charge earlier this year after an argument with his wife in a Nevada hotel , and was until recently embroiled in a civil suit brought by his father-in-law, who claimed Lawrence had only married as a publicity stunt. The suit to recover the costs of the wedding was dropped as part of an agreement surrounding Lawrence's divorce. (Source: The Associated Press
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