Richard Hughes and Troy Davis

It's no secret here at the Little Pink Blog that I'm absolutely nutty about Keane. I love their music, and I've always found the men who make up this English rock band to be decent men who treat their fans with great appreciation. I've met three of them--Tim, Richard and Jesse--and each of them was friendly, happy to talk to the fans, and completely at ease making eye contact with a star-struck California Girl who can only think to make extremely inane comments like, "Oh, my God, you're so tall!" (said to Tim, who writes incredible, moving lyrics) and "Can't go wrong with a Nikon!" (of my cheap-and-cheerful little Nikon Coolpix to a drummer who uses a super-awesome, fancy Nikon something-or-other). To Jesse, I actually bubbled, "I'm new to the magic that is Keane and Mt. Dessy!" (Really, Meg? Really?!)

It would be one thing if they were just a band that had created a lot of music I like, but my admiration for Keane goes so much deeper than that, and makes me a nerdy little super-fan. After that first concert in 2009, I went on a YouTube spree, finding every song, every interview, that I could, to get to know this band better. What I found was three (now four, with the official addition of Jesse earlier this year) guys who hadn't let fame go to their heads. These are guys who post silly "What Do You Think Of?" videos, book recommendations, and photoblogs on their web site, and who come out after most gigs to chat with the fans.

You've all read enough about my experience meeting Tim and Richard last year, already, so I won't start gushing about that.

Anyway, this blog post is supposed to be about Richard and his attempts to secure clemency for Troy Davis. I make no secret about the fact that I know about this case because of Richard--I was against the death penalty before I started following him on Twitter, but this is the case that made me really take notice of the cracks in our judicial system, and that angered me enough to take some action.

In the last week-and-a-half, Richard has tirelessly rallied the Twitter Troops to support Troy Davis, and yesterday, for the Global Day of Solidarity, he spoke in front of the U.S. Embassy in London. A video has surfaced, and I post it here in the hopes that all of my readers and visitors will watch it, and listen to what he has to say.

"We're doing what friends do, which is standing up for somebody...and I think that's a pretty amazing thing to do."

Yes, Richard, it is. And your fans (not just this silly California Girl, but all of us) think you're pretty damned awesome for everything you do to make the world a fairer, more just place. Thanks for inviting us along.