Aiming to reverse more than a decade of declining political participation among eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds, several punk bands have hit the road to troll for votes where no politician dares to tread: the mosh pit.
Under the banner of Punkvoter.com, a nonprofit aiming to "bring real activism back into our society," NOFX, Alkaline Trio, Authority Zero and Jello Biafra are now visiting college towns with a loud, livid show that combines crowd-surfing with a call to vote George W. Bush out of office. More than 50,000 fans are expected to attend the tour's sixteen shows, which use songs, spoken-word performance, anti-Bush T-shirts and free DVDs to rally the tattooed masses.
"We're trying to show kids why this administration is bad for them," says NOFX singer Fat Mike Burkett, Punkvoter's founder. "Instead of just saying, 'Fuck the government,' we're saying, 'No, this government sucks and let's do something about it.'"
The tour is one of several youth-voter campaigns scheduled for the next few months. Rock the Vote will start traveling the nation in June with Jason Mraz, the Dixie Chicks, Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5 and Michelle Branch. The Hip-hop Summit Action Network -- founded by Russell Simmons and supported by stars such as Jay-Z, Ludacris and Ice Cube -- is planning rallies for May and June in Detroit and New Orleans. Music for America, a progressive nonprofit, is registering voters at indie-rock concerts by Cursive, Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie, among others. Even the Republicans are tapping into music: On March 25th, the GOP's eighteen-wheeler "Reggie the Registration Rig," rolled up to MTV's Total Request Live.
Punkvoter's run through the West remains the most ambitious political music tour so far -- and the most partisan. NOFX, after twenty years of rambunctious self-deprecation (albums include I Heard They Suck Live and Punk in Drublic), have suddenly become scathing critics of the Bush administration. Burkett has titled the tour "Rock Against Bush." And during an April 6th show at the University of California, Riverside, NOFX's catchiest songs, such as "Idiot Son of an Asshole," fired hilarious insults directly at the White House. Alkaline Trio, best known for pop-punk songs of heartbreak, took up the cause, too, bouncing through "Warbrain" -- a previously unreleased track about being shipped to the front lines.
This approach has proved controversial: Several colleges, including the University of Southern California, decided not to book the tour because of its lefty content, according to Burkett. A handful of punk enthusiasts also have launched Web sites -- such as Conservativepunk.com and GOPunk.com -- that oppose the anti-Bush cause.
Fans, however, seem to be enjoying Punkvoter's mix of music and message. An outdoor concert in Berkeley on April 3rd attracted more than 5,500 people; about 1,500 fans filed into Riverside's enclosed parking lot.
Before the Berkeley show, dozens of kids mobbed Burkett as he handed out free DVDs of Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War, a documentary featuring interviews with intelligence experts who question the Bush administration's motives in the Middle East. "Kids are really being educated, most of them," says Burkett. "That's what they're telling me -- that they had no idea this was going on."
In Riverside, dozens of kids spent time between sets reading the back of the DVD, or fliers on the top forty reasons why Bush should be voted out of office. Few of the handouts ended up in the trash, and at the merchandise table, black "Not My President" T-shirts were selling twice as fast as other band apparel. Two fans even made T-shirts of their own, which said, "Fat Mike for President."
About 150 kids also registered to vote, many of them sitting on the pavement while filling out forms. Jackie Law, 18, a freshman at UC-Riverside, said she came to the show and registered to vote because she was frustrated by the war in Iraq. "We're getting involved in other people's affairs when we can't take care of our own," she said. "I wanted to do something."
According to Ron Johnson, 19, a student at a nearby community college, Bush's incompetence was obvious years ago: "What kind of president trades Sammy Sosa?" Johnson said, referring to the president's five-year stint as owner of the Texas Rangers. "He's out of touch."
Burkett agrees. He says that he's hoping to get more kids hooked on political power not just through concerts but also through the upcoming Rock Against Bush compilations. The first volume reached stores April 20th with unreleased music from the Offspring, Sum 41, Alkaline Trio and Against Me! No Doubt, Green Day and the Foo Fighters have signed on for Volume Two. (Both CDs will cost $8.99 each.)
Burkett also says that Punkvoter will continue after the election -- while he returns to his usual routine. "I'll go back to playing golf and drinking beer," he says.
DAMIEN CAVE
(April 21, 2004)