Bands Gather to Stump Against Bush

[jarmo]

By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - In an unprecedented series of concerts in nine swing states, more than 20 musical acts ? including Bruce Springsteen , Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks ? will perform fund-raising concerts one month before the Nov. 2 election in an effort to unseat President Bush.

   

The shows, which will begin Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania, will take an unusual approach: as many as six concerts on a single day in cities across the states expected to decide the November presidential race. Other stops on the tour are North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and the key state in 2000, Florida.


"We're trying to put forward a group of progressive ideals and change the administration in the White House," Springsteen told The Associated Press in the most overtly political statements of his 30-year career. "That's the success or failure, very clear cut and very simple."


The artists of different generations and genres will tour under the name "Vote For Change," with shows Oct. 1-8. But the money generated will go to America Coming Together, which promises on its Web site to "derail the right-wing Republican agenda by defeating George W. Bush."


The anticipated millions of dollars will be spent in the swing states before the presidential election, said ACT president Ellen Malcolm.


The shows will be presented by MoveOn Pac, the electoral arm of the liberal interest group MoveOn.org, with an official announcement expected Wednesday.


There was no immediate word on prices for tickets, which were going on sale for all shows Aug. 21. The shows will pair artists, such as Springsteen and REM or the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor . There will be 34 shows in 28 cities.


Natalie Maines, of the Dixie Chicks, who memorably told a London audience last year that she was ashamed to share her home state of Texas with Bush, echoed a Springsteen comment that this was the most important election of their lives.


"A change is in order," Maines said. "There's never been a political climate like this, which is so the polar opposite of me as a person and what I believe in."


The idea was hatched by several of the acts' managers, and quickly expanded. "Once we started talking to each other, ideas started percolating and other artists started reaching out to us," said Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager.


Other artists participating in the shows include hip-hoppers Jurassic 5, John Mellencamp , Bonnie Raitt , Jackson Browne , Babyface, Bright Eyes and the Dave Matthews Band. Most have a history of social activism, from Browne's anti-nuclear concerts to Mellencamp's Farm Aid shows. Pearl Jam front man Vedder was a Ralph Nader backer in 2000.


"At some point, you can't sit still," said Vedder, a harsh critic of the Iraq war. "You can't spend your life, when people are getting killed, without asking serious questions about why."


Springsteen said he didn't fear any backlash over going public with his personal politics.


"It's a pretty clear-cut decision in November," said Springsteen, whose songs have provided a backdrop for some Kerry events. "We're chipping in our two cents. That's all we're trying to do."


___


On the Net:


ACT: http://www.actforvictory.org

   



MoveOn: http://www.moveon.org




/jarmo

[tim_m]

 Vote for Change Artist Tour Schedule
(pending/updated as of August 3, 2004)

                    
Pearl Jam / Death Cab for Cutie         Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band / R.E.M. / John Fogerty / Bright Eyes
Friday, Oct. 1    Reading         Friday, Oct. 1    Philadelphia
Saturday, Oct. 2    Toledo         Saturday, Oct. 2    Cleveland
Sunday, Oct. 3    Grand Rapids         Sunday, Oct. 3    Ann Arbor
Tuesday, Oct. 5    St. Louis         Tuesday, Oct. 5    St. Paul
Wednesday, Oct. 6    Asheville         Friday, Oct. 8    Orlando
Friday, Oct. 8    Kissimmee

 
Dave Matthews Band / Jurassic 5 / My Morning Jacket         Dixie Chicks / James Taylor
Friday, Oct. 1    State College         Friday, Oct. 1    Pittsburgh
Saturday, Oct. 2    Dayton         Saturday, Oct. 2    Cleveland
Sunday, Oct. 3    Detroit         Sunday, Oct. 3    Detroit
Tuesday, Oct. 5    Madison         Tuesday, Oct. 5    Iowa City
Wednesday, Oct. 6    Ames         Wednesday, Oct. 6    St. Louis
Friday, Oct. 8    Gainesville         Friday, Oct. 8    Tampa Bay

 
Jackson Browne / Bonnie Raitt / Keb' Mo'         John Mellencamp / Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds
Friday, Oct. 1    Williamsport         Friday, Oct. 1    Wilkes-Barre
Saturday, Oct. 2    TBA         Saturday, Oct. 2    Cincinnati
Sunday, Oct. 3    Grand Rapid         Sunday, Oct. 3    Kalamazoo
Tuesday, Oct. 5    Kansas City         Tuesday, Oct. 5    Milwaukee
Wednesday, Oct. 6    Des Moines         Friday, Oct. 8    Miami
Friday, Oct. 8    Jacksonville    


(*Note: Others to be announced.)


See Artist Declaration and Artist Quotes.

here's the schedule so far

[Doc Emmett Brown]

kudos to the Boss.

Now if people start trashing his cds like they did with the Dixie Chicks, well.....?


"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America," Dave Matthews said in a statement. "A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."

-- from http://www.mtv.com/chooseorlose/headlines/news.jhtml?id=1489924&_requestid=77262

notice he didnt mention Kerry.  Change =  'Anybody but Bush'.

[tim_m]

anybody but bush the idiot would be fine with me

[SLCPUNK]

How AMERICAN....

I love it.

 

[jarmo]

Springsteen Gets Political with Attack on Bush


By Mark Egan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rocker Bruce Springsteen has stayed out of party politics for 25 years, but now he says the stakes are too high and he's urging fellow Americans to vote President Bush out of office in November.


A day after he announced he would join two dozen other stars in nine "battleground" states for a rock 'n' roll tour aimed at ousting Bush, the man known as "The Boss" explained his decision in a sharply worded editorial.


"Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics," Springsteen wrote in The New York Times, noting he built a career singing about universal issues like human rights, dignity and freedom instead.


"This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out."


Republicans and Democrats both asked to use Springsteen's 1984 hit "Born in the U.S.A." -- a song about how unwelcoming America was to returning Vietnam veterans but often mistaken for a patriotic anthem -- for use in political campaigns. Springsteen declined the requests.


And in June, when a concert promoter urged Springsteen to headline a large concert to upstage Bush's nominating convention in New York, he insisted he would not play any events tied to the Democratic or Republican conventions.


TAKING SIDES


But now Springsteen, whose blue-collar roots have resonated through his music for 30 years, making him the quintessential American rock hero to the working class, is taking sides.


He says Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, "are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions."


Of the "Vote for Change" tour -- 34 shows in 28 cities -- in the first week of October, one month before the U.S. presidential election, Springsteen said, "Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November."


He then launched a blistering attack on Bush for undertaking an "unnecessary war in Iraq," running record budget deficits, cutting spending on social programs and giving a massive tax cut for the richest Americans -- a group that includes Springsteen himself.


"Our American government has strayed too far from American values," Springsteen wrote. "It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting."


Six concert lineups will play simultaneous shows in a blitz of swing states which could go either Democrat or Republican in November: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin.


Dave Matthews, James Taylor, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt are among the other performers.


While Springsteen has stayed out of politics, in May he posted the text of an anti-war speech by former Vice President Al Gore on his official Web site, calling it "one of the most important speeches I've heard in a long time."


------------


/jarmo

[KeVoRkIaN]

Springsteen hasn't stayed out of politics though - he actively gave money to support left wing organizations in 2000.