As George W. Bush begins to tap into his 100 million dollar war chest, unleashing the first wave of campaign commercials, premier punk label Fat Wreck Chords and punkvoter.com are doing what they can to combat his efforts. Fat, punkvoter.com and a number of punk and rock bands have come together with the common interest of raising awareness amongst America’s youth about the importance of participating in the democratic process. The ingenious tool they’ve come up with to help get the message out is the Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 compilation CD. The comp is 26 tracks strong and features exclusive, unreleased material from Social Distortion, NOFX, Ataris, Anti-Flag, Descendents, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, and more.
They have even taken it a step further by including a bonus DVD that is packed with enlightening and informative political content such as trailers from political films, moveon.org TV spots, and a piece from Grammy nominated comedian David Cross. The DVD will also include videos from bands like Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, and NOFX.
All profits generated from the sale of the Rock Against Bush comp will be used to directly promote punkvoter.com and their efforts through both television and print advertising.
Two major punk voter tours of college campuses are planned for this year to coincide with the release of the Rock Against Bush compilation series. The first leg of the tour will feature NOFX, Alkaline Trio and other guests and will run from March 29 to April 16. Venues and additional tour info will be announced soon. A second tour will be an East Coast run that will kick off in September. A number of smaller Rock Against Bush sponsored tours are in the works as well. Three kick-off benefit shows – San Francisco (March 12) and LA (March 13, 14) – as well as a huge showcase at SXSW are also planned.
punkvoter.com is “a grassroots coalition of punk bands, punk labels, and punk fans coming together to form a united front in opposition to the dangerous, deadly and destructive policies of George Bush Jr,” according to a spokesperson.
Rock Against Bush track listing:
01. None More Black ñ “Nothing To Do When Youíre Locked In A Vacancy” (unreleased)
02. Sum 41 ñ “Moron” (unreleased)
03. Alkaline Trio ñ “Warbrain” (unreleased)
04. Epoxies ñ “Need More Time”
05. Anti-Flag ñ “Rights Back” (unreleased)
06. Against Me! ñ “Sink, Florida, Sink” (Electric) (unreleased)
07. The Offspring ñ “Baghdad” (rare)
08. The Get Up Kids ñ “Lion And The Lamb” (unreleased)
09. Rise Against ñ “Give It All” (unreleased)
10. Ministry ñ “No-W” (unreleased)
11. Descendents ñ “Sad State Of Affairs” (unreleased)
12. Authority Zero ñ “Revolution” (unreleased)
13. The Soviettes ñ “Paranoia Cha-Cha-Cha” (unreleased)
14. Jello Biafra & D.O.A. ñ “Thatís Progress”
15. RX Bandits ñ “Overcome (The Recapitulation)”
16. Strung Out ñ “No Voice Of Mine” (unreleased)
17. Strike Anywhere ñ “To The World”
18. The Ataris ñ “Heaven Is Falling” (unreleased)
19. Pennywise ñ “God Save The USA”
20. Denali ñ “Normal Days”
21. World/Inferno Friendship Society ñ “The Expatriate Act”
22. New Found Glory ñ “No News Is Good News” (unreleased)
23. The Frisk ñ “Basket Of Snakes” (unreleased)
24. NOFX ñ “Jaw, Knee, Music” (unreleased)
25. Social Distortion ñ “Itís The Law”
26. Less Than Jake featuring Billy Bragg ñ “The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out” (rare)
