Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz is adamant that the quick Get Out and Vote'08 tour that he and his fellow Beastie Boys are headlining is simply about that: getting people to vote Nov. 4.
Though the seven-date run, which begins Monday in Charlotte, N.C., and comes to Richmond on Tuesday, targets swing states, such as Ohio and Wisconsin, Horovitz said the message to be conveyed is, "Literally, vote. That's it. I'm not trying to tell people they should or shouldn't vote for Obama or McCain. It takes so little time to go on their Web sites and find out what they're going to do and where they stand on issues," he said last week.
The Beastie Boys, who achieved massive success in the'80s with their jokey, attitudinal rap hits, such as "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" and "Brass Monkey," have, in recent years, crafted songs with more mature themes, many of them political.
The trio of Horovitz, Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "MCA" Yauch, has also raised awareness and money for Tibetan human rights since the mid-'90s.
The group is the one constant on this Vote'08 tour; a supporting cast, including Ben Harper, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Crosby & Nash, Tenacious D, Jack Johnson, and Santogold, rotates among the other dates (Richmond's is the largest bill, featuring the Beasties, Crow, Johnson, Jones and Santogold).
And, despite the political focus of the shows, no money is being raised for any group.
Horovitz says the ticket price ($36 here) will cover touring expenses, and if any money is leftover, "it will go to a nonpartisan organization like Rock the Vote. No one is making any money off of this."
In the phone interview from the band's New York studio where the trio was working on a new Beasties record for next year -- Horovitz answered other questions about the tour.
Q. How long has this tour been in the works?
A. We basically started a few weeks ago. It all happened really fast. We've been stressing about the upcoming election, and we had some ideas that just fell apart. So then we thought, let's just play shows in these swing states and see if that will help.
Q. You're calling this the Get Out and Vote tour, which sounds a lot more nonpartisan than Vote for Change or some of the other titles that tours supporting the Democratic nominee usually have. Was that intentional, since it seems that everyone on the bill is an Obama supporter?
A. It's intricate and tricky, but at the end of the day, the thing that was so frustrating about the last election -- and especially the one before that -- was that it came down to a broken box in Florida. We just can't let that happen again.
After stressing about it and doing more research, we found that over 35 percent of registered voters didn't vote in the last election. People were registered and then didn't vote!
I feel if we can get those people who are registered to actually go and do it, then we'll have a clearer stance on where the country stands when the winner is declared. . . . We all have our personal beliefs and decisions, and as a group, what we've decided is that it's important for people to actually vote.
Q. How did you decide what artists to approach to be on the bill?
A. We tried to get in touch with everybody we could think of. Basically, these are the ones who called back!
The first people we called were ones who are friends of the band, like De La Soul, but they're touring in Europe and couldn't do it.
Q. There are probably a lot of people hoping you're going to play "Fight for Your Right." Are you guys still playing that, or are you more focused on recent material?
A. We haven't played that one for a long time. But we definitely play songs from the first album, and we'll be doing some of those.
Q. Do you know what the structure of the show will be? How many songs each person will play? Will there be any video or messages incorporated to emphasize the political aspect?
A. I have no idea at this point about the structure, except that we're going on last.
Some groups will be there, like Rock the Vote, that will have computers, and you can go up and tell them you're a registered voter, and they can check and tell you where your polling places are.
Q. Do you think you'll project any messages onstage?
A. I think it's just going to be music. We'll be saying something, but just doing the tour is really saying it.
Nobody wants to go see a band and hear them talk about this, that and the other.
Copyright 2008 Richmond Times-Dispatch
