Bob Weir & RatDog: Getting Out the Vote With HeadCount

The RatDog spring tour is underway, with Mark Karan back on board and the band, by all reports, right back at the top of its game. And while Bob Weir is out there gettin' the job done, as he has for more than 40 years, he's taking the time to do some work he finds equally important: encouraging members of his audience to make their voices heard as participants in the democratic process. Bob is a member of the Board of Directors of HeadCount, a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to registering voters, with a special emphasis on outreach to live-music fans. In this historically pivotal election year, HeadCount has launched its most ambitious effort to date, with a stated goal of adding as many as 200,000 new names to the voters' rolls. Bobby and RatDog, along with numerous other bands, are doing their part by inviting HeadCount volunteers to set up voter registration and information tables at their concerts.

When RatDog visits the Baltimore/Washington, DC area for a pair of shows in April, Weir and Jay Lane will also participate in a private, intimate event to benefit HeadCount. It's an invitation-only affair, but the organization has set aside a handful of spaces for fans. Those few spots will surely be grabbed fast, so if you'd like a chance to attend, visit the HeadCount site now, or directly contact events@headcount.org

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Comments

Still At It

On April 8th, 2008 ken herrick said:

Nice to see that Bob's still working to get people out to vote.
Let's hope 2008 sees a better result for the WHOLE DAMN WORLD then 2004 did!

falling is a prelude to rising

On April 12th, 2008 wandydustsprout said:

bravo!!! i commend you on your efforts!!! it is grately refreshing to see practical action being taken...i personally view the bush administration's actions in this country and iraq as the greatest con and robbery ever committed in the history of mankind...the unreal amounts of money they have swindled out of the american people and many future generations to come for their own personal benefit and financial gain is unprecedented...and their methods despicable, the blatant lies and complete disregard for humanity as a whole committed by this administration is a testament to their lack of honor and integrity and the incredible amount of greed and self-serving disease that obviously infects their maggot infested souls...yet what is even more amazing to me is how they were able to so thoroughly dupe and force the american public into allowing them the freedom to accomplish their glaringly evil actions under the guise of 'patriotism' and even more discouraging is that it appears that they will simply walk away from our government and the people of this country having suffered not even the least of consequences for their obvious criminal and tragically inhumane behaviours...the next president is going to have quite the mess to clean up and i fear that it is a mess that is beyond even the best of us...yet i place my hope in humanity and remind myself that falling is a prelude to rising...once again, i applaud you on your efforts!!!

Voters...

On April 28th, 2008 archer said:

Getting out the Vote is a great idea, more people should vote, no doubt about it. My Dad always said if you don't vote, you can't bitch.
Hopefully they won't be telling people how to vote or the idea will be seen as self serving. I can't recall Bob or Jerry ever telling me who I should vote for. Considering that they could've viewed their opinions to rounds of loud applause at any time, they showed a lot of class by sticking to the entertainment portion of what they did (performing) when it came time to play. Just another example of what made them different from other bands.
I'm sure this was different in the sixties, but since I was just a kid in the sixties, I can't comment on that. To me the Dead were more about the music, the dancing, the party, and the experience of having tons of fun while seeing the country to boot. Just my opinion. But then again, I'm a 70s hippie. Vote for whoever you want!