Vote-rocking effort is really tuning up

With predictions that young voters could decide the presidential election in November, efforts are shifting into high gear to get Americans under 30 registered and taking part in the political process.

And with the Grammy Awards coming Sunday, such efforts within the music industry are especially ratcheting up this week.

A DJs Rock the Vote show Thursday at Avalon Hollywood with Paul Van Dyk will promote voter participation to the dance and electronic music communities.

“Since I grew up behind the Iron Curtain,” says Van Dyk, who was raised in East Germany, “I know what it is like to live without the option to vote.”

Then on Saturday, Rock the Vote and MTV team up for the 11th Rock the Vote Awards, one of which will go to the Dixie Chicks. N.E.R.D., Black Eyed Peas and Fountains of Wayne will play the Hollywood Palladium concert, while the Chicks are recognized for promoting freedom of speech and social activism.

“People tend to forget about that [youth] generation,” says Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines, whose comment critical of President Bush and the impending war in Iraq last March set off a firestorm of debate about political dissent. “People care about marketing to them and getting them to buy things but forget about them when it comes to making decisions about our country, the way it’s run.”

The country trio has established its own voter registration campaign called Chicks Rock, Chicks Vote, particularly aimed at registering young women. Maines said it has resulted in 150,000 people registering to vote.

“I think [Bill] Clinton really utilized Rock the Vote in his campaign, but I don’t feel that [Al] Gore did that well at all, and I do feel like that made all the difference,” Maines said. “I think it’s so important to remember that, be it the minority vote, the young vote or the female vote, if people turn out in masses, they ... do have that power, their vote does count and that means a lot in our country.”

-- Randy Lewis