Death Cab for Cutie drive for votes

In a time when celebrities are spinning their publicity for beneficial causes like finding a cure for AIDS or saving Darfur, Death Cab for Cutie is no exception ‘-‘- using their influence on teenagers to promote political activism and encourage voter registration. Partnered with several notable organizations including HeadCount, Why Tuesday? and Rock the Vote, Death Cab for Cutie is participating in a nationwide competition geared toward registering college students to vote. The name of the game: Ultimate College Bowl.
Currently the largest non-partisan voter registration drive, UCB’s goal is to register every college student in America to vote by providing numerous incentives. As part of the prize, Death Cab for Cutie will be performing a free concert for the school that registers the most students to vote. Another band, which has not yet been announced, will perform for the school that registers the highest percentage of students to vote. Six lucky students who register the most voters will receive $10,000 scholarships and the top 15 students will receive Guitar Hero II. College Bowl takes registrations online but also partners with campus voter coalitions.
Behind the fabulous cover, it is important to recognize the reasons why a popular music group like Death Cab for Cutie is taking the time to collaborate with voter-registering organizations. Chris Walla, Death Cab’s guitarist, explained a little about the group’s ambitions and personal reasons for activism.
‘I don’t think we are a political band, but I think that we are a matured, responsible, patriotic business,’ Walla said. ‘Anything that we can do to encourage participation in this democracy, I’m really in favor of. It’s something that we all can get behind.’
And though the band is openly supporting Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 election, Walla insisted that the band is not promoting any particular candidate on its voter drive, only the importance of voting.
Chris also expressed his disappointment at hearing that last election, ‘more people were voting in American Idol than were voting in the primaries.’ Walla said his goal for the competition is to educate young voters about the value of every ballot and the vast changes that can occur with the help of each vote.
‘It’s really important for people to understand and to get connected with the issues in their cities,’ he said. ‘We get people involved and hopefully keep them involved for the rest of their lives.’
In the end, it’s the long-term results that really matter to the enthusiastic band mates of Death Cab for Cutie. Educating the masses through their music and their activism, they are currently touring the nation with HeadCount and registering more young fans.