Cursive takes action

by Christopher J. Ewing, ArtsEtc. Editor

Cursive is not a political band. The reflexive lyrics and linear beauty of the band’s critically acclaimed 2003 album The Ugly Organ shy away from politics altogether, opting for a more personal level of artistic engagement.

Now Cursive is headlining the 2004 Plea for Peace Tour, with Denali and Mike Park (Plea for Peace founder and president and owner of the quirky ska-punk label Asian Man Records) opening up for them on the first leg. The nonpartisan tour is designed to bring political activism to rock fans everywhere. The tour’s general awareness message is a fresh change when compared to the flood of anti-Bush sentiment music now being feverishly gobbled up by a generation of young people whose voices are despairingly absent when converted to actual votes.

After becoming fast friends with Mike Park during the Plea for Peace Take Action Tour 2001, Cursive’s Tim Kasher (guitar and vocals) and Matt Maginn (bass and vocals) were quick to enlist on Park’s newest Plea for Peace event.

“It’s great for us to be involved, since we are not a political band. It’s easy for us to be excited about a tour like this that is just positive. There’s no preaching, there’s no telling anybody what to think except think for yourself and voice your opinion. So that’s what attracted us to it,” said Maginn. Voter registration will be available at every stop on the tour, which will visit only non-Clear Channel venues. The tour is driven by energy and freedom, and the performers are hoping to convince their younger audience to get involved.

“You’re going to be able to energize people who are only interested in the presidential election. And the hope would be that you could convert them from not only caring about the presidential election, but to caring about their local stuff too. The more you can be proactive and not reactive, the better. It doesn’t do any good to complain about something after you’ve allowed it to happen,” Maginn said. Kasher agrees, citing the election as a driving force to spread political awareness.

“The election year is something everyone is conscious of,” Kasher said.

And although Cursive has already completed two European tours, a Japanese tour and three separate U.S. tours since the release of The Ugly Organ, the band’s fans will have something special to look forward to at the Plea for Peace gigs. Kasher doesn’t see Plea for Peace as just another Ugly Organ promotion.

“I think it’s more that we’re just going out now and it’s Plea For Peace, and if people haven’t seen us for a while or haven’t had a chance to see us, then this would be a good time to. We’re going to play stuff from the full catalogue,” he said.

“There will be a decent amount of Ugly Organ songs, two or three new songs, and we’re digging through the old stuff to find ones that we can still be excited about playing. There’s some old stuff that we’ve been carrying that we’re not going to play. Just trying to mix it up. We just met for practice and Tim came in with this list of songs and there are probably 10 that I haven’t played in two or three years,” said Maginn.

But taking a breather and revisiting old material has its advantages.

“It’s always a good experience to revisit what you’ve done in the past and see what you did and why. You can kind of get back that feeling you had when the song was originally done. It’s a good exercise for future writing too. It’s kind of like doing research on yourself,” Maginn said.

Cursive will perform Tuesday, April 20, at Club Majestic with Denali and Mike Park as the second stop on the 2004 Plea for Peace Tour.