"We Are Doing Voter Registration Here"
FZ:
Hey! Welcome to the program tonight, folks. This is our last concert date in the United States before we go to Europe, so this is gonna be a big show. We have— We have many special Long Island kinds of things for you tonight. Now, as you know, we are doing voter registration here—have been doing it for the entire tour—and we are going to take yet another intermission for those of you who have not registered, you get one more whack at it—we're gonna take a 20-minute break after we play for about an hour. So I wanna make sure we get as many of you registered as possible here tonight. And to show you how easy it is, I wanna introduce you to Greg Bolognese. Now . . . Say "hi" to everybody, Greg.
Greg:
How you doing?
FZ:
And this is Josh Rubin and Alice Sheff. And what they're gonna do here tonight is they're gonna actually register Greg—a genuine Long Island kind of a guy—we're gonna register him to vote just to show you how easy it actually is. Go over here.
Alice:
On behalf of the League of Women . . .
FZ:
Is it— You've got to talk right into it. Is it working?
Alice:
On behalf of the League of Women Voters— That's better. On behalf of the League of Women Voters I am very pleased to be here for voter registration. Uh, I hope you will all do your civic duty and, and vote. I mean, say "Yes" to vote!
FZ:
Alright. Now look at this. Is this hard or what?
Josh:
No. It's pretty easy. It's real easy. If you know your name, if you know where you live, you can register to vote. It's real easy.
FZ:
That's even beyond easy. It's almost embarrasing.
Alice:
Frank, I knew you from the '60s— I knew you from the '60s—you haven't changed a bit.
FZ:
A little bit I did.
Josh:
How're you doing?
FZ:
You're going slow there, Greg. What is this—you've got to think about where you live now?
Greg:
No!
Josh:
You put your first name here.
FZ:
There you go. First name goes on that line.
Josh:
Middle initial.
FZ:
Middle initial.
Josh:
You register for a political party here. Sign your name.
FZ:
He registered Right to Life, ladies and gentlemen! Right to Life! . . . There's one in every crowd . . . And he signed it—
Josh:
And make sure you sign the back.
FZ:
Sign the back, Greg.
Josh:
It's real easy. We have tables out in the lobby outside. Three tables are set up. It's real easy.
FZ:
You know it's gonna be a lot easier for you when you get out there.
Alice:
If you know how to spell your name— If you know how to spell your name, you're home free.
FZ:
Okay, thank you guys. Okay, alright. Okay. I want to introduce you now to Ben Waxman, who is here from Governor Cuomo's office and he has something . . .
Ben Waxman:
I'd just like to read a brief message from the Governor.
FZ:
Please be quiet, so you can hear what he's got to say.
Ben Waxman:
"Dear Mr. Zappa, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for the important work you are doing in encouraging your audiences and others to register and vote.
"The only way in which we can meaningfully control the future in a participatory democracy such as ours is if we register and vote in elections. Although all this is true, too many of our citizens choose not to participate, including young people. They have a variety of reasons. Some people mistakenly believe they can avoid jury duty by not registering, while others don't believe that their vote makes a difference. The truth of the matter is, if you don't register and vote, those who do vote may decide your future, even though you may not agree with them.
"I applaud your message to your fans to register to vote to participate in our democratic process. By sending this message you are helping to make our democracy stronger, our government better, and our future more secure. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I thank you. Sincerely, Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York."
FZ:
Thank you. Okay. Oh, we're gonna need that later.
Recordings On Which This Song Appears
Singles
FZ Albums & Side Projects
CC Clues In This Song
- Quotes Maurice Ravel's Boléro.
