Posted on 08/09/2004 7:57:23 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
hen the curtain goes up on the Republican National Convention on Aug. 30, the supporting cast will include gospel- and country-music performers, elaborate videos, and celebrities doing what they can to help market President Bush's ideas and vision for America, one of the convention's organizers said yesterday.
But the convention will present not only politicians and celebrities on each of its four days. People from around the country have been invited to offer an invocation or benediction or to make some other short statement, said Frank Breeden, the convention's director of entertainment, who called this aspect of the program "Preachers and Patriots."
The Republicans are hoping that their convention, in New York, can help give their candidate the significant bounce in the polls that eluded the Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, after the convention in Boston. And so the party hired Mr. Breeden, a former president of the Gospel Music Association renowned in the Christian music industry, to help produce a show that carefully weaves the party's political message with a mix of music, star power and patriotic symbolism.
Republicans have generally been tight-lipped about convention details, but in an interview, Mr. Breeden gave some clues about what to expect. He said he has worked since November to help recruit celebrities to perform, give press interviews, attend parties or be otherwise visible at Madison Square Garden.
The goal, Mr. Breeden said, is to help market the party's political ideas.
"Entertainment plays more of a prominent role in marketing messages today than ever before," Mr. Breeden said in a telephone interview. And he said that the convention organizers wanted to employ those tools in selling their political philosophy: "Just like Cadillac uses Led Zeppelin to market its ideas."
From the very moment Republican officials chose New York City as the site of their convention for the first time in the party's history, convention organizers said they were trying to create a singular event. Some of the highlights are expected to be speeches from California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and from former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York.
Mr. Breeden said that the list of entertainers was complete and would be released soon by the public relations arm of the Committee on Arrangements, which is actually organizing the event. But he said that in addition to employing celebrities, the convention would rely heavily on videos to help makes its case.
"We have taken several different story points and used media to enhance them and communicate the message," Mr. Breeden said, using the language of convention organizers.
With networks cutting back on their coverage, Mr. Breeden said that organizers had their work cut out for them.
"Television is very competitive; convention television is even more competitive,'' Mr. Breeden said. "It is diminished coverage and even harder to get viewers to tune in. We have to think like television, use a large pallet of creative ideas to convey the message."
Mr. Breeden, who lives in Tennessee, has been spending weekdays in Manhattan helping pull together the convention, which is scheduled to run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2. During his tenure at the head of the Christian music industry trade group, Mr. Breeden was credited with helping to expand the reach and sales of Christian music.
He said yesterday that he expected the convention to be heavy with gospel, country and Broadway music, and with patriotic music. He said there would be several renditions of the national anthem as well. And he said there would be a stage band made up entirely of some of the most sought-after studio musicians in New York City. Everyone is being paid union wages, he said.
Mr. Breeden said that during his months of work on the convention, he had run up against some obstacles that were surprising and others that he had expected.
After a career in the entertainment industry, Mr. Breeden said he knew well that many of the most outspoken performers do not support the Bush administration. "For whatever reason, on the Democratic side of things, the celebrities who have an affinity with that party tend to be more activist-oriented and tend to get headlines," he said.
Recently Bruce Springsteen and some other high-profile musicians announced a national tour to help defeat President Bush.
Mr. Breeden described some challenges in trying to find celebrities for the G.O.P. event. He said that on many occasions he found there were entertainers who supported the president, or Republican ideas, but who felt their careers would be hurt if they made that support public. Mr. Breeden identified the actor Ron Silver as someone who expressed that opinion to him, although Mr. Silver said that was not exactly the case.
"I have no direct evidence that my position on the war or my political leanings have hurt me in any way,'' Mr. Silver said, expressing support for the intervention in Iraq and saying, "Certainly the expression of my political viewpoint is unpopular."
He said that Mr. Breeden had informally asked him if he would be interested in some role at the convention, but that while he supported the president for re-election because of his foreign-policy position, he did not support his "social agenda."
"It depends on the nature of the involvement," Mr. Silver said. "If they said, 'We'd like you to talk about 9/11, from the lofty perch of history,' I'd be happy to do that."
Finally, Mr. Breeden said he found himself competing with the many parties that are being held by politicians, elected officials, lobbyists and corporations. Many have booked performers who might otherwise have appeared at the convention. He said he heard there were as many as 400 parties organized for convention week.
"This is a fascinating job," he said.
I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin' "Don't blame me"
They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma's too thin; your daddy's too fat
Get over it
Get over it
All this whinin' and cryin' and pitchin' a fit
Get over it, get over it
You say you haven't been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if I gave you some cash
The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let's kill all the lawyers, kill 'em tonight
You don't want to work, you want to live like a king
But the big, bad world doesn't owe you a thing
Get over it
Get over it
If you don't want to play, then you might as well split
Get over it
Get over it
It's like going to confession every time I hear you speak
You're makin' the most of your losin' streak
Some call it sick, but I call it weak
You drag it around like a ball and chain
You wallow in the guilt; you wallow in the pain
You wave it like a flag, you wear it like a crown
Got your mind in the gutter, bringin' everybody down
Complain about the present and blame it on the past
I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass
Get over it
Get over it
All this bitchin' and moanin' and pitchin' a fit
Get over it, get over it
Get over it
Get over it
It's gotta stop sometime, so why don't you quit
Get over it
Get over it
What they need to do is come out all business like with real solutions. Leave the "pompous showmanship" and fluff to the dims and hollyweird. The DNC was abominable and if the GOP just comes out meaning business and getting their talking points out to the public without all the distractions, I think it would server them better.
I see they did put Michael Reagan at the podium. But I don't know if it's prime time. Be nice to see if they produced a package with Nancy and her thoughts, sort of what was done with Lady Thatcher at the DC funeral. I would expect if they also produce a Reagan piece that Nancy would also actually be there. Hope they manage to misplace Prescott's pass.
I don't know if he backed the Bush campaign. But I think I'd rather hear some of those cover bands that paid tribute on Humanary Stew. Heck of an album (I really don't think that the Cold Ethyl thing is very funny, but everything else on that is well done).
late night r&r ping
ZZ Top was good on their slide-blues fuzz especially when they started out, as recorded on Fandango. I'd love to hear that ZZ Top again.
LOL! Isn't that the truth! I don't think we can even keep up on the piano. I tried to accompany a black lady on the piano once while she sang, and we both gave up real quick. She was SINGING --- and I was just playing stuffy Methodist music.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
I think KISS could help GW put this one over the top! :) Rock on, Gene!
NO!!!! There is a reason why there hasn't been a country station in NYC for 15 years now (or gospel on anything other than AM for one hour on Sunday). PLEASE GOP, don't turn this convention into a Lawrence Welk Special from 1965!
Since you brought up "the Tongue," "Hard Luck Woman" is the most UNDERRATED song of the 1970s.
try it, you might like it--
with the filth that is on tv these days, you could do much worse than a Lawrence Welk special--at least it was clean and your kids could watch with their moms and dads-
I wish you were right. But the American populace likes to be entertained. If it was purely issues and substance and not glitz and charm, Steve Forbes would have won the nomination in '96.
Well .. it's the "jest a buncha hicks" who happen to keep this country moving. I'd rather hang around with "jest a buncha hicks" than I would a bunch of snooty, elistist snobs.
My son is stoked about the music choices...his two fave.
When he was younger I use to fill the room with Red White and Blue balloons for the convention.
Wouldn't appreciate it as an adult and balloons scare the heck out of the Labradors.
With the was things are going I hope the RNC does something different than balloons that will knock the socks off of the convention.
Shock and Awe Ya'll.
Maybe the Bush dogs will show up.
I can't wait myself.
The Taliban Song think that's Sammy Kershaw.
There is alot of Country Music songs out there right now that are about backing GW and kicking terrorists butt.
Leno/ Letterman would still be talking about it in 2012.
How to lose the elction in one easy lesson.
Yes, if music videos and tv ads have shown anything it is that our attention spans are shrinking more and more. Don't spend ten minutes saying something when five minutes will do. Lots of images. Lots of video screens. Quick bites. Short musical interludes.
Let Bush still be Bush and Cheney still be Cheney but for all the others, let there be speeches of no more than five minutes with quick introductions and a lack of impromptu jabbering.
If we are truly to capture new voters, they aren't going to hang around for 15 minutes of Ahhnold or Pataki. Keep it short, sweet and stay on schedule.
That's how you stage a convention in the 21st century.
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