BOSTON, Mass. [September 27, 2024] — With all the tension and unease engulfing society on a daily basis, there are currently a lot of four-letter words on the tips of everyone’s tongues. But the most impactful is one we’ll hear a lot over the next few weeks: “Vote.”
Helping inspire motivation across the country as a fateful presidential election hangs in the balance, Girl with a Hawk are using their platform to inspire a blue wave at the polls with “#Vote (Rock The Boat),” the Boston band’s inspired new single set for release on Friday, September 27 on Rum Bar Records. In an effort to inspire voters across the country, the track will be available as a free download on both the band and labels’ Bandcamp pages. Shortly after hitting the streams, the official Joan Hathaway-directed music video arrives on October 9, and the band performs acoustically at a Harris/Walz fundraiser at Crystal Ballroom the next night, October 10.
With a folk-like passion and a newfound country twang, the stripped-down “#Vote (Rock The Boat)” doubles as a protest song for the modern day. It’s also a bit of a musical pivot for Girl with a Hawk, shedding their rock n’ roll swagger and new wave bounce in order to let Linda Viens’ motivational lyrics ring clear out of the speakers, while harmonica from guest collaborator Jim Fitting of Treat Her Right and Session Americana gives it some enhanced soul.
The track was first penned by the veteran Boston musician and songwriter 20 years ago when George W. Bush was running for reelection against Massachusetts’ own John Kerry. Now, two decades later, with the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz setting their sights on the White House, Viens brought the bones of the track to her Girl with a Hawk bandmates to resurrect its sound and sentiment for what’s shaping up to be the most important election in our lifetimes.
“Not since the Civil War has preserving our democracy been so crucially dependent on the American people being active, and voting, as it is right now,” Viens says. “We have to fight as hard as we can for the Harris/Walz ticket, and I hope the song inspires people to recognize the power they hold to affect change and move our country forward. That said, I believe in democracy, and if a candidate I don’t like wins an election fair and square, then the people have spoken.”
That sentiment rings true in the lyrics, which Girl with a Hawk are eager to share along with the guitar tabs to inspire others to learn and play the song. As Viens sings boldly about the benefits of maintaining a democracy and the dangers of political indifference, all while observing the crazy world around us as our collective interests and attention spans continue to shrink, she hopes the messaging of “#VOTE (Rock The Boat)” inspire action – from right this second to the moment the polls close on November 5.
In the song, the band is mindful to not be preachy or persuasive in convincing a person to vote one way or another. They just want to get every American man, woman, and person to the voting booth on Election Day.
“The lyrics of ‘#VOTE’ retain a kind of neutrality,” she adds, “in that ‘sides’ are not taken, there is no reference to ‘right’ or ‘left’. But we hope the video underscores the political and cultural ethos inherent in the lyrics in a more direct way; emphasizing the ideas of liberty, justice and freedom for all. We also hope that the video brings a smile, and reflects a collective faith in a world that is more diverse, inclusive, and ultimately joyful, because people are free to choose who they want to be and how they want to live. My work has always been about creating loving and supportive communities, where we lift each other up, think and act for the common good, and lend a helping hand. For me there is no greater way to bring humans together than through the power of music!”
In addition to the enlisting of Fitting on harmonica, “#Vote (Rock The Boat)” brings Girl with a Hawk together in a new capacity and configuration, with Viens on lead vocals, guitar, and backing vocals; Daniel Coughlin on slide guitar and backing vocals; and Richard Lamphear, Dan Bernfeld, and Nancy Delaney all contributing backing vocals, taking a breather from their usual efforts on keyboards, bass, and drums, respectively. The track was co-produced by Lamphear and Viens.
“It’s definitely a stylistic departure because it’s a straight-up folk song,” Viens notes, “and an old one at that, and Girl with a Hawk is a ‘rock band’. I was going to redo it on my own, just me and an acoustic guitar, but then I thought about the great players I get to work with and thought – ‘that’s just silly – get the band involved!’ They each make me a better artist at all times. But none of us really play harmonica, so we brought in the great Jim Fitting and he added that extra pathos that the song needed.”
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