cannabisnews.com: Celebs On The Soapbox 





Celebs On The Soapbox 
Posted by FoM on October 15, 1999 at 19:11:56 PT
by Julie Keller 
Source: E! Online
Cheers alum Woody Harrelson, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D and Indigo Girls crooner Amy Ray are part of a group of actors, singers and activists who are going back to class this fall, as they join a nationwide campus speaking tour to dish on issues from racism (they're against it) to medical marijuana (they're for it). 
Welcome to the Spitfire Tour, the brainchild of Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha, which kicks off Saturday at the University of Northern Iowa and runs throughout October and November. The advocacy-minded singer helped create the tour last year to inspire activism among college students. "We have all been put to sleep...by a system that continues to perpetuate ignorance amongst our spirits and amongst our minds. A system that would like to see you put to sleep with beer or drugs rather than acting against it," De la Rocha says on colleges.com, one of the Spitfire sponsors. "So drink up or wake up. You're part of the solution or your part of the problem." Cofounder Brad Williams says the tour is a free-speech forum that assembles stars to speak on issues near and dear to their hearts. "They come and talk about things they're passionate about in their personal lives," he says. "Being entertainers, most of the speakers give really compelling presentations that really entice the audiences and incite a sense of the importance of being involved and being active." Spitfire creators got the idea for the tour more than a year ago and did a test run at four colleges last October. NewsRadio's Andy Dick joined ex-Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and actress Rosie Perez at Woodstock '99, where they championed their causes on the Spitfire stage for three days. This fall, the spoken word tour will continue through mid-November, making stops at 20 college campuses throughout the country Other stars in the ever-morphing roster are Everclear's Art Alexakis, Bill Mahr of Politically Incorrect, Grag Graffin of Bad Religion, designer Kenneth Cole, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. Williams says each event, which consists of five or so presenters gathered living-room style on a stage to take turns speaking about their topics, has been pretty inventive so far. "Woody Harrelson made a music video that portrayed a lot of environmental issues, Amy Ray played a song, Perry Farrell brings a mixer and spins a techno tune he wrote," he explains. A number of dates will be also be simulcast over their Website: http://www.colleges.com/spitfire/ as will an updated schedule and speaker list. Log on see when the tour is headed your way.Oct 15, 1999, 1:00 PM PT Copyright © 1999 E! Online. Direct Link:http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,5451,00.htmlRelated Article:Celebs Spark Spitfire Tour - 7/22/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2158.shtml
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