Jeff Beam cut class Friday morning. He believes it was his civic and patriotic duty.

Beam drove to Manchester, N.H., with Willie Roy, a friend from Leavitt Area High School in Turner. From there, the students flew to Philadelphia to attend the opening night of the Vote for Change Tour at the Wachovia Center.

Talk about a time warp. The headliners, Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty, were belting out anthems of social conscience when Beam’s parents were his age.

“I mean, Bruce is The Boss. He’s a legend,” Beam said of his pilgrimage. “And it’s for a cause that’s very important, in my opinion, so there’s no amount of time, money or distance that’s too great.”

Bruce’s agenda – taking a stand against war – is nearly old as rock ‘n’ roll itself.

Political causes and loud guitars have been indelibly linked since somebody strung together three chords, and then coupled “damn” and “Vietnam” with minimal use of poetic license.

It’s their future

Then there was a lull. Maybe songs about nuclear power, farms in financial ruin and apartheid didn’t hit young America where it lived. Even the traditional angst in punk and heavy metal felt contrived.

War in Iraq has resurrected protest music.

“I think it’s making a comeback,” Beam says.

Beam hopes the fine art of dissent will enjoy a parallel revival among students.

He’s vocalist and lead guitarist for a Lewiston-area band called Specter. And get this: The group’s motivation isn’t even the lure of girls and fame.

Specter doesn’t merely ape Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. The group plays its own material, including songs inspired by President Bush, the 9/11 attacks and the fear of a revived draft. When the three teens in the band do cover a tune, it’s something like “Machine Gun,” a Jimi Hendrix diatribe about the Vietnam War.

“A lot of people my age are turned off by politics,” Beam said. “They think it’s boring. I try to tell them, you know, it is their future.”

Inspired by their view of that future, many of rock’s biggest names are resurrecting themes from the past. Fogerty, best known as the voice of Creedence Clearwater Revival, recently released the antiwar single “Dj Vu (All Over Again).”

Rock Against Bush’

Corey Bryant, assistant manager at Bull Moose Music in Lewiston, says one of the most popular items at his store is a two-volume compilation boldly labeled “Rock Against Bush.”

That one’s not for CCR or Springsteen loyalists. Green Day, Foo Fighters, No Doubt and Rancid lead the list of punk bands screaming for peace and prosperity.

Bryant suspects that young listeners embrace the substance, as much as the sound.

“I think it’s about more than listening to good music,” he said. “Music helps kids understand the issues, a lot like maybe adults would turn to Time magazine. This music is speaking to kids who wouldn’t pick up Time or watch CNN.”

True, Beam isn’t a normal kid. Hours before an early wake-up call for his concert adventure, he was home in Greene watching the presidential debate with Mom.

He’s a junior at Leavitt. Only 17. Won’t be able to check a box on Election Day.

For now, he votes by supporting artists who share his philosophy.

“It’s very encouraging to me to see newer bands getting involved,” Beam said. “A lot of bands don’t want to go there. They don’t want to lose their fans.”

Beam respects Springsteen, Dave Matthews and Dixie Chicks as performers who have the most at stake on their October tour since they’ve sold millions of albums to an audience of every political persuasion.

“Musicians feel it’s their obligation as American citizens,” Beam said. “They could be doing safer music. Maybe they’d make a little more money.”

But their song remains the same. A little risk, a little rebellion.

Probably even more rebellious than forsaking chemistry lab.

Kalle Oakes is the Sun Journal’s staff columnist. His e-mail is [email protected].