Steve Dore rocks for Ron Paul on new CD

Former Blend musician passionate about Texas presidential candidate

Former Mount Washington Valley musician Steve Dore, now of San Jose, Calif., always did have a zealousness about him when it came to preaching the glories of rock 'n' roll when he was lead guitarist and keyboardist for the old valley-based band of the 1970s and early 1980s, The Blend.Now, Dore's passion is politics, or more specifically, the politics of Republican maverick presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who campaigned in Conway, Jackson and Madison on Friday.Ever engaged, the always intellectually probing Dore has penned 12 songs for a CD called the RonPaulRevolution. He's also on YouTube.com at steve dore sings ron paul songs.He is just a breath of fresh air, Dore said of Paul.Dore's CD is listed on the Ron Paul for President Web site and sold more than 500 copies in its first month.As longtime fans well know, Dore has a legion of followers here in the valley for the music he co-wrote and performed with The Blend, the five-man band that originally was known as the White Mountain Blend in the 1970s.One of the best bands ever to come out of the region, The Blend disbanded in 1982 after recording two albums with MCA Records.The highlight for the group was opening for The Who at Boston Garden. Always fixtures at the former Barnaby's when The Blend would return home from gigs throughout the East Coast, the band went out with a bang by performing a memorable concert at the old Mount Whittier. Band members regrouped for Brownstock in 1990 in Brownfield, Maine, and again in July 2001 with a show at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds to help raise funds for the Conway Area Humane Society.That Fryeburg Fair concert was a well-attended, rockin' affair. It was the band's last performance, as left-handed guitarist and fellow singer-songwriter J.D. Drown died from cancer the following year. And just this past week, fans will be saddened to learn that organist Donnie Pomber died at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine, from throat cancer.That leaves former bassist Jenny Holt of Florida; drummer and Realtor Skip Smith of Coldwell Banker/Wright Realty of Conway; and Dore.It's sad news, very sad news. When these things happen, whether with JD, Donnie or other people we know, I just don't understand it. I deal with it, but I don't get it, said Dore, who was always the soul of The Blend.Both in a phone interview with The Conway Daily Sun and on his YouTube site, Dore says he is completely fired up about Paul's vision for America.This is about Ron, not about me, but I hope you say hello to him for me and let him now he is in Steve Dore Country, Dore said the night before Paul's Mount Washington Valley visit.Dore whose photo with Paul appears on the Web site, www.ronpaulsongs.com first became enamored of Paul and his politics when Dore attended a sound assets conference. Dore is passionate about hard currency, having seen the Silicon Valley bubble burst.I saw all these smart people, billionaires, and they lost everything. I'm not getting any younger, so I am always thinking about who's gonna take care of me. So I kind of became obsessed with the whole thing. Then Ron Paul's name kept popping up, said Dore about the baby doctor-turned-politician. He was speaking at the sound assets conference that I attended. That was the start of it.He says the Paul for President campaign has asked him to tour for the candidate, but Dore has other commitments.I'm in a great blues band now, the Shane Dwight Blues Band, and even though I would love to do that, we're doing over 200 shows a year, including a blues cruise off the west coast of Mexico this October. But I am revved up to know that people are tuning into Ron Paul, because he really means so much for America and about what this country should be about, Dore said.One of the 12 songs on his Ron Paul CD is "The President Man." Dore sings:2008 is comin, and weve got a choice,Sit back and bite our tongues, Or we can use our voice, Speak out on things, we all need to hear,Like honesty in government, and eliminating fear,Good news is happening, check it when you can,Ron Paul from Texas, hes the president man.Government for liberty, not wealth and privilege,Monetary integrity, not fraud and more nonsense,Vote the brave and the true, Vote the strong one now,He stands his ground for you and I, Far out there from the crowd,Good news is happening, check it when you can,Ron Paul from Texas, hes the president man.Dr. Ron Paul, the president man,Dr. Ron Paul, the president man.Rights belong to individuals, Not groups of those concerned,Government is not responsible,for the kind of life youve earned. You dont define freedom,By being safe and secure,But by being free from government.Dore's interest in Paul is based on the candidate's commitment to American liberties. He has inspired and empowered me to become a person I never thought I could be in this lifetime. As a songwriter, I have the most noble and courageous cause imaginable to write about. Liberty! I now have real hope for this country and the people in it. My voice now does make a difference. I find that so many, many people are in the exact same place. They are just plain so sick and so tired, andmostly hopeless about what they are getting from their government. Ron Paul is a true statesman, a man of integrity, knowledge and wisdom, a leader who is a representative of people like you and I. Ron Paul is his message.That is the message of peace, prosperity and freedom, said Dore.Asked what the candidate thinks of Dore's music, the musician said, Well, in a word, extraordinary. He loved The President Man, which was used on his official myspace page for the early months of his campaign. His wife, Carol, loved the second song I did for him called, Hope For America, and she still has it on her myspace page today. His grandson, Matt who was first to contact me about using my songs on these Web pages has had the fourth song on the CD, Critical To Get Political, on his page for months. I have had over 25,000 people visit me at myspace in just six months because of these endorsements. 'Hope for America had been played at official campaign rallies before Dr. Paul speaks and is the music behind some TV and radio ads in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Paul family ordered 50 of my CDs for their staff and family this year for Christmas. Pretty cool.For further information, go to ronpaulsongs.com, inflationnation.us, youtube.com/ronpaulsongs, myspace.com/inflationnationband or stevedore@ronpaulsongs.com.