Musicians Union Endorses Frohnmayer for U.S. Senate March 27, 2008

But Independent candidate John Frohnmayer has the support of Funk Shui—and all the other 675 members of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 99 (a union that includes Storm Large.)

Bruce Fife, the local's president, says the decision to endorse Frohnmayer reflects musicians' distaste for typical party politics. "They're mad at the Democrats," Fife says. (Meanwhile, they didn't have an official chance to be mad at the Republicans, or, more specifically, one money-bags Republican; U.S. Senate Gordon Smith (R-Ore), whose seat is up for grabs, declined an interview with the local.)

John Henry Bourke, a guitarist with Funk Shui, said Frohnmayer's experience with the National Endowment for the Arts during the first Bush administration swayed him. "He has such a specific orientation to the arts," Bourke says. "He seemed most in tune with helping artists and musicians."