When Better Than Ezra play John Kerry's post-debate party Friday night in St. Louis, the Senator and presidential candidate might get a bit more than just live entertainment -- he could be the recipient of a little free advice.

"We've been trying to come up with buzzwords and catchphrases for the Democrats to disarm Republicans with," says frontman Kevin Griffin. "We were sitting around in the studio today and we came up: 'The Bush-Cheney magic show: it's all smoke and mirrors!' You've got this magic show saying everything's fine in Iraq and with healthcare and the economy - but if you look behind the curtain, it's all smoke and mirrors. When I see Kerry I'm going to say 'Smoke and mirrors: take it and run with it!"

Veterans of the campaign circuit from Al Gore's ill-fated run in 2000, Griffin and Co. reached out to the Democrats, offering their services for this election season. "We got the call yesterday, and we're just thrilled to be involved in any way we can," says Griffin. "I guess there's a certain decorum at those kind of shows -- maybe I'll wear a button-down instead of a T-shirt with a hole in it. No provocative dance moves. And we probably won't do 'America' by Lee Greenwood -- we'll leave that to the Republican supporters. They always seem to struggle so much to get credible entertainers: it's always Lee Greenwood."

In between more fall concert dates and mixing a new album, Better Than Ezra will play a free concert with the North Mississippi All-Stars on November 17th as part of opening festivities for the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. "I've never met Clinton," Griffin says. "I'm thrilled to. I voted for him twice. I think he was a great president. There's no denying his charisma."

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