Green Up Your Act!
Tips on How To Be a More Eco-Friendly Musician
By Tripp Underwood
In honor of our green issue, Performer spoke with a handful of people who are working to make the music scene a greener place. They’ve offered some advice on how you can do the same.
TOUR
Reverb is a non-profit environmental organization created by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan to help bands and their fans understand the importance of environmental stability. A-list artists like Alanis Morissette, John Mayer and Dave Matthews have turned to Reverb to help lessen their carbon footprint and educate their fans about the green movement.
 To date, Reverb has “greened” 50 tours, eliminated over 37,000 tons of C02 from the air and reached over 4.6 million people with its message. The organization helps bands and tour promoters find carbon-neutral venues, locate biodeisel fuel for converted tour buses and generators and even offers green bus supplies and cleaners instead of traditional toxic ones. In addition, Reverb helps bands reorganize their riders to ensure that their needs are met in the most eco-conscious manner possible and works exclusively with green sponsors to ensure that bands aren’t advertising for environmentally unfriendly companies.
Reverb also helps its bands participate in a carbon offset program, where groups calculate how much C02 their tour creates and then purchase renewable energy credits to offset all of that pollution. Companies like Native Energy receive the money from purchased energy credits and use it to fund renewable, non-pollutant energy sources like wind turbines. The offset program lets artists continue to tour without feeling like their actions are doing irreversible damage to the planet. As Brian Allenby, operations and education manager at Reverb pointed out, “These bands can’t quit playing shows, but they can work to reduce C02 elsewhere ontheir behalf.”
While big-name celebrities are important for promoting the cause, Allenby said that the fan outreach aspect of Reverb’s mission is the most rewarding. “The most important thing for me is educating the fans. Working with artists is very satisfying, but getting in touch with the fans is really how you make an environmental impact,” he said. “Talking to so many people in a situation where their minds are open, that’s
really what the focus is.”
 At the heart of that outreach program is Reverb’s Eco-Village, a collection of booths and information centers set up to educate concertgoers about the green movement. The carnival-style scene is constructed daily, with each tent offering information on green technologies, tips on how to offset your carbon emissions and information about local environmental organizations at each tour stop.
Keeping in tune with the fan education model, this year Reverb partnered with www.pickuppal.com, an online community that creates carpool groups for concertgoers from the same area. Carpooling greatly reduces the number of vehicles on the road, making the entire concert experience far less of a burden on the environment. “When you look at the carbon footprint of a show, a lot of it has to do with fans driving to and from the concert,” said Allenby. “So not only are we working with PickupPal, but also with Live Nation, who are going to supply priority parking at all their venues, so anyone with four or more people in a car can roll right up to a special lot and avoid all that traffic,” he said.
Though Reverb tends to work with higher profile tours, Allenby said they are always willing to help out and advise any musician looking to be greener with their music. “Even if we can’t help in a hands-on way we can point them in the right direction” he said.
Allenby noted that while no online database for traveling green musicians exists now, Reverb would like to one day create something to that effect for its website. “[A database of green clubs and tour stops] is something we have been looking at. From Live Nation all the way down to smaller clubs, we’d like to try to come up with some standards to follow, that way when booking a tour, any band can easily look at a depository of information and see which clubs are better to play,” he said.
www.reverbrock.org
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RECORD LABEL
 Green Owl Records is a New York-based record label that’s as dedicated to being environmentally sustainable as it is to putting out quality music. Its first release, The Green Owl Comp: A Benefit for the Energy Action Coalition, features unreleased tracks by Muse, Bloc Party, The Exit and Pete Yorn, with all profits going to the Energy Action Coalition. Green Owl also teamed with Warner Brothers Records to release the Live Earth CD/DVD featuring live tracks and footage from last year’s environmental concert extravaganza as well as a documentary with Al Gore. Performer talked with Green Owl co-founder Stephen Glicken to discuss ways in which indie bands and fans can green up their act.
Q: Describe Green owl’s philosophy as a label.
A: We want to act in a sustainable fashion the best we can. We want to create good music, art and film, and a good home for art and artists. But we still make sure that with everything we do, we do it in a sustainable fashion.
Q: Can you describe how you try to stay environmentally sustainable?
A: We try to do as much digital music as possible, but at the same we think it’s kind of sad that we may be witnessing the death of the album. Not just because of sound quality, but the loss of artwork and just being able to hold something tangible. So when we do anything physical, we are going to do it in the most sustainable way possible. We use post-consumer packaging and we have a recycling program built into everything we do so people buying our records can recycle the discs. If you go to www.greenowlrecords.com/recycle and fill out the form, you will receive information on how you can have the physical discs recycled for free if you just upload it to your computer and then don’t want the disc anymore.
Q: what are some things music fans can do to lessen their impact on the environment?
A: When you go to a show, carpool. And if a band has an organic shirt or non-organic shirt, buy the organic shirt. Items that are sustainable generally are more expensive. The things that we are doing are not saving us any money as a business; it actually costs us more money to be sustainable. So when fans spend extra dollars to support a band that is making an effort, they are helping to lessen their environmental impact too.
Q: how does Green owl help its bands go green?
A: When we put bands out on the road they’re going to be traveling in vegetable oil-converted school busses. We have a big school bus that we will provide for Green Owl tours and we’re working on getting smaller ones that we’ll offer all our bands to use as tour support.
Q: What aspect of your involvement in Green Owl has been the most rewarding?
A: It’s hard, amazing and crazy all at the same time. Being in a position to work on things I love is great. The blend of activism and music together, I feel like I have pulled together a couple aspects of my life that were
separate before but now are combined. We have some amazing bands coming on board with us and I think we’re showing people that you don’t have to destroy the world to do something.
www.greenowlrecords.com
TIPS
As musicians, our community can be guilty of some not so eco-friendly behavior. Our amps use a lot of electricity, our vans and buses spew harmful C02 when we tour, and every year tons of non-biodegradable CDs and their packaging are tossed into landfills. while going completely green may not be an option for most musicians, here are a few ways you can reduce your carbon footprint while continuing to make the music you love.
1) Record in a green studio. There are several recording facilities in America that go out of their way to be more eco-conscious while recording great-sounding music. Seek them out and make music that sounds great while being less harmful to the planet.
www.treesoundstudio.com
2) Work with green CD production companies. There are businesses that specialize in producing CDs made from recycled, reusable and non-toxic materials. Earthology in Portland even uses alternative, reusable energy (solar and wind) to power its manufacturing plant.
www.groovehouse.com • www.earthology.net
3) Use more eco-friendly packaging for your music. Plastic jewel cases and CD packaging are non-biodegradable and have toxins in the ink and the lacquer used for inserts that are harmful for the environment. Cut back on waste and harmful toxins by working with printing companies that use recycled materials when printing your CD booklets.
www.stumptownprinters.com • www.sustainablegroup.net/resleeve
4) Get your tour vehicle to run on biodiesel. If you buy a touring vehicle that runs on diesel fuel, the engine can easily be converted to run on vegetable oil or other non- petroleum-based fuel. This not only produces less CO2 on long tour drives, but also helps you save on gas money!
www.biodiesel.org • www.biotrucker.com
5) Get signed to a green record label. There are record companies that are very green-minded in their actions, putting out music while respecting the planet. Working with these labels is not only a great way to ensure that your band is helping the earth, but is also a good way to have your music marketed to a whole new group of earth-friendly fans.
www.greenowlrecords.com
6) Use green instruments and accessories. Vintage guitars aren’t just cool sounding but they’re also recycled! For every old guitar bought, one less new one is produced, and that means less trees cut down and less packaging to get tossed out. Shelling out a little extra for a vintage Les Paul just might help Mother Earth as much as it helps your tone. Or if you’re looking for something more modern, there are companies like C.F. Martin & Company who use only wood from non-endangered forests. Check out www.wheatware.com, who produce a line of fully biodegradable picks and drum sticks.
www.wheatware.com • www.mguitar.com
7) Green up your networking skills. There are several non-profit and organizational groups who help promote green tours and work to raise the environmental awareness of your band and your fans. www.musicmatters.com and Reverb have been working with various acts to make touring more eco-friendly.
www.reverbrocks.com
8) Practice what you preach when you practice. Rehearsal spaces are breeding grounds for wasteful behavior when it comes to using electricity. Make sure all electronic equipment is turned off when not being used, not just idling on “stand by.” Also, try to use things like CFL light bulbs and smart power strips. Both of these devices are designed to use less energy, which saves the planet and lessens your electrical bill.
9) Get green shirts. Did you know that the average T-shirt is made from cotton that’s been treated with pesticides, colored with toxic chemical dyes and sometimes printed with harmful PVC plastics? Find a printing company that uses organic cotton and water-based dyes instead of toxic ink.
www.planetinkcompany.com • www.tsdesigns.com
10) Spread the word. As a band you have the power to directly influence your audience. If green issues are important to you, get the message out to those who listen to your music. Education is the most effective tool for fighting pollution.
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RECORDING
Tree Sound StudIos is one of the most eco-friendly recording studios in the world and boasts a clientele of renowned acts from all genres (both Elton and Outkast are tree Sound Studio enthusiasts). Performer caught up with studio owner Paul Diaz to learn more about how tree Sound allows musicians to make great music without harming the environment.
 If there is anyone who is the poster child for green recording, and green living in general, then it has to be Tree Sound Studios owner Paul Diaz. From the get-go, before he even began working in the recording industry, Diaz was green-minded, doing what he could in his small way to make a difference to keeping the earth the way it should be. But it took an interview with Dave Matthews to kick-start Diaz’s idea of a green studio.
“This kid asks [Matthews] a question, ‘Now that you’re on the cover of Time Magazine, the world is listening to what you have to say, what type of political or social things would you support or do you support?’” recalls Diaz. “And he just said, ‘Greeeen things.’”
Diaz remembers the short but succinct speech, which centered around the idea of future generations, educating them and providing for them. Such ideas built Tree Sound, which Diaz, along with his wife Sunshine, has strived to make as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. With a solar-powered water heater for the building, an organic garden providing “a huge amount of salad” for the staff and clients, biodiesel vehicles, carbon-offsetting for all the staff, trees planted every day, green power bought from the local Georgia Power methane gas landfill plant, dual flush toilets and not to mention future plans for wind and solar power, Tree Sound is at the forefront of the green movement. And Diaz stresses that it’s not just the studio folks’ ways of living that are important, but the education of the clients who use Tree Sound.
“For me, the most exciting part of the studio, and the conservation movement and the green movement, is that we’re having a subliminal effect on our clients,” says Diaz. “Clients who otherwise may not be thinking so much about these things are starting to at least consider them, and then over months of years of working with us, it kind of starts to seep into their regular lives. And clients who we didn’t expect to become green are actually green just because of the people in the studio.”
 Such surprising artists include rapper Juvenile, who, along with influence from his wife, started to think about health food and green living as being something that he liked having in his life. And then these musicians, with their huge, spanning influences, bring the knowledge to the younger generations.
“Eventually those messages will be sort of subliminally passed down to kids,” says Diaz. “They’ll grow up thinking, 'Hey, it’s cool and normal to be a conversationalist. It’s OK to have solar panels. It’s not weird to use biodiesel. It’s just normal; it’s just a part of life.’”
And with the extraordinary clientele that Tree Sounds brings in, the influence will be great and far-reaching, if slow and gradual. For the smaller artists, Diaz still has plenty of advice on how to be green or how to save power. Find an online ticketing website that gives your fans the option of buying carbon offsets for the ticket and show. Play more than one gig in a town, which can be done by playing an earlier gig at a record store or university. Sell organic merchandise. Send mp3s instead of CDs. Work with street teams in various cities to see where your presence is most felt, so when you are planning a tour or sending out posters, you know you’re going somewhere where you can draw a crowd.
“In the end, besides just being green, it’s just good business,” says Diaz. “It’s good business sense to be conservative and to think about where you are spending your money, and where not to spend it.”
Gear: Solid State Logic, 64 input 4000 G+ with Ultimation and Total Recall, Pro Tools 7.4.1 w/ 4 192 Interfaces (40 in 48 out), Studer A827 24trk. (2), Panasonic SV-3800 DAT (2), Tascam 112B Cassette Tascam CDRW 2000 CD Burner, Lexicon 20/20 A/D - A to D Converter, Augspurger Main Monitors, Genelec 1031-A self powered monitor, Yamaha NS-10M monitors. More information is on each studio’s (A, 11, M) page on the Tree Sound website.
Clients: OutKast, Elton John, Aerosmith, Smashing Pumpkins
Booking Contact: Taryn Kaufman
Phone: (770) 242-8944
email: taryn@treesoundstudios.com
website: www.treesoundstudios.com |
VENUE
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse is the oldest folk and traditional music venue west of the Mississippi, and has been hosting world famous musicians since 1968. Not content to rest on their laurels as a great contributor to the folk culture, Freight & Savage are in the final stages of creating a music venue that will allow them to help the environment as well. Once construction of its new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building is complete, the club will be one of the greenest in the nation. Set to open in early 2009, the new building will have these eco-friendly features:
 • Builders will leave as much of the original wood from the new location as possible and recycle all salvageable materials from the old building to lessen the need for new lumber.
• Whenever applicable, construction will use rapidly renewable wood, like bamboo.
• Low-flow toilets and sinks in the bathrooms and kitchen.
• A “living roof.” native plant life will cover the entire roof of the building to provide a habitat for local wild life and act as insulation trapping in heat, cool air and sound. this reduces a reliance on electric heat, air conditioning and non-biodegradable foam insulation.
• A stage design that enhances natural acoustics by lessening the club’s use of a PA, amps and other power-using electronics.
• LED lights for the club as well as the stage lighting system.
• Eco-friendly catering and concession stand for patrons.
• Low-emission paints, sealants and coatings on all surfaces.
Freight & Salvage executive director Steve Baker said the choice to go green with their new site was as much a financial decision as it was an ideological one. “The theory is [green] buildings cost more, but there are major savings in the future that will offset it. You save so much on heating and ventilation, and there are major savings in energy consumption that translate to smaller gas, water and electricity bills,” he said. ”Plus it’s good for the planet. There is a citywide commitment in the city of Berkeley to cut down on greenhouse emissions, and we’re setting the pace for these things. It’s been great."
www.thefreight.org
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