BoomerGirl Diary

It seems being environmentally conscious has now become the ‘in’ thing to do. It’s about time. Back when I was catering rock concerts in the 80’s and 90’s, recycling containers could be seen stationed around the catering area. Getting people to use them was another story, but I was trying.

I did a big “Who 25th Reunion” show at a large baseball stadium in the early 90’s and put my young 11-year-old son in charge of recycling. He brought along his bicycle and rode around the stadium collecting empty cans and bottles to earn some extra cash. We felt like we were doing our part. But rockers just weren’t very concerned about it all then. Not a lot of people were for that matter.

My husband calls me ‘environmentally ill’, because I have always been a bit consumed with reducing and reusing. I’ve been known to snatch a Starbucks paper coffee cup out of his hand before he can toss it in the trash, so I can bring it home to deposit in our curbside recycling bin. Or bring a wine bottle home from a restaurant knowing it will go in their already overflowing dumpster. My motto is, “Recycling is good for your karma.”

Needless to say, I have been very happy to see the likes of Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, and hopefully more, bring issues of looking out for the environment to the forefront. They have the celebrity power to give it the attention it needs.

I’ve mentioned before that Radiohead planned their current tour around the fact that they wanted to cut down their carbon imprint on the planet. They actually commissioned a study of the impact of their 2003 tour and discovered the real problem was not so much what they were doing, but more likely, the fans traveling to the venues. Numerous outdoor facilities are located many miles outside of city centers and traffic jams often occur for lots of reasons, rainstorms for example, causing hours of lined-up autos emitting CO2 into the atmosphere. What’s a caring rock band to do?

You must have heard by now of Willie Nelson’s biodiesel-powered buses, he’s been doing that for a while. And Jack Johnson even has things listed on his rider (backstage requirements), like: locally sourced catering and recycling containers. Umm, that sounds familiar.

The Dave Matthews Band has commented on the use of biodiesel, “A few years ago, the idea of farmers growing their own fuel was great, then you get Exxon involved, and they start leveling rainforests to produce ‘farm fuels’.” Ironically, Matthews caused a bit of a stir in 2004 when his tour bus allegedly dumped waste from its holding tank into the Chicago River hitting an architectural boat tour below. Matthews denied the accusation, stating the driver was innocent and this incident went against all they believed in. Oh well, stuff happens.

If crowds getting to the venues in a more conscious way isn’t working yet, what about the venues making the effort to become more green?

In Kansas City, where I live, an outdoor venue slotted for destruction, has been brought back to life by a local promoter this summer, as one of the first green concert facilities in the country. The once overpriced-in-everyway and not considered crowd-friendly operation, is now offering such eco-conscious and fan-pleasing amenities as: free parking for car-poolers and drivers of alternative fuel cars; bike racks to encourage biking the 25 miles from town; recycled paper products and recycling containers; reduced use of plastic and Styrofoam; healthy food stations; organic drinks; greatly discounted beers; and newly planted shade trees for the bare lawn areas. You can also bring your own food in (which was always a no-no) and a station to refill bottled water is in the plans. Another plus is the effort to reduce ticket prices and still pay the bands more. If all this is really pulled-off, it will be a model for the rest of the country.

“A true carbon-neutral tour isn’t going to happen anytime soon, an idea most artists seem to accept,” states Andy Greene of Rolling Stone. “We’ve made peace with the fact that there’s downsides in getting this many people to congregate,” says Emmett Mallory, manager of Jack Johnson. “We’re trying to do everything we can think of, and hopefully at the end of this tour we’ll find 50 more things we can do to make the next one that much better.”

Much is being done to get the ball rolling, but in the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, “It isn’t easy being green.”

Until next time, rock on and be excellent to each other… Penny