Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Socially Aware Rockers - We Need More Like'em

When you listen to the music of your favorite band do you wonder what the band members do when they are not making music? Are they trashing a hotel room? Sleeping with groupies? Or perhaps appearing in a reality TV show?

According to Grist.com, you might be surprised at what this list of musicians do with some of their off time.

Green Day - This pop-punk trio has partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council, http://www.greendaynrdc.com/, on a Move America Beyond Oil campaign, and have made a number of You Tube videos voicing support for environmental protection and smarter energy policies.

Jack Johnson - This Hawaiian born songster co-founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, http://www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org/, a nonprofit supporting environmental education in the schools and communities of his home state.

KT Tunstall - The grammy-winning artist runs her tour bus on biodiesel fuel and her affiliation with The Carbon Neutral Company, http://www.carbonneutral.com/, has enabled her and her fans to plant some 5,000 trees as offsets.

Moby - This DJ-turned-pop-star's entire musical style is about recycling -- repurposing beats and riffs from other artists into tracks of his own. A vegan, he's a big supporter of PETA and the Humane Society, and in 2002 he opened Teany, http://www.teany.com/ a vegetarian tea cafe' in New York City.

Big Head Todd and The Monsters - For the past two years, these Colorado blues rockers have used their annual Red Rocks concert to raise thousands of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club of Denver and The Rocky Mountain MS Center. This year money raised at the concert went to The Childrens' Hospital Autism Program. http://www.bigheadtodd.com/.

Linkin Park - The world famous rock band founded Music for Relief, http://www.musicforrelief.org/, a non-profit organization to aid the victims of the South Asian tsunami and has recently broadened its scope to help reduce global warming by encouraging musicians and fans to get involved with these to causes.

Grist magazine, http://grist.org/news/maindish/2007/06/22/musicians/, has a few more on their list that are worth noting, like Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, and Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction.

If you ever wondered...now you know. Support bands that care.

8 comments:

Francis Scudellari said...

Thanks for this wonderful post. I'm a huge music fan, and it's great to acknowledge the artists actually trying to make a difference. This is a society that often attacks bands that try to take political stands, and that makes those who take the risk even more admirable. I like Green Day a lot, and "working class hero" is one of my fave John Lennon tunes.

Lisa McGlaun said...

Thanks for letting me know. Actually, on that list, Big Head Todd and the Monsters are my all time favorite...:)

La delirante said...

what about Bono? ;) I really like him as well as Moby. Great post!

Lisa McGlaun said...

Oh Wen,
I love U2! Bono is my hero. I did two posts about the RED campaign and his work with ONE to end poverty. I think the way he has stepped out and challenged our world leaders at the G8 summits is outstanding. He is definately a role model.

I didn't mention him here because of the other two posts back on 5/18 and 5/21....look for them in the archives if you are interested.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Hugs,
Lisa

In a NV Minute said...

I love the ones who know how to give back. Thank you, Lisa, for introducing me to more who do.

Lisa McGlaun said...

Oh, you're welcome. So do I. I like to know that the musicians I love are using their influence for good.

La delirante said...

"I didn't mention him here because of the other two posts back on 5/18 and 5/21....look for them in the archives if you are interested".

Thanks a lot Lisa, Will have a look at your 5/18 and 5/21 posts for sure.

Wen.

Lisa McGlaun said...

Wen,

Bono has been a great influence on me. I started listening to U2 in the early '80's when I was an impressionable teenager. I've loved them ever since and was lucky enough to see them concert once.

All the best,
Lisa