Greg Sinclair
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7/2/2007 8:57:27 AM
TOP 15 GREEN FRIENDLY MUSICIANS
Pearl Jam
These down-to-earth rockers made headlines during their tour last year when they donated $100,000 to nine organizations working on climate change, renewable energy, and other green causes. On their previous tour, the band donated funds to help preserve Madagascan rainforest. But looking in the rearview mirror, these grunge gods have always been committed to eco-causes -- from staging benefit concerts to busing with biodiesel.
The Roots
This Grammy-winning hip-hop group certainly has strong roots in the environmental movement. As well as being fond of Organix, the band members are animal lovers, working with PETA on a campaign to "Stop the Violence: Go Veg." The group also hosted a Pre-Grammy Jam & Green Carpet Bash this year, inviting fellow artists and friends to jam with them and raise awareness about green issues. As part of that event, they partnered with youth-focused green group Global Inheritance to promote composting by giving away specially designed and autographed compost bins.
Sarah Harmer
This Canadian singer-songwriter cofounded the environmental group PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land), which is campaigning to prevent a proposed gravel development from harming the Niagara Escarpment, a wild area along the U.S.-Canadian border that includes Niagara Falls. Harmer walks the talk with her commitment to the cause -- she hiked along the Escarpment with her acoustic band to play shows and raise awareness throughout the area, a tour documented in the film Escarpment Blues.
Green Day
Though eco-issues weren't the inspiration for this pop-punk trio's name, these guys are no American idiots when it comes to being green. They've partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council on a Move America Beyond Oil campaign, and have made a number of YouTube videos voicing support for environmental protection and smarter energy policies.
Jack Johnson
This Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter cofounded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a nonprofit supporting environmental education in the schools and communities of his home state. Johnson has also done a hula lot to offset the impact of his tours, opting for biodiesel-fueled buses, eco-friendly merchandise, and a partnership with 1% for the Planet.
Thom Yorke
This Radiohead frontman and, more recently, solo artist is a longtime vegan who has played a prominent role in Friends of the Earth's Big Ask campaign, pushing the U.K. to adopt a strong law to fight global warming. Yorke says his solo album The Eraser was inspired by the climate crisis.
Willie Nelson
Green issues are always on his mind: This country singer is on the road again with his own line of alternative fuel: biodiesel that sells under the name BioWillie. His business model is "buy local, sell local," a theme that echoes his work with Farm Aid, an organization he helped found more than 20 years ago to assist family farmers. Nelson has also been active in supporting the use of hemp in clothing and fuel, and protecting horses from slaughter.
KT Tunstall
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter KT Tunstall may have her Eye to the Telescope (suddenly, she sees!), but she's also got her finger on the pulse of green goings-on. Tunstall ran her tour bus last fall on a biodiesel blend and plans to make her future eco-commitment even more drastic (fantastic!). Tunstall's affiliation with The CarbonNeutral Company has enabled her and her fans to plant some 5,000 trees as offsets. She has also backed a "carbon diet" campaign by Global Cool, a group that brings entertainers and scientists together to fight global warming.
Guster
These folksy rockers have got gusto when it comes to green issues. For two years in a row, the band has ventured on a Campus Consciousness Tour, playing shows at colleges across the U.S. and educating students about biodiesel, chemical-free cosmetics, and organic food. The tours were organized by Reverb, a nonprofit founded by Guster guitarist/singer Adam Gardn
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SILVERWOODSTUDIO
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7/2/2007 5:40:54 PM
Much respect to all these Artists!
I can remember a time when it was unfashionable for "bands' to show their support for causes, and that's how politicians preferred it to stay, Bono must take some kudos for changing all that.
Being a Kiwi-----can I add some of our top friends Neil Finn (Crowded House, Split Enz,) is outspoken here on issues , Don McGlashan( Mutton Birds ,Front Lawn) is another whose songs carry important messages & the Flight of the Concords (soon to be on US television) love to' take the piss' on many fronts.
New Zealand as a country has always been at the forefront of environmental protest-----We were the first country to go nuclear free----and we have suffered because of that stance, both economically and politically!!!
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Chris Hance
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7/2/2007 6:17:54 PM
I think some credit is also due to ispiration post punk commune inhabitants, "Crass", now morphed into "Chumbawumba",
Oh, and also making the grade in influencing those in such elevated positions of stardom has to been major league protest and enviromentalist body, "Greenpeace".
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Greg Sinclair
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7/4/2007 10:43:29 AM
Oops...Guster was so good they made the list twice..Here is the missing artist...
Perry Farrell
As lead singer for Jane's Addiction, Farrell helped pioneer alternative rock, but more recently, through his work on the Lollapalooza festival, he's helped pioneer the use of alternative fuel to power major music fests. In 2003, he planned to run one Lollapalooza stage on biodiesel, but ended up using the fuel to run the whole show; this year he's planning even more eco-initiatives. Farrell has also helped put to music a previously unknown poem from Doors frontman Jim Morrison; the song, "Woman in the Window," will be used as a theme for a global-warming campaign by Global Cool.
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