Rock Bands Step Up Efforts To Help Environment

With instruments made of biologically fallen trees, using recycled materials to package albums, and filling tour buses with biodiesel; several US bands are going completely green.

According to AFP, folk-rock band, The Giving Tree Band, says it will release the world’s first carbon-free album, "Great Possessions" in August.

"For us it’s very meaningful to be able to keep nature healthy for future generations," said the band’s co-founder, Eric Fink.

They, and other rock bands like Radiohead and Kings of Leon, regularly play at green festivals.

In recording their new album, The Giving Tree Band’s band traveled by bicycle from a campsite for 30 days, bicycling 3,500 miles to the solar-powered studio in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the first carbon-neutral structure in the US.

They also played on two guitars and a mandolin constructed from naturally fallen trees and reclaimed wood. Vegetable ink and recycled materials will be utilized in the production of their new CD.

The Duhks, a California bluegrass/folk-rock group touring the US and Canada, are also incredibly aware of the environmental movement.

The band travels around on buses filled with biodiesel fuel, and uses recycled paper and soy ink for their recent album, "Fast-Paced World." They sell organic merchandise at concerts, and the band members are vegans.

Even though the bands do not heavily promote their message at concerts, a lot of their fans back the band’s stance.

"If you make a stand for something, people are going to pay attention," said Allie Herzog, 27, at a concert.

The Duhks’s biggest challenge in going completely green is to "convince people that it is going to be worth it and doable," said Tania Elizabeth, the band’s fiddler.

Going green can be difficult for small bands with small financial resources, she said.

"Unless we get to a different level financially, there isn’t a whole lot more that we can do," Elizabeth said.

Soul Majestic, a reggae band promoting their latest album, "Better World," also endorses biodiesel fuel, organic T-shirts, and recyclable CDs.

Band members Eric Iverson and Oriana Sanders were originally encouraged to do something after they saw first-hand the terrible air pollution in Los Angeles and the thawing out of Northern California’s glaciers.

The band plans re-sell its two past albums in recyclable material.

"We’re hoping that we’re going to help lay a pathway for people to integrate (eco-consciousness) into their daily lives," said David Forston, the band’s manager and founder of Loatree, the company that will help the band accomplish this.