Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

August 29, 2006

REVERB:

A Green Rock Revolution

by Ken Shane

“A lot of us are activists in rock star clothing,”

Alanis Morissette opined a few years back, and

the founders of an organization called Reverb

have set out to prove her right. The organization

was co-founded by Guster guitarist Adam

Gardner (a Jersey native) and his wife Lauren

Sullivan in 2004. Their purpose was to do as

much as possible to remediate the impact that

rock and roll tours have on the environment,

and to educate the public and the music

community on green issues.

To date, Reverb has formed alliances with

artists such as John Mayer, Beastie Boys,

Guster, Barenaked Ladies, Dave Matthews,

The Fray, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Norah Jones,

Crowded House and others. Their efforts have

ranged from providing logistics for biodiesel

fuel delivery to tour buses and trucks, to actually

embedding Reverb staffers within tours to

oversee the construction of an eco-village at

each tour stop. The village provides space

for local non-profit green organizations, as well

as environmentally concerned national retailers,

like Ben & Jerry’s and Stonyfield Farms, to

dispense information to the audience.

Reverb has also worked with venue owners

such as Live Nation to assist them in efforts to

green concert facilities, including making

backstage areas as close to carbon neutral as

possible by the use of biodegradable materials

in food service, as well as doing the actual

recycling. They also review concert riders in

artist contracts to be sure that they address

environmental concerns. Volunteers fan out at

each show to provide information about the

organization and to request a $5 donation from

concertgoers as a carbon offset fee to help

reduce the environmental impact of their journey

to the show.

When Lauren and Adam recognized the

need to reduce the environmental impact of

touring, they identified Kathy Kane, who is

Bonnie Raitt’s manager, as a kindred spirit.

Kane had founded the non-profit ARIA

Foundation to service the music industry, and

Raitt’s 2002 “Green Highway” tour served as

an inspiration to the fledgling Reverb. They

sought counsel from Kane and became one

of the Foundation’s projects. The Foundation

initially acted as Reverb’s non-profit umbrella,

but Reverb has recently gained its own tax

exempt status.

Guster had done quite a bit of touring with

Canada’s Barenaked Ladies and there was

a close bond between the bands. It seemed

natural for Reverb to approach BNL’s Steven

Page with their proposal to work on the band’s

next tour. Page, who is an ardent environmental

activist, readily accepted the idea, and Reverb

was on its way.

Now that the organization is well established,

they continue to approach artists to offer their

services, but now artists and venues approach

them as well. Reverb has an entire menu of

services to offer, depending on the client’s

interests and requirements.

Reverb, which is based in Portland, ME, is

able to continue its work as a result of an “ecofund.”

Artists who work with the organization

will typically include a small fee for Reverb in

their ticket price. Additional funds are raised

by auctioning off guitars that are contributed

by Alvarez and First Act and by contributions

from green businesses. The group hopes to

expand their fundraising in the future by receiving

grant money.

While it is admittedly impossible to determine

with any certainty how much good these and

similar efforts are doing for the planet, what is

important is that rock fans are being provided

with a real connection to the environmental

community. With the dawning realization that

the earth is in crisis, and that our own

government is unwilling to do much about it,

people will know where to turn if they want to

be a part of the solution. As Bonnie Raitt told

the New York Times, “A change is coming.

Green Power is the way out of this mess.”

The challenge now is to spread this message

beyond the fan base of the Reverb-affiliated

bands who are a natural audience for the

organization’s message to other segments of

the music community, such as fans of hip hop

and heavy metal.

To find out more about Reverb and how

to help spread their message, visit

reverbrock.org

buzz

REVERB:

A Green Rock Revolution