That's my attempt at rapping.....I'm hoping my rhyme is catchy enough to get stuck in your head so you hear it every time you leave your apartment, home, or studio, and you unplug as many appliances as possible.

Seriously, The New York Times via PSFK reported some interesting facts about how much power your appliances suck up while they are in low power mode (or lopomo, yo). The article advocates that you should unplug as many appliances as possible when you're not using them or plug them into power strips and flip the switch when you leave.

This is really important for musicians because amps, computers, and recording equipment are big offenders. Here's the story from PSFK and the New York Times:

Electronics Sap Energy Even When Off

Gadgets The New York Times has a very poignant article highlighting the importance of not just shutting down your electronics, but actually unplugging them. Just about all of your favorite pieces of hardware continue sucking down copious amounts of energy even when you aren't using them - yes, even when they're on low-energy modes.

The NYT writes:

Indeed, the Department of Energy estimates that in the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Add that all up, and it equals the annual output of 17 power plants, the government says. In an effort to address that, a consortium of Intel, Google, PC makers and other technology companies this week announced their intent to increase the PC’s overall energy efficiency to 90 percent.

Products that idle in what the industry calls low-power mode, or lopomo, consumed about 10 percent of total electricity in California homes, according to a 2002 study prepared for the California Energy Commission by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A few of those devices, even those with Energy Star ratings that signal that they are less wasteful, still use a lot of power. “Some of the larger big-screen TVs consume as much energy each year as a new refrigerator,” according to Noah Horowitz, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Labels: efficiency, musician resources

One of my friends once lamented about a time he toured and kept holding his laptop up in the tour van to get a wireless signal while driving through Utah. When he finally got a signal, his battery died. Enter:

Labels: gadget, musician resources, renewables, solar, tour resources, treehugger

Over a sweeping glance of my office where I am writing this piece, I realize that I do not know where the majority of my stuff comes from. My desk, my stool, my floor--even my pencil were once trees chilling in the forest.

The same is true with your musical instruments. Do you know where your beloved acoustic guitar grew up? Do you know where she is from? Well, now you can.

Chances are your “old girl’s” curvaceous figure is partly a soundboard made of Sitka spruce — which means that your beloved probably grew up in Alaska. Sitka spruce is currently the dominant wood used for soundboards for acoustic guitar and pianos and much of the supply comes from Southeast Alaska.

A visit to the Music Wood website will give you a virtual tour of a guitar and tell you the regions where the wood was sourced. The website is part of a really cool partnership with the major guitar manufactures in the United States aimed at producing new guitars that send a message against clearcut forestry (i.e. A former forest on which all the trees have been cut down. Think about it like all trees from an area of forest fall to the ground in a single cut--yikes! not cool!).

Scott Paul (SP), Greenpeace Forest Campaign Coordinator, took some time out to answer some of my questions about the campaign.

SK: Who are the major players in the Music Wood Campaign?

SP: Greenpeace, Gibson, Martin, Taylor and Fender.

SK: How did the Music Wood Campaign begin?

SP: In 2003 Greenpeace turned its attention to the Southeast Alaskan rainforest, the northern most extent of the North American great coastal temperate rainforest – considered too be the rarest forest type on Earth. Once stretching unbroken from northern California to the Alaskan panhandle this region is home to an amazing variety of wildlife but has experienced decades of government subsidized, highly destructive clear-cut logging. Coastal temperate rainforests are a unique global anomaly occurring along the thin stretch of land – the fertile valley bottoms and estuaries – between high coastal mountains and the sea. In Alaska the Pacific Coast Mountains trap moisture rolling in from the ocean, as storms drench the region with as much as 200 inches of rain a year. The ancient trees of this forest live from 200 to 700 years, and one species can survive for 1,000 years or more.

For two years Greenpeace quietly investigated the international market for Alaskan forest products. The organization has become the global leader running international markets campaigns documenting destructive, and often illegal, logging practices in one part of the world and following the product to the international marketplace. The Alaskan research confirmed what Greenpeace largely already knew. Roughly 80% of all trees cut are destined for the Asian market for home construction, temples, shrines with much of the remainder finding its way to the North American market in the form of doors and windows.

However the research also uncovered a comparatively very small market flow, Sitka spruce destined for international renowned musical instrument manufacturers. As it turns out Sitka spruce is currently the dominant wood used for soundboards for acoustic guitar and pianos and much of the supply comes from Southeast Alaska. Prior to World War II Adderondack spruce had been the dominant soundboard wood but a post-war building boom largely whipped that that species out for large-scale music quality production and the market shifted westward to Sitka spruce.

Armed with its new research Greenpeace contacted Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson Guitars, asking if he would arrange a presentation for rival manufacturers at the January 2006 NAMM, the industries biannual tradeshow. Juszkiewicz responded inviting Chris Martin, Bob Taylor and Matthew Janopaul, respectively the CEOs of Martin, Taylor and Fender guitars. Greenpeace presented its finding and chronicled the demise Sitka spruce quickly getting the attention of the manufacturers. Unlike other users of Sitka spruce both tradition and tonal characteristics makes substitution extremely difficult for instrument manufactures. By the close of the meeting a new and unprecedented coalition was formed designed to find win-win solutions for the Alaskan rainforest seeking reform in the logging sector that provided the wood.

SK: How did the collaboration take place?

SP: In 2006 Greenpeace arranged a one-week tour of the Alaskan Rainforest for senior executives from Gibson, Martin, Taylor and Fender. During this tour a meeting was arranged between the MusicWood coalition and the logging company marking the 1st time that the manufacturers meet face to face with the logging company.

In 2006 Greenpeace arranged for representatives of the logging company to tour three FSC certified forest operation in California, Oregon and British Colombia Canada.

SK: How often did the task force meet?

SP: Since the first January 2006 NAMM meeting we have meet every six months at the NAMM (Austin July ’06 and Anaheim January ’07). Greenpeace also travels to the manufacturers periodically and communicates regularly via email and telephone calls.

SK: What other species are next?

SP: The MusicWood coalition is eager to expand beyond Sitka spruce to address other traditionally used species. Greenpeace recognized that we may need to part ways pertaining to specific species, species where logging has decimated populations to the point where we may believe that no logging, certified or otherwise, should take place. However we all agree that the coalition can be a powerful force driving reform in the logging sector. There are many species that we can address.

SK: What industries are the major contributors to the plight of the Sitka spruce tree?

SP: Home construction, temples, shrines, doors and windows.

SK: I have heard that the age of the wood affects the sound of wooden instruments like guitars, violins, and cellos. Has the music community embraced the sound of the new sustainably produced guitars?

SP: As a rule of thumb, acoustic guitars rely on Sitka spruce soundboards that are at least 250 years old to produce the desired sound quality. Keep in mind that Gibson, Taylor, Martin and Fender only need 150 trees a year. That is not a lot on the grand scheme of things but the profile of the coalition is strong enough that we can effect change on the ground.

SK: What advice do you have for musicians searching for new and used guitars? What criteria should they keep in mind when purchasing new instruments?

SP: No one should feel bad about having an old guitar that made of this or that species. There is an expression “highest and best end use” and if an old-growth tree was cut to make a guitar that is a hell of a lot better than if it were cut for plywood or disposable products. A guitar produced from an FSC certified well-managed forest is the same quality as one taken from a clearcut.

SK: What are the next steps for this campaign?

SP: In the beginning we really disciplined ourselves, to keep our eye on the prize, to focus on Sitka spruce and the Alaskan rainforest. It is easy to get distracted by all the shinny objects in the music business. We did not want to think about the endless possibilities of “what is next” until we gave our best shot to addressing the Alaskan rainforest. Now however things are looking promising, by no means a sure thing, but promising. Thus we are now starting to really consider other species and other ways to utilize our partnership.

SK: How can musicians and music fans get involved in this campaign?

SP: In the MusicWood case everyone appears to sincerely want to really address the problem, the manufacturers, the logging company, etc. At this stage pressure is not needed so it is all about public awareness. Check out musicwood.org, link to it, inform yourself and realize that you can exact change through education. There is a societal shift taking place and people are realizing that milk does not come from Safeway and wood does not come from The Home Depot. Look for the FSC logo and buy products that carry it where you can.

SK: What is your favorite song of the moment?

SP: My wedding anniversary is coming up so I have been listening to Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” off Time Out Of Mind. Time Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan

SK: Is there a song out there that inspires you to continue protecting the environment?

SP: Too many to count. There is a lot of environmentally inspired music out there and hopefully more to come. Music inspires emotion. Emotion inspires action. Whatever rocks your boat.

Labels: Greenpeace, musician resources, sarah, wood

About 90% of my friends are musicians. Throughout my life, I have seen some friends with album budgets that brought forth the best engineers at the best studios with the newest coolest packaging and others with barely enough money to self-release their record and pay for the ink-jet cartridges they used to print their liner notes. I have also seen lots of bands with budgets in between.

When I talk to my friends about switching to eco-friendly packaging or electricity they often say it is out of their price range and they cannot afford the extra cost of buying products that are more sustainable. I will definitely admit that I have been in that position, too---looking at the Prius price tag comes to mind….. Luckily, the price of eco-friendly materials is getting lower by the day and I am in a position to give you some low cost resources to green your music habit. I promise I will not include anything that does not look cool.

Let us start with CD packaging:

1. For bands who do not carry their own equipment and get to roll off as much K at sound check for as long as they like.

PaperFoam CD Trays: The Millennium Collection started using these for some of their "Best Of" collections---the CD tray is biodegradable and is fused to the CD cover and backing that is made from recycled board.

2. For bands who carry their own equipment but do not sweat over the rent at the practice space.

Arigato Pack: This is by far my favorite option. Not only are these totally awesome looking, they are made from recycled content and do not even require glue. They are the brainchild of an amazing company called Stumptown Press. Stumptown will send you 50 blank Arigato paks for 20 bucks, or you can work with them to do some lovely letterpress printing with vegetable-based inks. They also roast coffee

Here is the price list (it is a PDF): http://www.stumptownprinters.com/pdf/pricelist.pdf

Here is more information on the Arigato pak ! DO it!

3. For bands that have never had a sound person at their shows and are still waiting for a yummy record label lunch.

The RESLEEVE: The RESLEEVE is the newest creation from Sustainable Group, a company from which I buy my binders and folders. Their folders look really sharp and are made from 16pt bending chipboard (100% Recycled Fibers ---56% Post Consumer Recycled / 44% Post Industrial Recycled). The RESLEEVE has a round die-cut hole in the center to view the front of the disk. The back is solid, embossed with the message "RESLEEVE 100% Recycled"). These are brand new, so I have not seen a sample other than on their website, but they are made from the same stock as the folders I use and love.

Get 50 RESLEEVEs for $16 bucks

GreenDisk Jewel Cases: GreenDisk takes unused jewel cases that would otherwise sit in landfills and rot and ships them directly to you. The jewel cases they use are sourced from outdated tech products that have been pulled from the shelves - but they are in perfect condition because they have never been directly handled. The Hidden Tracks , one of the green rock pioneers, used GreenDisk for their last release and won themselves an ADDY award. SWEET.

Get 100 for $39.99

While you are at it, get 17 Hidden Tracks songs for free --this will make you cool, but green only by association.

Sustainable Paper: Bands that self-release their albums and subscribe to a full home DIY method can use sustainable 8.5" x 11" paper to load into their home printers to print out liner notes. You can grab all those jewel cases from your own music collections, clean them up, and re-purpose them yourself.

Check out:

Neenah Paper: Such style. Such grace! Neenah paper makes me giddy with joy. They are also the largest renewable energy purchaser in the entire state of Wisconsin. Pick from their Environment or Eames (yay!) lines of papers

New Leaf Paper: I use New Leaf recycled paper in my own home printer and am quite pleased with its performance. New Leaf Paper pioneered the Eco Audit label that quantifies the environmental benefits of using their paper. Check it out.

Labels: musician resources, sustainable materials

I don't mean to put a damper on your sweet bass riffs, but the steel used to make the strings that make the people dance make greenhouse gas emissions dance around in the atmosphere. The EPA recognizes steel production in the US as a sizable contributor to global warming.

What's a bassist to do? The next time your bass strings lack that brightness you once enjoyed, take them off and boil them instead of going out to buy a new set. Here's how:

1. Take the strings off your bass.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil.
3. Put your bass strings in the boiling water so they completely submerged.
4. Boil for five minutes and turn off the heat.
5. Pour out the water and let the strings dry and cool off(being eco-friendly shouldn't hurt your already calloused paws).
6. Restring your bass and enjoy the bright sounds you thought were gone. I suggest trying out You Set The Scene by Love, it's my favorite...OK it's the only one I know how to play....but it rules!
7. Use the money you saved on new strings to offset the emissions associated with powering your amp or buy some energy efficient lightbulbs to light up your jam sessions.

Labels: instruments, musician resources, sarah