| Summer
Tour 2007 a Monster Success
 As
we started the month of August, anticipation was high. RtE
had just finished our first dates working with Music
Matters's SMART (Sustainable Minded Artists
Recording & Touring) campaign to green the Incubus
tour, but we were also preparing to start our second summer
tour with the legendary Allman
Brothers Band. The Incubus tour proved to be
one of our most successful to date, with dozens of fans signing
up for membership in Rock the Earth over the course of our
4 night run. To top it off, the guys in the band were generous
enough to donate their signatures to some RtE Summer Tour
posters (one of which is up for auction to benefit RtE!).
Special thanks to Wren and Maura at Music Matters and Greg
of Make
Yourself Foundation for their help and support.
It was
then time to get back on the road with our friends, the Allman
Brothers, who were bringing with them some other friends,
like the North Mississippi Allstars, Bob Weir & Ratdog,
Keller Williams and Robert Randolph! Once again, touring with
the Brothers has been our most successful endeavor, with over
a dozen new members joining each night and many generous donors
as well! In fact, at the ABB concert in Camden, New Jersey,
Rock the Earth grew by two dozen new members!
Thanks again to the Brothers and their management for bringing
us out again this summer, and more importantly, thank you
to all of the fans who really care deeply about this planet
and dig deep to support our efforts to defend it, one beat
at a time!
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Dam
the Hetch Hetchy?!
 Hetch
Hetchy Valley,
in Yosemite National Park, is an area of remarkable natural
beauty. One of only four glacially-carved valleys in California,
it features granite bluffs, tall waterfalls and grand vistas.
Since 1923, Tuolumne River has been impounded by O'Shaughnessy
Dam, creating Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. This 1,900-acre lake
in the middle of the National Park supplies San Francisco
with over 85% of its drinking water, along with a modest amount
of electrical power. The dam was built over the strenuous
objections of legendary conservationist John Muir, and environmentalists
have deplored its existence ever since.
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more information on this issue, visit the project
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Rock
the Earth Gathers the Vibes in Connecticut
 The
Gathering
of the Vibes returned this year to Seaside
Park in Bridgeport, CT for the first time since 2000. Promoter
Ken Hays brought the Vibe Tribe home in triumphant fashion
for music fans, Rock the Earth and the local community. The
recently renovated seaside oasis provided a nearly perfect
setting for the four-day music festival, which featured a
host of top-drawing artists on two main stages. Daytime artists
on the main stages included U-Melt, Tea Leaf Green,
Zero, Dickey Betts, Keller Williams,
Railroad Earth, Mickey Hart, Assembly of
Dust, and Ryan Montbleau Band, among others. Dark
Star Orchestra and friends brought the spirit of the Vibes
home to CT on Thursday night with an evening-long Jerry
Garcia tribute, and Friday night saw Bridgeport natives
Jen Durkin and Deep Banana Blackout pay homage to James
Brown. An estimated 25,000 packed the main field on Saturday
night for Les Claypool and the Rat Brigade and Bob
Weir and Ratdog. The long weekend concluded on Sunday
with fantastic sets by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band,
Martin Sexton, The Wailers, Buddy Guy,
and Los Lobos.
 At
the request of Rock the Earth and RtE advisory board member
David Gans, GOTV graciously added a fourth stage this
year to support and showcase the Non-Profit Village.
Located strategically in the center of festival grounds, with
a beautiful view of the ocean and an easy walk to camping
and all the other stages, this year's NPO Village provided
a wonderful waypoint for music, education, art, and activism.
The Long Island Sound Stage anchored the village of a dozen
plus NPOs with daily music from Juggling Suns, David
Gans, Boris Garcia, and The Kind Buds. Collaboration
was the mantra for the village with all artists sharing the
stage with each other and bringing on other musical guests
throughout the weekend, including members of U-Melt, Ryan
Montbleau Band, Donna Jean, Fuzz and Carrie from Rolla, among
others.
 In
addition to the wonderful music, Rock the Earth had a limited-edition
poster printed to commemorate the weekend, and invited artists
Brianne
Diomede and Jonathon
"Crazyredbeard" Blake to create live
paintings throughout the weekend. The paintings were sold
to benefit the charities in the NPO village. We received many
positive comments and thanks regarding the NPO Village music
and paintings. The number of people that visited Rock the
Earth and the other NPOs this year was far greater than in
years past. We hope that this great collaboration sets the
standard for future Gathering of the Vibes and other music
festivals for years to come.
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All
Good Carpools Rock!
 Thanks
to all of you who decided to carpool to the annual All
Good Festival in Masontown, WV this past month.
Not only were you treated to some awesome music by bands such
as Bob Weir & Ratdog, moe., Keller Williams,
and Leftover Salmon, but you helped to make a donation
to Rock the Earth. Thanks to the generosity of Tim Walther
and Walther Productions, for every car that had 3 or more
people, $1 was donated to four charities (including Rock the
Earth). This month, we received a check for $1,000, representing
1,000 carpooling cars! Thanks for helping to Rock the Earth
and reduce the environmental impact of All Good!
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Regional
Volunteers Spread the Word for RtE
Are you
interested in volunteering with Rock the Earth, but are concerned
that you don't live near our national office? Well, Rock the
Earth is truly a nationwide organization, with volunteer coordinators
in every region. So, whether you live in Miami, Boston, Seattle,
San Diego, or all points in between, there's an opportunity
for you! Contact our Volunteer Coordinator for more information.
As always, you can volunteer with Rock the Earth in a variety
of manners:
- Tabling
events
- Coordinating
volunteers
- Fundraising
& membership drives
- Legal
& technical assistance
- Assisting
with data entry & mailings in our Denver office
- Writing
press releases
If you're
interested in volunteering with us, please send an email to
volunteer@RockTheEarth.org
to find out how you can help Rock the Earth! Be sure to include
your city and state so we know what region of the country
you live in.
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In
the Key of Green: Hang Up for
the Planet!
 Ah,
cell phones. They're a wonderful way to stay in touch while
you're on tour, but they're not always a welcome addition
to a musical event. As cell phone technology changes and improves,
old cell phones are often discarded. Where does your old
phone go to die? Cell phone technology requires natural
resources from mines, which can pollute groundwater. Used
cell phones add to already packed landfills and can also leach
contaminants into groundwater. Current estimates put the number
of cell phones in the United States at more than 750 million.
That's quite a bit of potential waste.
The Beastie
Boys are providing free cell phone recycling
on their current tour, helping fans save thousands of
used phones from ending up in our landfills. If you're looking
to get rid of a phone, but aren't fortunate enough to be catching
the Beastie Boys on their latest tour, an organization called
Collective Good provides a way for cell phone users to recycle
their phones, with proceeds going to a nonprofit organization
of their choice! What better way could there be to recycle
your phone? For more information, visit www.collectivegood.com.
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Nugs.net's
Music for the Planet is a Hit!
 In
April, our friends at nugs.net
released a double live Rock the Earth benefit CD entitled
Music for the Planet. The double disc set,
featuring live performances by Dave Matthews, Phish,
the Grateful Dead, Jack Johnson and many others,
was wildly successful with nearly 200 folks ordering the CDs,
MP3s and/or FLAC downloads through the nugs website! (NOTE:
this doesn't account for those 100+ folks who became members
through the RtE website or at concerts and festivals, and
took home this collectors' item). This month, RtE received
a check from nugs.net in excess of $3,200. Nugs.net donated
ALL proceeds from the production, distribution and purchase
of these CDs and downloads to RtE! We are very grateful for
the support and generosity that nugs.net has shown us.
It
is not too late to pick yourself up a copy! Visit the RtE
website and become a member or, for the downloads,
visit nugs.net.
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New
Member Benefit: Get Behind the Mule!
 Now,
for a limited time, Rock the Earth Members get 20% off
all merchandise (excluding music) from Gov't
Mule. Pick up that Mule
Merch that you've been pining for and get ready
for Mule's Fall “Mighty High” tour! For details
on how to take advantage of this special RtE Members-only
offer, write to info@rocktheearth.org.
As
always, to sign up for Membership in Rock the Earth to take
advantage of discount tickets, merchandise and fantastic savings
on green products, go to the RtE
website.
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Iron
Man Auction!
 Win
a poster signed by the Prince of Darkness himself – OZZY
OSBOURNE! In honor of our first tour with this legend
of metal, we are proud to offer up a Rock the Earth Summer
Tour 2007 poster, signed and numbered (195/250) by artist
Ryan Kerrigan and also signed by Ozzy himself. This rare
collectable is one of only 3 RtE posters signed by Ozzy.
To bid on this item, go
here!
Meanwhile,
as if that wasn't enough, to close out our first Ozzfest tour
and to thank you the fans, we're offering up a second signed
Rock the Earth Summer Tour poster. This one is also signed
and numbered (199/250) by artist Ryan Kerrigan, but it
is also signed by members of the bands Behemoth and
3 Inches of Blood. Bid on this screaming deal before
these two talented bands take over the world. To bid on
this item, go
here!
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Incubus
Poster Auction
 As
we announced in the July
issue of Rock the Earth Notes, thanks
to the generosity of Music Matters, Rock the Earth collaborated
with Incubus for the first time this month, by tabling several
shows in the Midwest. While we were busy educating and activating
the Incubus fans, the band was ripping it up on stage each
night. To commemorate this new partnership, we have a Rock
the Earth Summer Tour 2007 poster, signed and numbered (58/250)
by artist Ryan Kerrigan and signed by all of the members
of Incubus. Bid on this rare poster (one of only 3 RtE
posters signed by Incubus) here.
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Liz
Berlin Rocks the Earth: Interview
 Rock
the Earth caught up with the talented Liz Berlin, most
well-known for her music with Island Def Jam's multi-platinum
selling group, Rusted
Root. Liz's creativity has made her a viable
force in a number of projects, including being a part owner
of Mr. Small's Funhouse Recording Studio and Theatre in Pittsburgh
and Creative.Life.Support,
a nonprofit offshoot of Mr. Smalls that aims to bring advanced
technologies in media arts to the hands of aspiring artists,
musicians, and creative professionals. Liz's music and side
projects have led her to be an outspoken advocate for environmental
issues.
What
environmental issue(s) do you consider to be the most critical
at this time?
There’s
so much out there to be worried about and to try to help that
it gets overwhelming to me. I have to hope that just as there
are infinite problems in the world, there will also be infinite
good-hearted people to care and work to make a difference
where they can. And I am but one of them, so I have to do
the best I can at protecting the parts of the earth that I
personally touch.
What
has inspired you to combine environmental activism with your
music?
I write
about what I feel in an effort to gain clarity and focus in
my heart and life. My hope is that the people who are drawn
to my music are able to use it as a tool to clarify and settle
issues within their own lives.
Where
is your favorite place in nature to go to find solace or inspiration?
When I’m
on tour I always bring my little fold up bike and ride as
much as I can through the different cities, people watching,
exploring. This has been my sanity and solace through many
years of road life.
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Rockin'
the Earth on Summer Tour: Photo
New RtE
members Randy MacCaffrie and Dave Dunsmore with RtE Summer
Tour intern Melissa Plotkin at the Allman Brothers Band in
Boston, MA (8/8/07).
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