Dave Matthews Alanis

Musicians Green Their Own Beat (Includes interview)

Many musicians are often portrayed as denizens of excess when touring around the globe. Their heightened nomadic lifestyle parallels their rise with success, with demands often increasing as tours grow and expand. Their rise in popularity is mirrored by the legions of fans that attend their concerts. It’s only now that a few are starting to associate the significant impact such behaviour patterns have on the environment. Music has often been used as a vehicle for performers to express their political views, and bring awareness to world concerns. From Woodstock and the Concert for Bangladesh in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s to Band Aid and Farm Aid in the 1980’s, and into the 1990’s with Lilith Fair, music has been used as a medium for raising awareness and prompting change. Today, more than ever musicians are banding together to weigh in on everything from human rights issues, to environmental disasters, and global warming, Green Music Group (GMG) is a coalition of musicians, industry leaders and music fans that facilitates large-scale greening of the music community that is committed to global environmental action. Newly formed just over a year ago (January 2010), all aspects of festival operations are reviewed, from touring, venue and label standards, to transportation, riders, and grassroots communication initiatives. One key element to their fast-paced road to success has been through establishing solid partnerships with various non-profit environmental groups, as well as getting fans to buy into the concept. GMG officially launched with a small gathering of artists, music industry mavericks, non-profit partners, and environmentally conscious fans. The intimate house party also included performance by founding musician members Maroon 5, Dave Matthews Band, The Roots, and Guster. Guster guitarist/vocalist, Adam Gardner and his environmentalist wife Lauren Sullivan envisioned GMG as an offshoot of Reverb, which itself is already responsible for greening nearly 100 major music tours. In the spring of 2004, the couple followed the Barenaked Ladies and Alanis Morissette on their “Au Naturale” tour, reaching out to friends and peers in the music world who would share their passion. They found resources (Bonnie Raitt) and renegades (Barenaked Ladies) to help figure out how to make touring a greener experience.

Marilyn Russell Rocks! | Girlfriendz®

“Nirvana is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the release of a deluxe, re-mastered version of “Nevermind,” she announces with a broad smile. “That was the big one that put them on the map, that was the band that ushered in an entire new radio format (alternative rock) and that’s when I started in radio,” says Marilyn Russell, BEN-FM’s morning host and a major Girlfriend. “So, this feels a lot like my 20th anniversary! And at BEN, where we play anything we feel like, we play Nirvana. So it feels like a full-circle moment for me.” MR: There was a wonderful man in my life. And I have often depended on the kindness of strangers, so I was lucky enough that people just took care of me. (aka: I was in Lala Land. Literarily!) I was very laid back. I didn’t have a credit card ‘til I was 29!  But as unmotivated as I was in the party years, I am driven now. And once I landed in radio, I knew I’d found exactly where I was supposed to be.

TSC: What did you do when you got back home? MR: I worked for an ad agency—The Weightman Group. That was my first real job. I worked as the executive assistant for the president, John Goodchild. Living in California, I lost the nasal-ness we have here, and John said, ‘Marilyn, I don’t understand why, with that voice, you don’t do voiceovers.’ That’s when I went back to school, took acting lessons, did a demo tape and it all began.

After Weightman, I went to Comcast and worked full-time in their marketing department. I also did a lot of freelance voiceovers for their affiliates. While I was there, I got married. Six months later, we bought a house and I got pregnant.

My son is the best thing I’ve ever done. Matthew was born in 1991. It was the best year of my life—staying home with Matthew—my gift, my love, my everything.

TSC: When did your broadcast career begin? MR: I started working as a receptionist at WDRE-FM in 1993. And because I still wanted to have time with Matthew, I worked in the afternoon. I also did voiceovers and public service announcements there. It was the perfect gig for me: ten minutes from home, and my mother watched the baby.

While I was there, we started hosting a local music night once a week. We showcased new, up-and-coming local bands and artists and some national independent artists as well. We presented No Doubt before anybody knew who they were, and Gwen Stefani, too. Eventually I became music director and hosted The New Music Show. We had all the new alternative artists…Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette, Ben Folds Five, Oasis. It was such a ripe time for alternative music.