There’s no denying that the cannabis sativa plant has played a huge role in the music industry for decades, but this newest usage might be the most surprising: hemp speakers. And in the case of Tone Tubby, using hemp as one of the main materials isn’t just a gimmicky nod to the love affair between weed and rock n’ roll – it’s all about the sound.

Take apart a speaker and you’ll find that one of the most essential elements to sound quality is just a cone made out of paper. But what if that paper cone were to be made with a material that retained many of the same qualities, but was stronger and more durable? John Harrison, maker of Tone Tubby speakers, claims that hemp cones give music more tone and make it sound fuller and more polished.

Harrison isn’t the only one who hears a little something extra in these speakers: he counts music industry greats like Carlos Santana, Neil Young, Metallica and Tom Waits among his best customers.

But you hardly have to be an axe slinger to appreciate these babies. You can “hemp your ride” with Hemp Hop speakers, which bear the slogan “Nothing hits like hemp!”

Or, if you’re not keen on the implicit connection with illegal activities, perhaps you’d prefer the same line of speakers under the name “Green Thunder”, marketed toward adults rather than the teen-to-twenties set.

So how did Harrison even come up with the idea for Tone Tubby? “There might have been some hemp involved,” he joked to Wired.

Image: Tone Tubby

The post Tone Tubby: Hottest New Speakers Are Made of Hemp appeared first on EcoSalon.

This train is bound for a greener planet. The brainchild of Bob Wolf of We Are the World Radio Simulcast fame, the Green Train will depart from Portland in April and pass through various parts of the country during a six-week whistle stop tour featuring musicians, actors, writers and artists. The final stop is Washington D.C. where it will spread the message: Drop your political and religious differences and “dig in” by volunteering for Mother Earth.

“The Green Train is an old fashioned way to deliver a new and simple message,” says Wolf, who personally phoned radio stations and TV networks across the globe to ask that they play We Are the World. “This will be a world’s fair themed train carrying exhibits and simple solutions to living green in a modern world.”

The train’s 20-plus cars and two flatbed acoustical stages will make its way across the map powered by biodiesel and solar energy during the 28-state tour through the West Coast, the Midwest and South before winding up in the East. A European trek is planned for 2011.

We re told all the names of performers will be released soon, but we already know Merle Haggard is on board.

Can they make green inroads by taking their art on the road? Organizers banding the talent together argue if only two percent of the population of the world got involved, there would be more than 130 million simultaneous positive acts and environmental projects for improving our world. This would show our children how people can have a positive impact on the planet.

“It’s not rocket science, just re-educating ourselves and finally realizing there is a major problem and it’s time to fix it,” they say.

Want to get on board by hopping on the train and riding or helping behind the scenes? Go to the site and learn more about the mission.

Images: Green Train Global

The post Trained Musicians Bound for Greener Pastures on 28-State Tour appeared first on EcoSalon.

Musicians have been pleading for people to pay attention to the environment ever since I was a child. When I think back to the era of these songs it’s shameful that we haven’t come further. In the 70s we bought tiny cars, turned off lights when we left the room, put on sweaters, and kept the heat at 68 degrees. After two decades of amnesia we arrive in the now where all those old ideas seem new again – and necessary.

Joni Mitchell
Big Yellow Taxi

“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Beach Boys
Don’t Go Near the Water

Jackson Brown
Doctor My Eyes

“People go just where they will;
I never noticed them until
I got this feeling
That it’s later than it seems.”

Jethro Tull
Wond’ring Again

“There’s the stillness of death on a deathly, unliving sea,
And the motor car magical world long since ceased to be.”

Kansas
Death of Mother Nature Suite

“Once she ruled the earth with love and wisdom;
But we were much too smart to live her way;
With greed and lust we tried to rise above her.”

John Cougar Mellencamp
Rain on the Scarecrow

“Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
This land fed a nation, this land made me proud.”

The Pretenders
My City Was Gone

“The farms of Ohio had been replaced by shopping malls.”

Rush
The Trees

“And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.”

Blue Oyster Cult
Godzilla

“History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.”

James Taylor
Traffic Jam

“Damn this traffic jam!”

Image: lanuiop

The post 10 Classic Environmental Songs appeared first on EcoSalon.

Last month, Mike introduced us all to the Ditty Bops and their fabulous Grammy-nominated popup album. The Ditties have a deceptively innocent sound that combines gorgeous harmonies with a fierce environmental message. Their live shows are part kids’ variety show and part musical circus, mixing in genres as diverse as acoustic folk, bluegrass, and jazz. They’re both absolutely beautiful and hip, but devoid of any annoying hipster ennui. They have an inherent sweetness that makes them approachable. The shows are highly interactive pieces of art with puppets, story telling, costumes, props, and plenty of politics.

The title song of their new album, Summer Rains, has a lazy Hawaiian twang and notes as light as air, but the message is a heavy one about global warming. Their environmental cred is serious. The pair once toured the United States by bicycle and were instrumental in pushing San Francisco’s plastic bag ban. They married one another last fall. Congratulations Abby and Amanda! We recently we caught up with the Ditty duo and asked them a few questions about their music and their lives together.

Tell us how you went about concepting and designing the album and the process for actually getting it made.

We love popup books and wanted to make a popup CD. We thought since we are already producing this independent of a record label, and since most CD art bores us, and many people download songs from iTunes or illegally, we thought if we made some beautiful packaging art to go along with the music it would give people a good reason to buy it.

First we contacted a handful of paper engineers. There aren’t that many but we found someone in Los Angeles, Renee Jablo. We worked with her and our graphic designer, Rick Whitmore in designing the vision that we had. Finding green printers who can assemble popups is not easy.  But we did find someone to do it in California. It is much more expensive than doing it in China or Korea, which is where most popups are assembled, but it was important to us.

Who are your musical inspirations and why?

Abby: Inspiration changes for me moment to moment – the radical street art of Skateboarders, a book I pulled from the shelf at a new age bookstore, my childhood stuffed animals, the mystique of 1930s movie stars.

Things that were once inspiring can go flat. I think it’s wonderful and essential to really be honest about what excites you.

How long have you been playing music together and how did the partnership start?

We are lovers in life and life is our art project. 10 years ago our partnership began. We play music and create all sorts of spontaneous art in between.

What was your best gig ever?

Abby: The best gig ever was when I walked top-free for 5 miles through the streets of Los Angeles. It was truth to me. It was beautiful. I had enough of seeing men hiking my favorite trails on 95-degree days without shirts. One day I counted 12 shirtless men in one hour. That was it. I took my shirt off and walked. Amanda was with me and it was the best gig so far. It was also painfully revealing, not just in that my naked breasts were exposed to the world, that part was empowering beyond belief, but in the way our society says our women are free but we are chained. It was a transformative experience. I was singing and screaming life.

I’ve heard that you have lived in LA without a car. Can you give readers tips for getting around LA (or any city) without driving?

Amanda: We live in West Hollywood”¦centrally located, if you can say that about LA. We live in an area where there is a lot within walking distance so it is obviously a lot easier to get by without a car than for people who work far from their residence. We now have a car again. Abby was smacked by a car in November and broke her knee. She is walking again but we are not commuting as much by bicycle.

You turned your driveway into an edible garden. What’s growing there right now?

We have marjoram, thyme, rosemary, parsley, three kinds of sage, oregano, Swiss chard, baby lettuces, strawberries, edible flowers for garnishing salads, a tangerine tree that had five little fruits this winter, a lime tree that had one lime, and a lot of succulents.

Because I write about food and I know you think it’s important, I want to know what 3 edibles are always in your refrigerator.

We love yogurt. We always eat it. We were getting this really great raw goat yogurt from a raw foods club in Venice. Raw almond butter we love. We use it in desserts and also on celery as a snack. And we have sprouted toast with avocado. We always have a lot of people coming and going from our place and they love avocado on sprouted toast so we gotta have it for them.

Listen and buy here.

Images: Norman Jean Roy, Sachi Kato, courtesy of The Ditty Bops

The post Interview with The Ditty Bops: the Greenest Musical Act on the Planet appeared first on EcoSalon.