The first time I attended Guelph’s Hillside Festival, The Arcade Fire (then in their Funeral prime) marched through the crowd, leading thousands in a singalong indie orgy under the stars. But the most amazing thing about Hillside was the total commitment to environmental consciousness. From the green-roofed stage to the reusable plates, cups and flatware, you’d be hard-pressed to find a comparable festival with the same holistic sense of minimizing eco-footprints.
It was hard not to think of Hillside last summer during the Live Earth broadcasts. As much as the organizers vowed to minimize the environmental impact of their events, the disparity between LE’s large-scale megawattage and Hillside’s humble set-up was striking. You couldn’t help but wonder whether, say Madonna, or Duran Duran had green-leaning stipulations (biodiesel-powered Escalades?) on their diva-sized riders.
“Do I think?some of the?bands who participated in Live Earth are very environmentally conscious?” muses Barzin, who’s originally from Hillside home base Guelph. “No. They probably saw an opportunity to be involved in something highly publicized, which helped their careers.”
The soft-spoken singer/songwriter considers the environment in his musical and lifestyle choices — a vegetarian, he’s also nixed free merch stickers (“they end up in the trash can”), opted for electronic press kits over paper waste and chosen more expensive CD manufacturers with better green track records than their cheaper competitors. So it makes sense that he’s one of the participants in Thursday’s (Feb. 7) free, open panel at U of T’s Hart House Arbor Room at 8pm, titled “Can Music Save The Environment?” (See www.harthousemusic.com for details.) He insists that the music industry needs to go greener, and soon.
“The amount of waste produced at a large concert is staggering. But I think that the music industry is slowly starting to address these issues. You now hear about artists like Willie Nelson, whose buses use biodiesel. Festivals are recycling more, selling eco-friendly merchandise, offering organic food, encouraging people to use refillable water bottles and much more.”
Environmentalism may be hot right now — last week, for example, Universal announced their new “GreenSeries,” in which they’re issuing Best Of comps by established artists with “100 per cent recycled packaging, vegetable-based inks and without plastic CD trays,” with “some proceeds” donated to the David Suzuki Foundation — but it’s hard not to be suspicious of whether “green” industry initiatives are authentic strides toward environmental change, or merely attempts to capitalize on a marketing trend.
Even Barzin admits that he’s not perfect. “Unfortunately if I made?all?the decisions related to my music like this, I couldn’t afford to put out an album. There comes a point where you have to choose your battles.
“But as far as trends go, I think trying to be more green is pretty good.”