by T. Ballard Lesemann
As any traveling band will attest, life on the road can be a grueling routine of lousy fast food and gas station cuisine. The daily mission of getting from one city to the next safely and on time can make it hard to stay green. But that doesn't stop the Steep Canyon Rangers from trying. Singer/guitarist Woody Platt and his band decided to be eco-conscious early in their musical career.
"It's a challenge to go green when you're on the road," says Platt. "All the water bottles are pushed onto you at the festivals and clubs. One thing we did early on was getting a vehicle with a refrigerator in it, which allowed us to pack food from home in reusable containers and cut out the fast food. It's a great thing for our bodies, too.
"One frustrating challenge that we've noticed is recycling on the road," Platt says. "Very few gas stations have recycling bins. A Steep Canyon Rangers mission down the road might be to go out on our route and encourage recycling."
Recently, Platt and his bandmates — mandolinist Mike Guggino, banjo player Graham Sharp, fiddler Nicky Sanders, and bassist Charles Humphrey — hosted a green event of their own, the Mountain Song Festival in their hometown of Brevard, N.C. The show featured the likes of Doc Watson, David Holt, the Jerry Douglas Band, the Kruger Brothers, Darrell Scott, and others in the bluegrass and roots world.
"We compost all of our materials, and we have a really intensive recycling committee that's on site," says Platt of Mountain Song Festival. More in The Charleston City Paper
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