Everyone knows how rough being a musician can be, especially if they're just starting out. But now the music industry is taking a huge hit thanks to the likes of Limewire and other ways to illegally obtain music. If you illegaly obtain the music you're stealing money from the bands deserving of it and they end up falling on some pretty hard times.
Like Madina Lake, who seem to be constantly on the brink of falling into a struggle with their finances. I get it, though. Gas money, food, and hotel rooms can really add up for musicians who aren't selling out Madison Square Garden on a weekly basis. Bottom line is if you aren't Britney Spears the music industry can really hurt you.
So two girls, Ayla and Kristy, set up a non-profit to help struggling bands like Madina Lake and The World Alive. This money contributes to those rising gas prices, food, and scary hotel room rates that some bands just cannot afford with the money they make through record sales and touring.
Who can help? Anyone.
How? By donating to the site so they can give the money to the bands in need.
But how much? Anything from a penny on up. Trust me, these girls aren't picky. There goal is ENTIRELY to help out struggling musicians.
More information? Feed The Bands
Our enduring love affair with gasoline is problematic, to say the least. In a world with volatile gas prices, air pollution, carbon-induced climate change, questionable long-term access to foreign oil, and a surge of huge gas-guzzling vehicles taking over the roads, there's one lingering question on my mind:
What are we going to do about it? How are we going to shift away from a car-based transportation structure that requires burning fossil fuels?
More specifically, how can you move from point A to point B without driving? How do you use sports to Beat Gasoline?
I'll tell you what I do. I ride my bike everywhere. I walk. I hitch piggy-back rides from friends. I dance down the street, and climb trees, and balance precariously along abandoned train tracks. I rely on human power as my primary form of transportation. I fuel my vehicle with fruits, veggies, and sometimes nachos.
Yet there are so many more human-powered travel options. You can use skateboards or roller blades. You can move with a scooter, snowshoes, a unicycle, or a pogo stick. You can travel by horseback or kayak. You have the freedom to go car-free, and you can get there using your own muscles.
A few years ago, I rode my bicycle all the way from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon in about eight weeks. Trust me, it can be done, and you can have a total blast getting to where you need to be without the constraint of cars, insurance, auto maintenance, speed limits, drivers' licenses, gasoline...
[Right: A pic of me riding through Montana in July. Man, it felt great to traverse the country on two wheels. Well, three wheels if you count my yellow trailer, Bob.]
I know you all have some great ideas about how to use sports to Beat Gasoline. Here's your chance to show the world how it's done by entering the Beat Gasoline contest.
That's right, we're offering some cool prizes—like Global Giving dollars and Nike kicks—to the best video and photo submissions that illustrate how you play instead of burning gas. So bust out that camcorder, film a short video, submit it to www.beatgasoline.com, and show others how we can use sports to Beat Gasoline.
James here checking in. My posting's been light this week because I'm driving down to the South By Southwest Music, Film + Interactive Entertainment Festival in Austin, Texas. I'm on a vegetable-oil powered bus that makes up for its modest top-speed with the ability to run on excess cooking oil from almost any restaurant. It's been a great time scouting for grease, meeting restaurant managers, and travelling without spending a dime on gas. What's even better is the feeling that we're helping to wean America off of imported fossil fuels like gasoline or diesel.
Right now I'm on a fifteen-minute guest login at a public library in Atlanta, Georgia, and time is getting short. I don't know when I'll be able to sit down at a computer next, but you can rest assured that I will be documenting all of the eco-friendly hijinks as well as our mandatory skate sessions (it's important to stay limber on long trips!)
