Appalacian Voices

I have been remiss in writing - too busy being immersed in having fun or working in/on the studio, and though I have a few blogs that I have started, they are in blog limbo as I have not been able to take any photos to go with them - the camera card is full and I have to organize and dump the photos onto my portable hard drive. 

One of the more moving events of the past week was my trip up to  Bearsville to have dinner at The Bear followed by the concert "Appalacian Voices" featuring musicians/singers Jim James from My Morning Jacket, who is now called Yim Yames , (great CD called Tribute To (George Harrison)), Ben Sollee, and Daniel Martin Moore.  The concert was opened by local boy Simone Felice of the Felice Brothers and Duke and the King.

I was familiar with Yim Yames' voice, and something told me to head over to a special evening not far from home.  And, besides, it was for a good cause - to "raise public awareness of the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal coal mining throughout Appalachia. A portion of the proceeds from the tour will benefit Appalachian Voices, for which the tour was named, an organization devoted to ending mountaintop removal coal mining together with diverse environmental problems impacting the central and southern Appalachian Mountains." (quote from the Bearsville Theater calendar of events)

The song Flyrock Blues sings about the huge rocks that are blasted from the mountains that sometimes come down on folk's houses and/or property. It was pretty upsetting to learn about how coal mining is destroying the landscape and the ecology of the land, sending toxins into the air, polluting wild mountain streams.  It is a nagging and in your face reminder about why we need to move onto alternative energies. My fear is that we will move on this too late..and mankind will eventually self destruct.  

I was glad to have supported their work, to have learned about Mountaintop Removal in Coal Mining, and its devastation on the community and the earth. Please visit the site to educate yourself, make a donation, buy a CD....and I am hoping that a live CD is made of the tour.

After a show like that, it seems a mortal sin that 20 miles from my house, Chelsea Clinton is getting married at the Astor Estate to a tune of 2-5 million dollars.

While oil spills into the oceans and rivers
While the Appalacian people lose their homes and land
35% of the city I live in is on welfare.

I am having a hard time not gagging.

Patti





 

Comments

Andrea said…
Thank you for bringing attention to this issue! I grew up in the midst of this crap--everything was coal, coal, coal, and who cares about the environment. To be honest though, it's hard to care about the environment when the kids need to eat. Just another example of big business using up the land and the people.

wv: "colesift"--how weird is that?

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