It ain’t enough to make a tour green 1

Bonnaroo isn't the easiest place to transcribe interviews, what with the 24-hour music for four days straight. So I'll be continuing to post new material from my time at the festival for the next couple days. And I've also got some longer interviews planned for the future. Get psyched!

Next up, my chat Sunday with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, a "hyperliterate prog-rock" band (as described by Stephen Colbert) hailing from Portland, Ore.

Colin, you joke on your website about how the band travels solely by dirigible balloon. Are you guys thinking about how you can green your touring and make it more sustainable?

We really, really want to, and we started looking into having a biodiesel bus. Unfortunately, it's a really expensive idea, and also the company that we typically go through is not that into it. We're gonna keep trying to push it and make it happen.

I drive a biodiesel car at home, and I think we're all pretty green. So, hopefully, it'll happen soon.

Here's to wishin' and hopin' ... I suggested to Colin that the band hook up with a group like Reverb or Clif Bar GreenNotes to get some help greening their tour -- so we'll see what happens.

Today's Father's Day, and I know you have a 15-month-old son. How are you planning to pass on your environmental ethic to your children?

Hopefully, just by growing up in a household that's pretty much recycling everything that we possibly can and trying to be as non-wasteful as possible -- keeping the lights off, etc. (We're in the process of changing over to [CFL] bulbs.) So hopefully, just by growing up in that environment, he'll take that with him as he gets older.

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