Q&A: Guster's Gardner puts eco-message into practice

By Mitchell Peters

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Adam Gardner has come a long way since nicknaming his band's tour bus "the Earth Eater." Last October, the Guster guitarist/vocalist, who also co-founded environmental nonprofit organization Reverb, traveled from his home in Portland, Maine, to Capitol Hill to testify in front of Congress about the benefits of biofuel to the music industry.

"I've never been more nervous in my life," Gardner recalls. But after wiping the sweat from his brow, he successfully relayed his Earth-friendly message to curious politicians in Washington, D.C. "I basically said, 'We'd love for Reverb to be out of business, as far as coordinating biodiesel for tours,'" he says. "(Artists) should be able to pull up to any ol' truck stop and get it. It shouldn't be something we have to find for tours."

Since co-founding Reverb in 2004, Gardner, who runs the nonprofit with his wife, environmentalist Lauren Sullivan, has helped turn more than 50 concert tours green, reduce 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide, distribute approximately 250,000 gallons of biodiesel and spread the Earth-conscious message to 4.5 million music fans. And his efforts won't stop there.

"The environment is on the forefront of everybody's mind right now," Gardner says. "Our job is to keep it there until it's no longer a problem." Having already "greened" tours for such acts as the Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Barenaked Ladies and John Mayer, among many others, Gardner says interest continues to rise among musicians and fans who are interested in helping Mother Earth. With a baby on the way and a new Guster album in the works, Gardner found time to speak with Billboard about the benefits of biodiesel, educating concertgoers and affordable ways to green a tour.

Q: How did your invitation come about to speak in front of Congress about the benefits of biofuel?

Adam Gardner: They wanted to hear my perspective as somebody who uses biodiesel and also travels around talking about the challenges in finding it. They were very interested in what Generation Y thinks about biodiesel. So I was able to show all of the stats in how many fans participate on these tours. Originally, I think they were like, "Oh, my God. Here comes some other pseudo-celebrity who wants to show their support." But they learned that my head is really in this and I'm not just here to raise a flag.

Q: One of Reverb's main focuses is outreach to fans via eco-villages at concerts. What progress has been made on that front?

Gardner: Fans have a huge impact on a tour. Eighty-five percent of a carbon footprint (at a concert) is from fans driving to and from it. We have volunteers going out there, and they let fans know to check out all of the stuff that's happening in the eco-village and to talk to the local nonprofit groups. We also encourage them to carpool and offset their drive to and from the show. We receive donations for carbon offsets from fans at the shows. On the Dave Matthews Band's tour last summer, over 1.2 million miles of driving were neutralized by the fans.