Kid Rock, veteran country singers band against mountaintop coal mining

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Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 16, 2009 at 4:12am

Well, I've been Googling trying to find out for sure one way or another if Kid is a participant in "Music Saves Mountains". I found some interesting negative posts by 'former fans' directed to Kid Rock on some news related websites. :(

However, near as I can tell Kid Rock attended a 'gathering/meeting combined party' so to speak, at a private home...of which the purpose was to recruit artists to join 'Music Saves Mountains'. So far, I've found nothing that substantiates Kid Rock has joined the group officially, only that he attended the 'gathering' held at the private home along with many others invited. It could be media hype & spin, throwing in big names of those who attended the party more than the meeting, haha.

Tennessean.com:

Stars gather to talk Music Saves Mountains

The Monday-night event came with a strong lineup: Emmylou Harris, Randy Travis, Ben Sollee, Big Kenny Alphin, Delbert McClinton, Dierks Bentley, Gloriana, James Otto, J.D. Souther, Matraca Berg, Jeff Hanna, Michelle Branch, Kid Rock and Patty Griffin.

But despite falling on CMA Awards week, the gathering focused on mountains rather than trophies. The recording artists met Monday evening at manager Ken Levitan’s house to discuss the Music Saves Mountains campaign, an artists’ initiative intended to help protect the Appalachian mountains from a form of strip mining called “mountaintop removal.”

“The mountains of Appalachia are responsible for countless folk, country and bluegrass songs. Now, the home of that rich tradition is being destroyed,” said Harris, whose catalog includes a version of Utah Phillips’ “Green Rolling Hills.” The song about the mountains of West Virginia was later covered by Kathy Mattea, who is also involved with Music Saves Mountains.

The Monday event, which was sponsored by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Gibson Foundation, allowed artists to hear from NRDC senior attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and from NRDC senior scientist Allen Hershkowitz.

“We have to change the cultural assumption that it’s okay to blow up Appalachian mountains, and okay to blow up 502 ridgelines and peaks and get away with it,” Hershkowitz said. “There’s no voice more influential in the southeast than the country music industry. This would not be allowed to happen in the Adirondacks, or the Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen in the Appalachians.”

In June, the Obama administration announced plans to regulate, but not to disallow, mountaintop removal. The Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior are reevaluating the water quality impact of mountaintop removal, and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander has introduced the Appalachian Restoration Act, designed in part to end mountaintop removal.

At Levitan’s home, artists were asked to be emphatic in their call to action.

“Emmylou is one of the godmothers of country music, and she is taking this stand and asking people to join with her against this practice,” Hershkowitz said. “We need the voice of country music speaking on behalf of our righteous cause.”

The www.musicsavesmountains.org website contains more information, as well as video and photo footage of Mattea and Big Kenny Alphin surveying damaged mountains.

In all fairness to the opposing side...I'll post these people's commentaries too:

Terry Wooten
November 11, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Visit West Virginia. Our mountains are still beautiful. Surface mining is how thousands of West Virginians support families. Sure it is not pretty when it is a work in progress; but after reclamation the beauty is still there. Drive down Route 23 and see the beauty, but notice the power plant–it is coal powered. Let's see now, are country music stars dependent upon concerts for your livelihood? Let's take it away and see if you still feel the same about coal. Give us an alternative.


Retha
November 11, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I just want to say that these entertainers are hurting themselves by being against coal mining. Coal is keeping the electricity on so that these people can play their shows. Without electricity there will be no shows and without shows these entertainers wouldn't be where they are today. I know that the places aren't pretty when they are being mined but after all the mining is done they are very beautiful places. Not only that but they are used for other things such as trail ride sites and a sportsplex (Knott County Ky).


Kim
November 11, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Mountain Top Mining!!! You of all people Robert Ritchie "Kid rock" knows how it feels to have fellow Americans put your people and industry out of business. You recently started a company to help put Detroit back to work called "Made in Detroit", selling items such as shirts & caps, which I actually purchased while attending your concert in Comerica Park this summer. Coal allowed me make the trip to Detroit and attend your block party, spending money at the local restaurants, staying at the Renaissance Center and attending your concert while purchasing your Made in Detroit products. I heard you speak very passionate about your Detroit auto makers and the United States of America. So, I ask you Mr. Ritchie, how you can be against "Coal" which provides so many jobs to Americans. Mountain Top Mining provides homes, school, hospitals, airports, prisons, economic development and wildlife habitat?

Wildlife, you and your friends like to hunt. If Mountain Top Mining was done in Detroit it would be called development, contrary to your belief, its economic development in Appalachia, as well. Mr. Ritchie, you and your friends need to think about what coal does for you. It provides ELECTRICITY for you and your family, fans & jobs. Mr. Ritchie, it actually helps ensures your job, supplying the electricity for your light and sounds at your concerts and also while you’re in the studio. Coal, Mr. Ritchie, also helps ensures National Security for the United States of America. Your stance AGAINST MOUNTAIN TOP MINING ISN'T PRO-AMERICA!!! It appears to me that people have their priorities out of order. They worship the creations instead of the creator. See the problem?

I have seen you 7 times in concert and have always thoroughly enjoyed it. I encourage others to attend not just for your music but for what I thought you represented. Personally, I thought if you were going to be attending a rally, you would of been at Friends of America Rally with Hank Jr. For your information Kid rock, Jim Beam, Red Stag, isn't the life blood of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, COAL IS THE LIFE BLOOD TO KENTUCKY as THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS TO MICHIGAN!!!

You can rest assure that you will feel the effects of your stance against Mountain Top Mining and this is one person who's lively hood comes from COAL WHO WILL NOT SPEND THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY WITH YOU!!


Jack
November 12, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I live in Southeastern Ky and I would like to point out something to these country musicians. A very large percentage of your audience are able to buy your cd's and attend your concerts because they are employed by the coal industry. Not only those who work in the coal mines but also the drivers that drive the coal trucks, the equipment operators, the employees of the railroad, and countless others that are employed directly or indirectly by the coal industry.

If you destroy this industry, you will not only be responsible for knocking a lot of good people out of work, but you will be indirectly responsible for the decline of the country music industry altogether. Maybe the people that are left homeless by your uninformed decision to "save the mountains" will be able to support their families by selling bootlegged copies of your next cd or dvd at their local flea market.

I recently heard Kid Rock talking on the Howard Stern radio show about selling out the Pikeville Expo Center in 35 minutes and selling thousands of dollars in merchandise at the concert. Take away those that are supported by the coal industry and your next concert in the south will not sell enough tickets to buy your gas to get here. I believe you all mean well but don't just listen to the liberals that pitch a dream of beautiful mountains. The next time you are entertaining a large crowd in the south, ask your audience for a show of hands to indicate how many are in any way employed by the coal industry and you may very well reconsider your stance on this issue.

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