Summer Music 2007

In addition to traveling, I know you're a big surfer and you seem to love being outdoors. How do you find the time to actually get outside and commune with nature?
Whenever I'm in a city I always go to the gardens, usually the municipal gardens. And I'll just take off my shoes and put my foot right on the ground — it does connect you in a totally different way. And I like hugging trees too! I do! It's awesome! They're alive! They're brilliant so I'm not going to be afraid to say it! I hug trees! [Laughs]

In the long run, what role do you think movies like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and events like Live Earth will really play?
Media is God at this point. Media creates thought — everybody's consciousness, you know? People don't get their consciousness from anything else these days. The media tells you what's important. Definitely, if we can balance out all the other stuff that gets shoved down our throat these days we are being told is important, why not throw in a couple of things that actually are important?

Do you think that with the science that's now coming out, and events like Live Earth, that we've reached kind of a tipping point where ignoring the problem of global warming is no longer an option and change must and will occur?
Yeah, I think we have definitely reached that. We've come to the point. And that's why I say I think it's a party — it's a celebration. We shouldn't look at it as ''Holy s---! We're all going to die!'' We should look at it as ''Yay! We're all going to live!'' You know? We're all here right now realizing and recognizing that there's an issue, and we have the answers, and we have the power and the resolve and the ability to change it. And make it go in our favor. And that's exciting. How great is it that we're going to be proactive in our lives and create a better world? This is not a farewell concert — this is a celebration as far as I'm concerned.

For more information on getting tickets or tuning in to the Live Earth concert (as well as tips on taking action and greening your lifestyle), see www.liveearth.org. The concert here in the U.S. will be held at the Giants Stadium and include performers such as such as The Police, John Mayer, Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, and Kelly Clarkson, and just a small sampling from the eclectic acts coming out to support the cause in other cities around the globe include Madonna, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Black Eyed Peas in London; Crowded House in Sydney; Snoop Dogg, Chris Cornell and Shakira in Hamburg; Lenny Kravitz and Macy Gray in Brazil; and Linkin Park and Rihanna in Tokyo. (If you can't attend in person, there are other ways to get educated or tune into the show via radio, television as well as online — see www.liveearth.org for details. The concert will be streamed live by MSN at liveearth.msn.com.)


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