By Waldo L. Jaquith
Apr. 03, 2002

At a Tuesday press conference at the National Press Club, Dave Matthews Band members Stefan Lessard, Dave Matthews, Leroi Moore and Boyd Tinsley, along with Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream) unveiled the environmental details behind the new DMB / Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, "One Sweet Whirled." (Named after "One Sweet World," on Remember Two Things.)

The campaign's website describes the goal of the ice cream flavor / campaign as: "[L]earning about solutions to Global Warming and encouraging all of us to be good stewards of the planet. Choose to lose 2000 lbs. of CO₂ emissions, & share the amazing results with everyone you know - friends, family, Congress!" To that end, the website asks each person to make a personal committment to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 5% annually, and provides a list of simple ways in which that can be accomplished, including keeping your car's tires properly inflated, washing laundry in cold water, set your thermostat at three degrees lower in the winter, and switching to flourescent bulbs. Site users can select the changes that they intend to make until they add up to 2,000 lbs. annually, and then provide personal information to have a letter sent to their representatives supporting various clean energy bills.

DMB will be promoting the One Sweet Whirled campaign during their upcoming tour, which starts on April 4th at the MCI Center in Washington D.C.

This is the band's most highly-publicized charitable work to date. Many fans are aware of their Bama Works foundation, which benefits charities like the Boys and Girls Club and the American Diabetes Association, plus a large number of Charlottesville, VA-area causes like the Live Arts Theatre, the Virginia Discovery Museum, and independent radio stations WNRN and WTJU. In addition, the band has gained a reputation in their hometown of Charlottesville for a large number of low-key (often anonymous) donations to support fledgling organizations and civic causes, such as funding the city skate park and the new free bicycle program.

When a nancies.org representative asked about the band's overall intentions for their charitable works, Dave explained that "the overall goal is to get myself out of feeling guilty about how well I'm doing in life. I can't speak for us all, but I think we want to give back to the community." A spokesman went on to explain that Dave Matthews Band is donating 50% of their album sales royalties to charitable causes, a truly staggering sum that is unprecedented in the recording industry.

For more information about the One Sweet Whirled campaign, visit the organization's website at onesweetwhirled.org.

nancies.org | April 03, 2002