Climate change - we need our country
As news of the horrendous damage done by the floods in Nashville comes hot on the heels of the devasting and ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which itself follows the 2005 flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katerina - we put out a call to all country musicians - WE NEED OUR COUNTRY - to support sensible sustainable energy policies and the fight against climate change. The Nashville floods have been disasterous. The Music Valley Wax which houses effigies of country's biggest stars including Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff and Dolly Parton has been flooded out - and accross the road the Grand Ole Opry House was likewise washed out - the stage was undeer two feet of water, buckled and has had to be ripped out. Musicians were hit by the floodwaters too: Kenny Chesney returned to Nashville to find that his houses was submerged. His gym was ruined and he lost his collection of sports memorabilia. His home is now likely to be condemned. Keith Urban lost a collection of vintage guitars dating back to the 1930s at a flooded storage warehouse and Creedence Clearwater frontman John Fogerty feared that the water may have destroyed his collection of 30 Les Paul guitars. The worst damage inflicted on musicians came at the SoundCheck warehouse in an industrial park next to the river. Workmen are ripping apart the little-known 160,000 sq ft storage and rehearsal facility where 600 musicians stored their valuable gear. Brad Paisley posted photographs of his destroyed road gear on Twitter after it was flooded at the SoundCheck warehouse. He said: “Somebody had a great idea to make artwork out of these ruined guitars and auction them for charity. I like that.” But his beloved 1968 Paisley Telecaster, played throughout his career, survived. Paisley has had 14 No 1 hits, and a record 10 consecutive chart-topping singles. He was one of a bevy of stars who played with the Grand Ole Opry at the White House recently.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6944941.stmhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/arts/music/08country.html