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Crawdaddy! - Chuck Leavell: Wrapped Up in Trees
It's neither new nor unusual for musicians to meddle in politics. The 2004 presidential campaign and the current Democratic nominating contest are just two recent instances of artists and entertainers trying, with decidedly mixed results, to insert themselves into the democratic process. And watching the Obama/indie-rock love-fest, it's hard not to be reminded of John Kerry's decision to share his campaign spotlight with Bruce Springsteen and company a few years ago—though apparently even the Boss can't make those stubborn swing-staters fall in line.
Of the many musicians and Hollywood-types who inject themselves into high-profile electoral politics on a quadrennial basis with benefit concerts, exclusive fundraisers, or even by strumming a guitar on the stump, few demonstrate more than a rudimentary understanding of the public policy that drives, at least in theory, federal elections. And even fewer still are brave enough to venture outside the relative safety of shallow slogan-based electoral campaigns and into the sausage factory of state and federal legislative politics.
Enter Chuck Leavell. Leavell, a gracious and mild-mannered Georgian who speaks with a charming Southern drawl, is best known for his work as a keyboard player for the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers Band. Often credited as "the sixth Rolling Stone," Leavell's playing has graced countless albums and concert stages. But his legacy may be more wrapped up in trees than rock 'n' roll. Leavell is that rare musician who has managed to find success in legislative politics.
Boiled down to its most basic elements, Leavell's stance goes something like this: Forests are a natural, organic, and renewable resource that ought to be exploited in a way that's environmentally responsible and serves the families that make their living off the land. He's a fierce advocate of ecological conservation, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, but always cognizant of the families, like his own, that rely on the forest, and the timber it provides, to support them. His command of the facts and figures surrounding land use policy is striking - and it generates instant credibility with decision-makers. But, critically, he also knows the context of the issue and comes armed with the ability to predict those pesky unintended consequences that often result from otherwise well-meaning environmental legislation.
Click here to read more entire article from CrawDaddy!
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New York Times: Rolling? We're More Like the Flying Stones
TWO years is a long time to be on tour. We started the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour in August 2005 at Fenway Park in Boston, and ended in August 2007 in London at the 02 arena. We traveled the globe, playing North America, South America, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, China and Australia. We even did full-stage rehearsals at a hangar at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
It was a lot of work. Nonetheless, it was a remarkable tour, setting new standards and breaking all previous records, including the fact that we racked up more than a million miles in the air...
Click here to read the entire New York Times article.
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Chuck records with Lady Antebellum!
Chuck recently went into the studio with new Country music upstart artists Lady Antebellum. The sessions were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee for their new CD that will be coming out later in the year.
In the summer of 2006, three gifted young adults walked into a house to create music, uncertain of where they were headed - and Lady Antebellum walked out. During that time, Hillary Scott's sultry alto, Charles Kelley's gritty tenor and multi-instrumentalist/harmony vocalist Dave Haywood's musical overview ignited a unique blend of harmonies reminiscent of classic country, a soulfulness of 1960s R&B, the heart-on-the-sleeve openness of 1970s singer-songwriters, all with a keen edge of contemporary country. "From the beginning, the music took on a life of it's own and defined the direction we were headed," declares Hillary. "It only took one live performance of the first handful of songs we had written to realize that whatever it was we were going to do, had to be done together."
Click here to read more about Lady Antebellum.
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Chuck Leavell: The Tree Farmer Honored as Book of the Year by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture presented its inaugural "Book of the Year" award to Chuck Leavell for his book The Tree Farmer.
The award was presented as part of National Farm-City Week (Nov. 16-22), a nationally designated observance of the interdependence among agriculture, the people who grow the food and the people who eat it.
"Receiving the recognition from AFB for The Tree Farmer was something more than special for me....I so much admire their work on behalf of America's farmers and forest landowners, as well as the great educational work they do through their 'Ag In The Classroom' program and other creative endeavors." Leavell said. "My thanks to Stihl for ushering in and cultivating my relationship with AFB, and I think the three of us make some very strong partners!"
Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and Foundation board member, presented the book award to Leavell.
Click here to read the entire article about the Book of the Year!
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Chuck records with Montgomery Gentry!
Chuck recently went into the studio (again) with country heavyweights Montgomery Gentry. This is same group of musicians that worked on the platinum CD "My Town" & we hope to have the same success with the upcoming recording! The band recorded at the legendary Ardent Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Since their debut in 1999, Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry have been a cornerstone of the most important movement in country music since the Outlaws. Just as Waylon, Willie and the rest kicked open the genre's doors in the 1970s, Montgomery Gentry has helped kick-start 21st century country. We look forward to the new record hitting the streets soon! Click here to check out some photos from the studio session.
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Legendary Musician to "Rock Greenville" for Special Places
Greenville, SC - The U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities in honor of its hometown, Greenville, SC, announced a special benefit concert featuring legendary rocker Chuck Leavell fresh off the highly successful Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang Tour" of Europe. All monies raised will go to benefit Upstate Forever, Spartanburg Area Conservancy, The Conestee Foundation, Friends of the Reedy River and Naturaland Trust.
"Chuck has been at the heart of Rock and Roll for more than thirty years," said U.S. Endowment President Carlton Owen, "but what many don't know is that he's also at the forefront of conservation and land stewardship. He recently donated a conservation easement on his beloved Charlane Plantation in Georgia and has won numerous awards for his leadership including twice being named National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year. We are delighted that Chuck, a member of the U.S. Endowment's Board of Directors, will help us give back to the Upstate in this special way."
Click here to read more!
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"Green Leaves and Blue Notes" tour!
Chuck is very proud and happy to have wrapped up his 1st "Green Leaves and Blue Notes" tour. This has been in the working for more than a year and it was a huge success! The tour took place during September, right after the Rolling Stones finish this leg of the Bigger Bang Tour. As part of this tour, Chuck also did some public relations work in conjunction with the German Forest Landowners Association. Chuck played shows throughout Germany and Austria including a highlight gig at the "Blues Schmus & Apfelmus" festival. During the tour Chuck performed on the HR1 radio program called "Live Lounge", it was broadcast on Oct 10th and has garnered great reviews. The performance was with a group of fine German musicians that play in the HR1 Big Band. Musicians were: Frank Kuruc (guitar), Paul Hochstadter (drums), Lutz Haefner (Sax), Christian Deiner (bass). Thanks to all of the folks that came out to show support. Chuck hopes to come back again soon!
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Rolling Stones - Bigger Bang Tour - Europe: Summer 2007
Chuck & the Rolling Stones just wrapped up the Summer 2007 leg of the Bigger Bang Tour on August 26 in London. The summer tour spanned three months and included stops in The Netherlands,
Germany, France,
Spain,
Portugal,
Italy,
Montenegro,
Serbia,
Romania,
Hungary,
Czech Republic,
Ukraine,
Russia,
Finland,
Sweden,
Denmark,
Norway,
Switzerland,
Ireland and of course Great Britain. Thanks to all of the folks that came out to show support!
Click here for the confirmed Rolling Stones tour dates & ticket info!
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Vanity Fair - The Soundtrack of Change
Chuck Leavell, Jack Johnson, Alanis Morissette, Jackson Browne, Perry Ferrell, Keb' Mo', Dave Stewart & Bonnie Raitt were all recently featured by Vanity Fair in their 2007 Green Issue. As for Leavell, Rock Snobs like to name-drop him as the consummate southern-rock session pro, a man who's played keyboards with the Allmans Brothers and the Black Crowes (not to mention the Rolling Stones) - but who knew he was also a dedicated campaigner for sustainable forestry? Moonlighting as the noble proprietor of the Charlane Plantation, in his native Georgia, he has twice been named that state's Tree Farmer of the Year. Click here to read more!
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Rolling Stones rocker donates easement to the state of Georgia.
Rolling Stones keyboardist and Georgia tree farmer Chuck Leavell and his wife Rose Lane donated a 300-acre conservation easement near Macon to the state on Monday.
Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has championed easements as a way to keep land in private ownership while protecting landscapes, was on hand to accept the donation. The easement, which is valued between $500,000 and $1 million, makes the rocker eligible for a new state income tax credit, as well as federal tax benefits. And he still owns the land, although he'll never be able to turn it into a subdivision or shopping center.
Leavell is among the first handful of landowners to donate land since the tax credit became available last year.
Leavell also took the opportunity to lobby the state Legislature to restore the governor's $50 million budget for land conservation. Committees have whittled the dollar amount down to $34 million.
"What is clean air, clean water and abundant wildlife worth in the state of Georgia?" Leavell asked. "If I had my way, I'd double [the governor's land conservation budget] to $100 million. Click here to read more!
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: First a rocker, and now a developing environmentalist
One of the surprises of this past session of the Legislature was the strong support that protectors of Jekyll Island were able to generate.
A combination of environmentalist muscle and concern for economy-minded vactioners - for whom the island was established - produced a bill that drew a literal line in the island's sand.
Jekyll's southern end will be protected from development.
The fight apparently made an impression on certain people.
Within 24 hours of Gov. Sonny Perdue's signing of H.B. 214, the state issued a request for contract proposals from developers to re-make the rest of Jekyll.
The Jekyll Island Company, of course, is highly interested.
And it just added three new members to its board of directors.
One of them is Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for - among others - Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers Band. Leavell is making a name for himself as an environmentalist, and this spring donated a 300-acre conservation easement near Macon to the state.
Click here to read more!
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Rolling Stones Keyboardist Wins Prestigious ForestLeadership Award
Rolling Stones Keyboardist Chuck Leavell has been chosen as the winner of the 2006 ForestLeadership Communication award. The Communication award is one of three awards - Communications, Leadership and Partnership awards - awarded annually to recognize exceptional contributions towards sustainable forestry. The Communications award recognizes exceptional ability in communicating matters of sustainable forestry, and thereby improving understanding of key sustainability issues at the local, national or international level.
Click here to read more!
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Romancing the land: Rose Lane & Chuck Leavell make beautiful music among the pines.
The setting sun slides obliquely against the Middle Georgia pines that lead up to Charlane Plantation, an 1,800-acre preserve of timber, quail, tall grasses and sandy soil. Gentle golden light caresses every pine needle. Fawns are likely to dart across the flat landscape; hawks and vultures circle overhead. This is the Twiggs County setting that's home to Chuck and Rose Lane Leavell. So? You ask. Well, if you're even slightly aware of modern music, you've probably heard something about or by Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Rolling Stones.
Click here to read more!
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GROOVE IS IN THE HEART BENEFIT
On January 18, an all-star group of musicians will perform at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco at Groove Is In The Heart, a benefit for children's music education programs. The mastermind behind the event is Jimmy Dillon, who plays guitar and sings with Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen, and more. Upon being asked to work on the benefit, Dillon immediately thought of other musicians he could ask to play with him, and at the top of the list was Chuck Leavell, legendary keyboardist who's played with The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers, The Black Crowes, and others. These well-respected musicians joined together to talk about this event and give some hints of what the night might bring.
Click here to read more!
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NEW ORLEANS JAZZFEST
Chuck Leavell has been invited to play the one & only New Orleans Jazz Festival on May 4th, 2007. The line-up includes Harry Connick Jr., Rod Stewart, Steely Dan, Norah Jones, ZZ Top, John Legend, Van Morrison, Brad Paisley, Jill Scott, Ludacris, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, New Edition, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Joss Stone, Irma Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis, Counting Crows, Allman Brothers Band, Allen Toussaint, George Benson, Pharoah Sanders, George Thorogood, Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong, Better Than Ezra, Banda el Recodo, Calexico, Taj Mahal, Johnny Rivers, Lucinda Williams, Branford Marsalis, Richie Havens, Soulive, Cowboy Mouth, Percy Sledge, Tony Joe White, Gillian Welch, Bobby Jones and the Nashville Super Choir, T Bone Burnett and more.
Click here for more info on Jazzfest!
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GEORGE
Meet George! Rolling Stone's keyboardist Chuck Leavell will be on hand all day at Macworld in Chestnut Hill Sound's booth #3101 on Tuesday, January 9, 2007. Leavell, a CHS advisory board member, was a beta tester for the company's new product GEORGETM, a digital audio system for the iPod, during the 2005/2006 Rolling Stone's Bigger Bang Tour. Chestnut Hill Sound will be introducing GEORGE, the first digital audio system to combine an iPod music playback system, AM/FM radio and alarm clock in one product at Macworld and Digital Experience at CES on Sunday, January 7 and in iBiquity's booth (#4616 of the Las Vegas Convention Center).
Click here to read more!
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Chuck to play Hawkinsville Opera House on December 22nd, 2007!
Chuck Leavell is set to play a special solo concert in a few weeks at the Hawkinsville Opera House in Hawkinsville, Georgia. The concrt will take place December 22nd, 2008 at 7:30pm. Tickets are available for advance purchase here.
The Hawkinsville Opera House has undergone many changes since
its construction. Through prosperous and lean times; times of
uncertainty and calm, and through various organizational
utilizations, it has managed to maintain the grace and style of its
initial design. The City of Hawkinsville is lucky indeed to lay
claim to a true piece of southern architectural history, and has
worked hard to restore the building to its former glory.
Click here for more info on the Hawkinsville Opera House.
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