Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore & Yim Yames Draw Awareness To Mountaintop Removal Mining With Dear Companion‏

By Environment Man

A former Peace Corps volunteer, a coalminer's grandson, and the frontman of Louisville's biggest rock juggernaut have dropped the issue of mountaintop removal mining squarely at independent rock's doorstep. Dear Companion is a collaboration between three Kentucky musicians; the songs were written and performed by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, produced by and featuring Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket and Monsters of Folk. Recorded in the first half of 2009 in their home state, Dear Companion explores their ties to the place they love and aims to draw attention to the problem of Mountaintop Removal coal mining (MTR) and its impact on the people and heritage of central Appalachia. A portion of the proceeds from Dear Companion will benefit Appalachian Voices, an organization devoted to ending MTR and finding a better way forward.

Ben and Daniel hit the road with the Dear Companion Tour this week:

2.16 - Louisville, KY - Ear X-tacy (In-Store)
2.17 - Lexington, KY - CD Central (In-Store)
2.19 - Cincinnati, OH - Shake-It Records (In-Store)
2.19 - Cincinnati, OH - Northside Tavern
2.20 - Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio
2.25 - Nashville, TN - Grimey's (In-Store)
2.25 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
2.26 - Louisville, KY - Brown Theater
2.27 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
3.01 - Boone, NC - Boone Saloon
3.02 - Carrboro, NC - Carrboro Arts Center
3.04 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
3.05 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub
3.06 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub
3.09 - Albany, NY - The Linda
3.11 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
3.12 - Evanston, IL - SPACE
3.13 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's
3.15 - Cedar Rapids, IA - CSPS
3.16 - St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House
3.18 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3.19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3.26 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's
3.27 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall
3.29 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
3.30 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
4.02 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
4.03 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theater

A personal note from Ben:

"We've come together to make some music celebrating our cultural ties to Appalachia and to raise awareness about mountain-top removal coal mining. It's an unfortunately efficient means of strip mining to removes to summits of mountains to dig out coal. Daniel and I feel that losing our environmental and cultural heritage is far too big a sacrifice for something as inefficient as coal. We're donating a portion of the proceeds to the organization Appalachian Voices to help with all the good work they are doing to help raise awareness around the issue and to help amplify the voices of people struggling in the coal fields. You can find out more about what they do at http://www.ilovemountains.org"