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While many of her songs speak to an environmental message, do not think of Kathy as a protest singer. While performing at anti-war rallies she began recognizing the anger being expressed by audiences opposed to the war, and the negative energy began to take its toll on her. Kathy realized that she wanted to use her energy for creating positive change in the world. Her love of nature and passion for the beauty in nature has guided her creative explorations as she creates music and spreads messages that inspire others to make positive changes. She does it while having fun, and making sure her audiences have fun with her. If you are having fun while doing something good, the experience makes it easier to make and accept beneficial changes.

Kathy Moser

Realizing that the simple act of traveling to concerts is the #1 cause of carbon emissions in the music industry, Kathy began a project called “Carpools to Concerts.” On Kathy’s website she sets up ride share links for her shows. People can setup carpools to attend her appearances, and as an extra incentive, she gives discounts on her merchandise to those who share rides.  Kathy keeps track of those who bike, walk, rideshare or take the train to her shows, and as of 2014 this has accounted for over 1200 miles which translates to a positive impact on the environment by having fewer emissions, less traffic congestion, reducing dependence on oil – and saving a few parking spaces! In addition, it is a fun way to meet new people and save some money in the process. Kathy’s goal is to offset the carbon footprint from releasing her CD and ultimately be “oxygen positive” rather than “carbon neutral.”

Kathy’s interest in sustainable living led her to attend the Building With Spirit, an annual natural building colloquium that takes place at the Thunder Mountain Retreat Center, near Bath, New York. Experts, educators and builders gather to offer hands-on workshops and presentations about close-to-the-earth building materials and lifestyle choices. Kathy attends each year to connect with this innovative community that promotes natural building using material such as straw, reclaimed wood and earth sheltered homes. Her song “Straw, Clay, Wood and Stone” describes the benefits of this growing movement.

On Earth Day in 2014, Kathy released her latest CD Some 1 Like You. The album was produced by Tom Prasada-Rao and features a number of guests artists including Andy Goessling of Railroad Earth, Buck Dilly and Cary Cooper. There are eight original songs on the CD plus covers of songs by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Peter Meyer and Death Cab for Cutie. The album captures Kathy’s spirit and energy as well as the diversity of her passions and love of this planet.

Kathy’s work with Carpools to Concerts helps offset the carbon footprint from manufacturing a CD, and I have seen Kathy at work at music conference asking fellow Folk DJs to save the bubblewrap mailers we receive each week so that they can be reused by other artists instead of going directly into the garbage and becoming landfill. This reminder to my peers and I may seem like a small reminder, but the impact can be enormous as it helps put each of us into a different mindset about how we approach our daily routines, such as opening and disposing of the mail.

Kathy Moser, Ron Olesko & Diane Perry in the studios of WFDU-FM

Her appearance on my radio show was a perfect reminder for both the audience and myself of what we can do to protect our environment and most importantly – the fun we can have together in doing it. Kathy brought along jazz violinist Diane Perry to accompany her, and they performed a number of songs – including a unique setting of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”

As Kathy and Diane performed this song, with the classic line “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”, I was reminded of something that happened a number of years ago right outside our radio station here on the Teaneck campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University. There used to be a parking lot right in front of our building, but the university decided to rip up the asphalt and in its place they put in a lawn with some lovely shade trees and benches.  Now, students sit and enjoy the cool breeze, watching the birds and the squirrels and a large groundhog who made its home where I used to park my car. We may have to walk a bit further to get to our cars, but I have come to love the wonderful feeling I get when I look out of the studio window and see a bucolic setting instead of smelling the exhaust from too many cars. We can do our part to enjoy this planet and all the beauty that it offers. With people like Kathy helping to remind us, there is certainly hope that future generations will be able to enjoy the wonders of our planet. Maybe it is time for me to get that bike out of the garage and pedal to the station for my next show.

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Check out this great video of Kathy’s song “Straw, Clay, Wood and Stone” and learn more about creating houses from these natural products.

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