How listening to music is benefitting the Kalamazoo Watershed
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Frontman Adam Danis of the band Fake Baseball has lived in West Michigan his entire life. One moment that always sticks out to him is the 2010 oil spill in the Kalamazoo River.
The spill contaminated over 30 miles of the river and at the time, it was one of the largest in-land oil spills in the U.S. The worst effects from the spill may not even be realized yet.
“It’ll be 100 years before anyone can know what exactly it’s done to the wildlife and the plant life,” Danis said. “Our old problems are still problems.”
After that spill, one organization stood out to Danis that was crucial in helping the area clean up and ensure something like that never happened again. That organization was the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council.
So, when it came time to select a nonprofit to benefit from Fake Baseball’s yearly charitable campaign, there was a clear choice.
This year’s album is titled “Cartoon Covers” and it is exactly that. The band asked fellow musicians across the state to record a cover of a song from a classic animated show that would then be placed on the album.
One musician, Jes Kramer, said she jumped at the opportunity to help the watershed council.
“It’s something that we take for granted especially in Michigan,” she said. “We have so much access to water and we don’t always think about what we need to be doing to keep it clean.”
Kramer did her own rendition of the theme song to “Pepper Ann,” a show that aired from 1997 to 2000 and left an impact on her for years now. She even got to share her love of the song with her son who played the drums on the single.
“We got to bond a little bit,” Kramer said. “Like, ‘This is kind of where I was at when I was your age.’”
The album features other songs from classic cartoons. Fake Baseball performed the theme music from “Inspector Gadget” and the band Metal Bubble Trio did a special rendition of the “Doug” opening.
The way the fundraiser works is that if you would like to purchase the album, you can do so and pay however much you’d like. All of the proceeds will go to the watershed council. You can also check out the bands and their songs by clicking here.
Each dollar raised during the month of December will directly impact the nonprofit. Danis said he thinks just the exposure alone from the music will help the watershed council.
“Even if we don’t raise as much money as we hope, just being a good vector for people to see the problem we’re still having … it felt very much worth it to try and get something out there that’s goofy enough that people raise an eyebrow and take a look at and when they understand the subtext that it’s for the watershed council,” he said. “Hopefully, that just makes them conscious of it again.”
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