For a sustainable planet Producer putting music on hold to campaign for climate justice By: Alan Small Posted: 4:07 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 21, 2023

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This article was published 21/08/2023 (1134 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Winnipeg’s most notable music producers and musicians has closed his studio indefinitely to help raise awareness about climate change.

Rusty Robot has produced, written songs for or performed with groups such as the Weakerthans, the Sheepdogs, Sierra Noble as well as his own projects, during more than two decades in the music business in the city.

But he says watching wildfires across Canada force thousands of people to flee their homes, and last weekend’s storm that swamped much of southern California, has convinced him there are more important things to focus on than making records.

“Seeing every new extreme weather event on the news, I was getting desensitized to it and that was starting to scare me a little bit,” Robot says. “You know what it was? There was the one moment I saw the news story about the ocean temperatures rising and the currents potentially changing.

“I’m not a scientist. I’m not an environmental expert in any way but it shocked me enough that I felt like I should probably do something.”

He has chosen to volunteer with Manitoba’s Climate Action Team, and has begun delivering the organization’s “Consider Climate, Manitoba” yard signs to those who support the summer and fall effort it is running during the campaign for this year’s provincial election, which must take place on or before Oct. 3.

“I’m not a scientist. I’m not an environmental expert in any way but it shocked me enough that I felt like I should probably do something.”–Rusty Robot

Robot is also helping set up a musical lineup for the team’s event, scheduled for mid-September, says Bethany Daman, the action team’s communications manager.

“We thought this would be a great opportunity to use his skills and talents and networks within the music and artist community in Manitoba to be able to amplify those voices of people who want climate action to be more of a priority in the province,” Daman says.

To find time for this, Robot has cancelled local gigs with Curbside Concerts, told the J.D. Edwards Band his producing talents were unavailable this fall and scrapped plans to work with his own band, Imaginary Cities.

“I spend a lot of time to make music my career and it’s a lot of work to try to pay the bills through it as well,” he says. “I want to be inspired to make music for the sake of making music instead of for the sake of paying bills and I want to do it on a sustainable planet as well.

“We’re in an absolute emergency and flying across the country to play a 45-minute set feels like I’m ignoring the climate emergency.”

He’s also sold his 2021 Kia Soul and even begun kicking a 27-year smoking habit to further his commitment to the climate-change cause.

“My wife and I both had a car and we don’t need two cars. I feel very compelled to take small steps and each small step is really important. Selling my car, quitting smoking and joining this climate group has been a big shift,” he says.

Robot is among 60 volunteers and 1,000 supporters with Manitoba’s Climate Action Team, which was formed in 2018, Daman says.

“I want to be inspired to make music for the sake of making music… and I want to do it on a sustainable planet as well.”–Rusty Robot

About 700 of the signs have been handed out since its campaign began in July.

Robot hasn’t ruled out a return to music, but he’s finding satisfaction this summer in spreading the word about climate change.

“I absolutely love the shared experience of making music with other artists, it’s my favourite thing in the whole world,” he says. “But I also want to have a world in which I can live to do that shared experience in a decade’s time and at the rate we’re going, it looks like we’ll be focused on survival instead of music in 10 years if we all don’t all do something collectively about it right now.”

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @AlanDSmall