Conscious Choice: Conversations: The Ditty Bops

July 2007 | Conversations

Conversations: The Ditty Bops

Interview by Eliza Thomas

Last year — instruments in tow — they biked across the country from the Venice boardwalk to the Big Apple. This year, the Ditty Bops — America’s favorite two-wheelin’ vaudeville-newgrass-folk-pop circus-activist sweethearts — bring their feel-good brand of honky-tonk to the heartland, in celebration of organic farms, local foods, and the good folks who keep the country fed.

The LA-based acoustic duo — Abby DeWald (guitar/vocals) and Amanda Barrett (mandolin/dulcimer/vocals) — built their rep on stage shows featuring ample use of props, costume changes and the dispersal of crafty goodies like handmade reusable shopping bags. It’s all part of their “name the coolest idea you can think of and do it” philosophy — an ethos that informs their happy-go-lucky harmonies, their car-free existence (in the capital of sprawl), and their new nonprofit, You And I Save The World. This month, we sat down with one half of the prolific power couple to talk guerilla gardening, the nation’s bike-friendliest cities, and what it’s like to rock out on stage in a bikini crocheted from plastic shopping bags.

Eliza Thomas: So tell me about the tour.

Amanda Barrett: We’re going on a six week tour from Los Angeles to New York, playing regular venues and also on farms, at co-ops, farmers markets, restaurants that use organic food — all kinds of good places. We’ll be playing benefit shows on the farms for Farm Aid, local farm nonprofits and The Growing Connection (TheGrowingConnection.org) The Growing Connection gave us earth boxes to raffle off at our regular shows to raise money. We’re bringing our bikes, but we’re traveling in a bio diesel van.

Why farms?

Well, we had shot our vegetable bikini calendar, and as we mentioned in there, sustainable agriculture is important to us. And we love food. On our bike tour, we noticed a lot of soy and corn growing and we were wondering, well how do we feed the country with all of the other things that we eat? We wanted to meet people who are feeding their communities with organic crops, and see how they’re getting along.

What are some of the most exciting ideas, or organizations, or people on your radar right now?

The Growing Connection is really exciting. They’re connecting communities — mostly children, but a lot of people around the world — who check in with each other via the web, and see how their veggies are growing, in Ghana, or in California. It’s a pretty cool thing.

The Earth Box from The Growing Connection was our first growing project. We’ve got lettuce, and it’s doing so well. And since then, we’ve planted a lot of other things — I can send you a picture — I built all of these wood boxes and we’ve got zucchini and herbs… It’s a good use of a carport without a car, you know! You can plant a garden! Give up your car and grow veggies!

And we’re super excited about San Francisco passing the plastic bag ban, and hoping other cities follow suit. In fact, we’re working on a plastic reduction petition right now. Please go to our website YouAndISaveTheWorld.org and add your name to our list. We’re about 4,000 signatures shy of our goal, and we’ve been wearing plastic at our shows until we get 5,000 signatures total. A friend of ours crocheted a plastic top for me and then we borrowed these amazing plastic outfits from Diana Cohen, who makes plastic art. It’s been fun, but it’s definitely sweaty. Plastic doesn’t breathe very well on stage, so please commit to bringing a reusable bag to the store! We need to get that petition filled up.

What keeps you up at night?

I think a lot about how to get people to change their habits. And I’ve decided it’s really about finding a way to inspire people, instead of preaching to them — and that’s a fine line. So what keeps me up is thinking of games and fun, creative projects that get people excited. That’s why we decided to wear plastic at our shows.

Is the green thing just a fad?

There definitely is a fad of people who want to stamp themselves as green without doing the work. And that’s kind of scary. We’ve never really dealt with this before, have we? Green has never been mainstream, so we’ll see how it pans out. I’ve been getting a lot of calls from all these different magazines, like, “We’re doing something on ‘Green Touring!’” or whatever, and that’s cool… but I hope it’s not just one “green issue” a year — that it would be more integrated into our lives all the time.

What keeps you focused, motivated and hopeful?

When I see how easy it is to make little adjustments in my own life, and I talk to my friends about it, and they’re trying little things — that’s exciting.

What are some of the most bike-friendly communities you’ve visited in your travels?

Seattle was great. We were riding during rush hour, and there were so many people going to work on bikes, on a special route. Chicago, people are kicking ass riding in the snow… and Oregon, San Francisco… a lot of the country is into it. At one point on our tour, we were in this small town in Kansas of 150 people, and we got a rider to ride with us through the town. So you never know. There’s a bicycle community everywhere.

Who’s on your dream presidential ticket for ’08?

Well, I’m thinking of running for office myself. I think Abby would make a great first lady. I don’t think I’m going to be running for president, but there are a lot of local positions available. We’ve been talking seriously about that. But who do I really want? I’m not sure. I have to research the candidates more and see who decides to run. More people are still popping up.

What question do you think our readers should be asking themselves?

I think your readers can ask: what are they excited to do that would also be beneficial for their environment? You gotta start there, with excitement, otherwise people become critical or overwhelmed. Just start. There are plenty of things to do.

On the heels of that, what is one act that if all of us did we could change the world for the better?

Ride a bike instead of driving your car for one day a week — that would be incredible. Or just a portion of your day — go to the farmer’s market on your bicycle, ride to work, go have a fun joy ride with your kids! That’d be a great start. I think employers can take steps to make that happen, because a lot of people say “Oh I would do that if I could shower off before work.” But I met people on the bike tour whose employers have provided a locker room so they could bike to work. Maybe we could take the focus off of the suit and tie, and bring the casual thing back, so people can feel comfortable to ride. And that would also reduce the amount of climate control inside these buildings that don’t breathe, all so that the dudes can stay in their suits — it doesn’t make any sense. So here’s to dressing casual! [raises her teacup]. I guess that’s the answer to all of our problems. Casual everyday! Not just Fridays.

For more on The Ditty Bops — including their artwork, mp3s, blog and serial comic strip The Environmentalist’s Dilemma — check out TheDittyBops.com.

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