“Audio Emissions” Spin Carbon-Neutral Sounds
Conscious Choice
May, 2007
Last October, local DJ and entrepreneur Liz McLean Wright needed to go to O’Hare Airport to fetch 500 purses and 2,500 audio adaptors she’d imported from China.
“I knew there was no way I could transport them on the Blue Line, so I looked into renting an SUV versus I-GO cars, and for short runs like running to O’Hare and back I-GO was way more affordable,” says the Wicker Park resident, who also goes by Quantazelle. “I’ve also used it to play DJ gigs and live laptop sets around town in places where cabs aren’t as accessible.”
Members of the nonprofit car sharing service pay an annual fee to rent 125 vehicles scattered throughout the city, Evanston and Oak Park. I-GO estimates its vehicles have replaced some 2,000 private cars and eliminated 7,823 metric tons of emissions since 2004, and plans to have 200 cars on the road by next year.
“I-GO is perfect for DJs or musicians because it’s free between midnight and 6am, and a lot of bands buy cars just to move equipment,” says I-GO’s Melissa Haeffner.
She says musicians jumped at the chance to be part of the eclectic new I-GO “Audio Emissions” CD compilation, which features five local acts chosen by members as well as a handpicked group that includes Koko Taylor, Mucca Pazza, Devil in a Woodpile, The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Bird — who tours in a biodiesel bus.
“Our goal is that everybody who listens to the CD will at least like one song out of the whole collection,” Haeffner explains.
Madison Buchanan, Palliard, Quantazelle and others will play at a 21-and-over carbon neutral release party for the CD hosted by Chic-A-Go-Go’s Miss Mia on Thursday, May 31 at Metro (for details visit igocars.org). The carbon neutral event will feature a free bike valet.
“I think it’s really important that we all look to car-ownership alternatives to transport us around,” says Wright, who appears in I-GO ads. “Not only are cars responsible for sending greenhouse gasses into the air and making people reliant on fossil fuels, they’ve been directly responsible for urban sprawl.”
