Rocker says his fuel of choice is made from soybeans

jack johnson

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island

Tickets: Sold out

On his current hit, "Good People," Jack Johnson wonders, "Where'dall the good people go?" But the Hawaiian singer-songwriter isfighting the good fight to make this a better world.

When Johnson and his band appear at 8 p.m. Sunday in a sold-outshow at the Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, they will havearrived on buses and trucks run on biodiesel fuel.

That's not all: The tour's catering crew will recycle all food andbeverage containers and donate leftover food to local shelters withthe Rock and Wrap It Up organization (www.rockandwrapitup.org). AndJohnson's current "In Between Dreams" CD on Brushfire Records is thefirst music CD to be released with a commitment to the 1% for thePlanet organization, an alliance of businesses committed toleveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Membersdonate at least 1 percent of their revenues to environmentalorganizations worldwide.

Johnson is only 30, but he's more in tune with eco-actions thanmost people in D.C.

This is Johnson's first biodiesel tour. "We heard about WillieNelson and Neil Young doing it," Johnson said earlier this week fromhis tour bus outside of Salt Lake City. Johnson, Young and Nelson runtheir rigs on biodiesel fuel, made from soybeans and other crops.Nelson even has partnered with Carl Cornelius to sell biodiesel atthe legendary Carl's Corner truck stop on Interstate 35 betweenDallas and Waco, Texas.

"If you can afford to have all these trucks and buses out, you canafford to do it," Johnson said. "It costs more. It's about 30 cents agallon more to do it at this point."

Johnson's entourage consists of four buses and four trucks. He hasa four-piece band, including piano player Zach Gill, who is singer-keyboardist for ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra), Johnson's openingact. Huntington Beach, Calif., guitarist Matt Costa also opens.

Johnson is from the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. His father was afisherman who moved to Hawaii from California and later became acontractor in Oahu.

Part of Johnson's recent political awakening took place when hiswife read aloud a chapter from a book that talked about how keyfigures in the environmental movement weren't raised in families thattalked about environmental issues.

"They were just people who loved being out in nature all thetime," Johnson said. "Once they got to a certain age, they saw theycould do things to affect the earth in a positive way. I was the sameway. I didn't live in a family that was overly concerned about thosethings. I just loved surfing. I got to the age where I started doingbenefits for groups that were trying to help water quality, like SurfRider Foundation or Heal the Ocean.

"Then, last year's tour was the first one of the size that Ithought we ought to do something to lessen the impact of this thing.Just seeing all these trucks and buses, the amount of people we havein hotel rooms and the amount of people who are driving their cars tothe shows. It's overwhelming on how much energy it takes to run ashow.

"I thought we should try to set an example, especially for kidswho come to the show. If nothing else, they can try do to somethingdifferent. All this stuff is up for debate, even biodiesel, whetheror not it takes more energy to produce it.

"At least biodiesel is produced in America. The argument about oilcausing wars makes me feel better about using biodiesel. But it isimportant to show people that there's options."

Beach blends

Johnson's music is founded on freedom of choice. Growing up, heplayed in thrash bands that covered Suicidal Tendencies. Afterrehearsal, Johnson would retreat to learn Cat Stevens and JimmyBuffett songs.

"In Between Dreams" is produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (BeastieBoys, Dandy Warhols). The album is full of relaxed folk melodiesinterspersed with hip-hop lyrical schemes. For example, in "GoodPeople," Johnson riffs, "They got this and that with a rattle a tat /Testing one, two, man whatcha gonna do / Bad news misused give mesome truth ..."

"I liked the energy of punk music when I was in high school," hesaid. "After two practices you could sound like some of the bands youlistened to. Three of us played guitar. I also played drums. At nightI'd pull out the acoustic guitar when I was alone. I like both musicsabout the same.

"It was funny. There was kind of a punk scene in Hawaii, but wewere still wearing sandals and board shorts. Our shows wereunderneath palm trees. [The band] Sublime is a good example of whatcomes out of a surf culture/punk scene, a band that plays punk songsbut also plays dub reggae."

Along with Los Lobos and Michael Franti, Johnson contributed amedley of "Badfish" and "Boss D.J." on "Look at All the Love WeFound: A Tribute to Sublime."

Pair of pirates

At Sunday's show, also be on the lookout for Jimmy Buffett fansprepping for the parrotmeister's upcoming stand at Wrigley Field.

"I've had a few people tell me as soon as Buffett retires they'recoming on my tour," Johnson said. "Sometimes I play 'A Pirate Looksat Forty.' That was one of the first songs I learned to playacoustically in high school. Then he started playing [the reggae-tinged] 'Horizon's Been Defeated' off my last record. I think it wasbecause of the pirate connection [in both songs].

"We met last year at Hawaii, and at some point we'll do somethingtogether -- a show or some music."

Jack Johnson has a tiger in his tank