:: Hockey — the sport, not the band — compelled John Darnielle to choose Merge for his latest Mountain Goats record.

:: One dude has taken it upon himself to remind the world that Ben Weasel was always a stinker.

:: I remember talking about the questionable legality of siphoning used vegetable oil out of receptacles with Aaron Weiss back when mewithoutYou was one of the few bands that used the stuff to power their van. Well, it looks like Off! found out how questionable the legality was. The punk rock supergroup got arrested for taking oil from behind a restaurant in Arizona.

:: Lady Gaga loves Rebecca Black.

:: It looks like Rich Hall had plenty of fun at Full Metal Texas this year.

:: If you can’t get behind the mic because of stage fright, you might want to check out these books.

:: Gwen Stefani is finally doing something good after ruing ska all those years ago (just kidding, ska was ruined at least a decade before that). She’s donating $1 million to aid the relief efforts in Japan.

:: Random tracks that don’t suck:

6 Responses to “Morning Buzz: Mountain Goats, Screaching Weasel, Off!”

1. 

   On 03/24/11 10:33 AM, Sammy said:

   I think it’s sad that an industry has been created around used vegetable oil. I remember hearing about restaurants PAYING bands to take the vegetable oil off their hands. Now, companies have taken over and are making money off something that could just as easily be free to people. Yet another way that our country has hindered people from helping the environment.

3. 

   On 03/24/11 10:44 AM, Jay DiNitto said:

   It’s probably a good thing the veg oil is being sold because it means there’s more motivation to produce it. The increased demand will result in increased supply.

   Although, I’m wondering how much the environmental benefit is offset since it takes resources to make the veg oil.

5. 

   On 03/24/11 12:04 PM, Sammy said:

   But the veggie oil is being used regardless, so that’s not the problem. It’s the waste people that have the contracts to take the used oil that are then reprocessing it, instead of allowing people like these veggie bus bands to just do it for free. The goal is to recover and reuse the old oil, which is a noble environmental cause. The problem is that a business has been made out of it, and people are getting arrested for doing it “illegally”.

7. 

   On 03/24/11 2:22 PM, Jay DiNitto said:

   It’s probably a good assumption, then, that the waste becomes the disposal agency’s private property through the contract with the restaurant — so they are free to sell it if they think it will benefit them.

9. 

   On 03/24/11 2:57 PM, Sean Cannon said:

   the way it works a lot of times is that a company other than the local garbage dudes (or possibly of separate division) picks up the used oil, and they will pay you for it.

   at my mom’s restaurant, she had to regularly pay a company to dispose of the oil at one point (i guess some environmental something or other necessitated a party other than the local waste management people to take it and dispose of it). but then that company started re-using the oil, selling it to third parties (specifically to make candles instead of using petrochemicals to do so in this instance) and they began to pay my mom for the opportunity to take the oil.

   so it is being recycled, and my mom make a few bucks (but not a huge amount) because she allows that company to take the oil, which they pay for by volume. that also means if a band is taking the oil without permission, she is losing money. and when you’re talking about the fledgling state of many small businesses today — especially something with high overhead and lots of moving parts, like a restaurant — every little bit helps. so bands are stealing more than just oil. they’re actually stealing money out of restaurant owners pockets. some people will just give it away, because they do have to pay for it in some areas. but taking it without asking or knowing the difference is bad environmental stewardship in its own way.

   with a situation like this, the best thing for a band to do is plan ahead, and try to get in touch with restaurants along their routing that’ll either let them take the oil or let them buy it (which won’t cost an exorbitant amount).

   and they can always keep a couple of extra containers of oil in their trailer or the van from a restaurant back home that they have a relationship with.

11. 

    On 03/24/11 9:10 PM, Jay DiNitto said:

    Sean, thanks for that info. I didn’t really know the process. How were bands finding the oil in the first place, if there’s disposal agencies that will pay for it? It’s doubtful the place would just give it to the band for free if they could sell it. Do the agencies have a minimum amount they need to pick up?

    Maybe the bands were getting it for free because the place couldn’t meet the minimum and didn’t have the resources to process it for sale…so giving it away benefited them enough.

Leave a comment