PipemanRadio & Savage Lands, The 1st Metal Non Profit For Biodiversity

0:00 Hi, you have done to censure w C wow for you your. So why wait a shore shave shows trial here? No, don't let a shot now, let a shot.

0:46 We spec. This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four C Y Radio. I'm really excited about this air view because it combines two of my loves. One is metal and the other is the environment. And I was just at as you probably know, I was just at hell Fest over in France doing radio coverage there and I attended a press conference there between Savage Lands and Heilung and Man. When I found out about this organization, I'm like, we really need to promote this, especially now more than ever. And so I'd like to welcome to show Sylvan from Savage Lands.

1:30 How are you hey, bide Man, Thanks, I'm great, and the other French sun and heat. Yeah, you know it's funny. I live here in Florida, okay, and at Hellfest every time I go, I'm like, send me home to Florida where I could cool off, like and you don't say that ever when it comes to Florida. Yeah, I know, I know. It was pretty hard, right, Yeah, I don't even know how you did that press conference either, because that is the hottest part of all of Hellfest every time that press conference area, like it's super hot.

2:11 But I do leave part of the year in Costa Rica where it's pretty hot too. I mean, it's probably even hotter than Florida, it is. I was going to talk about that too, because I also live part of there in Costa Rica, and it's one of my favorite places on Earth, you know, because of a lot of reasons. It's also one of my favorite places because of they are all about the environment, you know, and coming from Florida, that's like two different worlds. Because we need your help here with the Everglades because oh my god, the crap we're doing to our state. It just blows my mind. I don't know if you know, but like the town of west End near Fort Laurdale, they built it on top of the Everglades, like they filled it with you know, filled the muck, and that town is sinking because they're idiot. No surprised there, right, I mean, Like, but I do love that you do a lot in Costa Rica too, because man, it's one of the most precious places on the planet. And even I hate to say it against my own people. But even as Americans are going over there ruining that place, you know, well.

3:24 Not all Americans. I mean, there's bad people and good people in every country. I mean, I know also a bunch of French people doing really really nasty shits there. So it's it's well spread. Being an idiot, you know it. I think it's a worldwide epidemic at this points, I guess. So it's you know, I've been I used to live in the States for a while when I was twenty, so it was before the Internet and before everything, and I remember, you know, being French, I was really kind of anti America guy, you know, revolutionary blah blah blah. And then I discovered that it's a very much complex country that I thought, you know, and there's some really good things. I mean, if you think about it. The first national park in the world has been created in the US in a sense of preserving something beautifully. I think it was Yellowstone. So you cannot say that the country is bad. You know, there's not and some good people.

4:27 And because it's the US, it's always very extreme. That's more the thing that I sense as a European. You know, it's also like to me, the United States, it's kind of like Europe. Every state is like a different country. Every state's got different types of people, different types of culture, language, even you know. And I've lived in multiple states in this country, like New York, New Jersey. I'm originally from the California in the eighties and now here in Florida, and those are like all three completely different worlds. So you were in California in the eighties and you're still alive, so you're a survivor. I know, right, And my best bros since thirteen, we used to go metal shows together all the time and start the pits, like at the original metal shows in La like Slayer and Metallica's first shows. And then he passed away about a year and a half ago. But he was a big time environmental icon in California, and he would love what you're doing, like because he in California was building rain gardens and doing the restoration of all the Malibu Creek and the Mountain Lions and all that.

5:41 And he used to piss a lot of people off too, because like they didn't they didn't want him doing these restorations because it ruined their view or their yard or whatever. You know. And but I know, yeah, that's that's actually sorry, sorry to interrupt you. That's actually one thing that I had in mind for a long time. I think that there's also an education about what is beautiful, you know, is the view or is the life that you have in your property. I changed my mind since I live in Costa Rica, because of course, when I came there, I had this idea of the perfect house and tropical god and blah blah blah. But then now I have a totally different view, and you know, I like something more close to natural aspect of a forest. And what makes my view and my life being kind of rich and pleasant is to have birds and monkeys in the garden and whatever the garden looks like, I don't care.

6:43 You know, I don't want to grass, I don't want a loan and two palm trees very symmetrical to the house. This is I would have thought, maybe it looks good like thirty years ago, But now I. So my pro would love you. My pro would love you because it was all about the natural environment. It used to piss them off. There were palm trees in La because they're not indigenous to La, and exactly like at his funeral. We did it at one of his restorations is the most you know, proud one where he brought like fish and wildlife and certain types of grasses and certain all the different vegetation that was indigenous to that particular area that was all gone and dead and he brought it all back. And so at his funeral, it was like all of the wildlife attended his funeral.

7:40 It was wild They were like all sitting there in the in the lagoon there in the background, like we're here to support you, dude, for bringing us, bringing us back. That's cool. Yeah, I think that's the point. You know. I'm trying to revisit the what we call beautiful and I think it could be one of the access of our work, you know. So tell us how this all came about. Had the original idea come about? Well, I've been in that, you know, like reforestation and trying to preserve for like thirty years. And right after COVID there was some kind of crazy stuff going on in Costa Rica, and that's why it started pretty much in Costa Rica, because the country stayed open and many people that would never have the idea to come to Costa Rica actually came because it was the only country they could visit during those times, and some people they saw the opportunity of making businesses and there was some kind of crazy projects and very big development and it became out of control. So I don't know why. I had the idea to contact Derek, my ex ex drummer from back then in the in France and now he's in Mega Death. So I talked to him and they asked him if he would go for a project with me, you know, and he was like, man, yeah, I think that's time, you know, for the artists not only to denounce or to send money, but also to have their

9:11 own tool where we could, you know, act for real and show people what we're doing. And that's how it started. Savage Lens he got the idea of the name, and then of course he contacted a few artists that he knows and and it was it saved time, and he gave us a typical way of presenting things, because we're not just an environmental organization, we're also an artist. And I think that's the first time these two things come together. You know that the record label signed the nonprofit organization, they didn't sign a band, so basically the non profit is the artist and also the the tool to operate on the field. So that that's how it started and and yeah, and then it got faster because Healfest helped us and artists showed up like Alissa from Arch Enemy, Andrea Sepultura, John Tardi from Obituary. They were the first on board, and many others that are on the album actually, and so it gives us a voice. And I also think that the right choice was to address the metal community because it's a fucking great community. And that's the reason for that is not just because I like metal.

10:33 It's a metal person had to face all those years where metal was was not promoted in mainstream media. So every metal head either has a band, a radio, an association of whatever. He organized a concert. So there are people that know how to do things. They can be active and we see that every day because people contact us with ideas and they do things for us. And that's what I think makes the project interesting because everyone can be a real actor of the project. That's what we call the Army of the Trees, you know, because everyone can have a role in that. I love it too, because you know, metal, a lot of people don't realize what kind of family and community we are. You know, they look on the surface, you know, of heavy music, fast music, marsh pets, but they don't know what we're really all about.

11:30 No, they don't. And but you know the funny thing just right now, we achieved to align with other organizations in Europe, you know that environmental organizations. They had nothing to do with metal. And I contacted them because I know they're good at what they're doing. And at first they were like, oh, really, we're going to address the metal community. But why and they were like, you know, And then I showed them and I explained them, and I showed them images of our concert in Healfest last year and the reaction of the crowd, and then the project, and then they're like, yeah, yeah, it seems interesting, interesting, And then they're okay, so we call that the Alliance of the Trees. And then they come to Healthfest and then they totally change. They're like, man, it's great. People are completely open to discussion, to talking, and they're really well educated. You know, they thought we were savages and others and violence and stuff, and they realize it's the complete opposite. It's probably the safest place on Earth being at Healthfest. You know, everyone takes care of everyone, and so it's so obvious all those organizations now they're calling and they're like, I put more metal in the project, you know, because it's so cool.

12:43 Yeah, And you know it's funny because how Fast is a perfect example because I go and I do festivals over the US, UK and Europe. But I would say one of my weakest languages would be French. Like I can maybe understand words, you know, type of thing. And but yet you go to health Fest you don't have to understand each other's language, and you're spill. There's this connection as bond that's not even breakable. I know that. That's that's actually really hard. After the healthest you're like you're getting back to your house alone, nobody to talk to regular people in the streets, and you're completely depressed, right totally.

13:29 I know that, Listen. I got back from Europe, and like last week from doing these festivals, I think I've left the house basically just to go get some food once, and other than that I've been it's staying like Okay, I'm in seclusion now before I go on my next one. And it's like it's every time I go to any festival, and Healthfest is one of my favorites. Is like there's just a feeling of love and therapy all in one, you know. And that's why I think Savage Lands your idea is like the perfect concept, you know, because we are such a big community now compared to what we were back in the eighties, and you know, basically everybody wants to make a difference pretty much in our communities, and that what you're doing is needed more than ever in my opinion, you know. And I saw what you saw in Costa Rica too, you know, and that's why I said what I did before, because after COVID, I went back to my favorite place is Nosara, and a big change there. Oh my god, it broke my soul.

14:50 You know, Like first of all, you didn't even have the road wasn't paved to get to Nosara. So I used to like that because it meant nobody could the people that would when it couldn't get there or wouldn't want to get there. Now it's paved, and you know, you go there and there's all these constructions, and I saw, like I saw how our monkeys walking on the ground. They never do that. I don't. Yeah, that's exactly the reason why I I'm doing that, you know, because but I mean, of course we're not acting only in Costa Rica. We started our action now in Europe. We bought a few places to to make sanctuaries there and that's that's the purpose of this alliance with other nonprofit and we want to act everywhere.

15:32 But it's true that such a beautiful place as Costa Rica is setting up an example, and it's it's probably talking to a lot of people when when they see the beauty and they it's easier to love something when it's when it's still there and it's still beautiful. Yeah, it's easier to protect it than to recreate it once it's destroyed, you know, because that the process is completely impossible to to to to to realize, you know, I mean, creating a forest out of a field is a really big challenge. You know, you don't have any guarantee that it's gonna work. It's better not to cut down the forest that already exists, you know, because it's a whole complex ecosystem. And yeah, Costa Rica of course is a good symbol because many people know that it is a symbolic country for the protection on the environment, but it is endangered and and that's why we have to keep doing things together. And I'd love to act in the US too, You know that, I just need a few contacts and set up a small project, but a symbolic project, maybe in Florida. I don't know, who knows.

16:39 Yeah, we could definitely talk as first of all, Florida definitely needs it. Like I can't tell you, every day I go out there and I see them crying down more trees to build more less stuck a crap. I'm like, you gotta be k And then I have a lot of people from my broad I'm connected to in the environmental community and in cal Forny that with I've already talked to them about what you guys do because I knew they would dig it. And I would definitely be down with helping get stuff getting done over here too, because like we need, there's a lot of beauty in the world and we need to, like you said, preserve it before it's gone. It's much harder to recreate it than to work with what we have. So tell us a little bit about what what you're doing in Europe and what places and give people a little idea of what you have going on there.

17:34 Yeah. So, as I said, we use the music as a voice, you know, and an emotional way of connecting the community, and of course famous artists being there it helps, you know. But also we do really concrete things on the field, and our approach is to either buy places when they represent certain biodiversity aspect, you know, like a forest with a place with water, whatever makes it interesting. So we try to buy places like this and preserve them and then sanctuarize them. We also have projects that are more on the educational part, like reforesting, planting trees, bringing people into doing something because once you plant a tree, then you know, you kind of create a connection between the tree and you and you you watch it grow next year it's a little bit bigger, and you know, it creates kind of a link. And I think this link is probably the thing that most of the people lost.

18:39 And I don't like the environmental least that are telling people don't do this, don't do that, stop traveling, stop doing these, stop eating that. I think it doesn't work. Actually, what I think. Would speak off and turn them away from. It, yeah, exactly. And I think the other approach is to try to get people into recreating an emotional link and appreciate nature and love the thing they have around their home or country or whatever. And then once they love it, they will naturally ask themselves what to do to preserve it. But if you do the other way around and just tell people not to do that, not to do this, not to do that, there's no future in this. People get more and more frustrated, and you're not going to bring them into something bigger, you know.

19:31 And that's exactly what we want to do with Savage and just bring people into a project where they feel useful, they see results, they can't get a sense of pride and say hey, we did that. That's what we're building this project that is called the Metal Forests. Actually we want to buy places or reforest places and give this a label and put an ad at the entrance of those places and say hey, here the metal community is preserving and this is a metal forest, you know, because then people when they travel they can say, hey, I gave a little bit of money to Savage and and look you can see it on Google map. Here there is one of the metal forests and it belongs to us, you know. And that's how you start, you know, making people because I don't like the fact that people give money and then they don't know what happens.

20:24 You know, you got to be part of something exactly. And I always tell the same story because I think it's really really interesting. This guy came to healfest last year and tells me, hey, I love your project. I want to do something, but I don't have time. I can't come and plant trees with you. And I'm like, okay, what are you doing. I have a restaurant and I want the best Burger prize for friends last year, and I'm like, yeah, okay, let's do something. It's like I could do a savageance a burger and I'm like, yeah, why not do it? You know, And he gave four euros per burgers sold nice. Well, you know what, he gathered five thousand euros, which is great. He did a nice black bean burger with the Savage lens tag on it and it's pretty cool. So five thousand euros. But then the local television thought it was an interesting story, so they covered the story. And then he came to help us with a huge check, you know, to give it to me on the on the Savage Lens booth.

21:25 And then this guy is an influencer, guy who did the you know, the cooking TV show, so he's kind of a famous guy. You know, he has like a five hundred thousand followers and he did a little subject on that too. So I think it's great because it gave the restaurant advertisement. It gave us money and advertisement. And the symbol in that is this guy did what he knows. You know. He didn't come and work for me on the field planting trees, which he doesn't know how to do that. He did what he does every day. But he did that for us. And I think everyone can do that. Whether it's a big thing or small thing, we don't care, you know, but making people doing their thing for the greater cause. And I think that's that's the best thing people could do, you know.

22:14 I think that's cool as hell. And that's and your approach to it as well. Like my bro used to say, you know, people don't understand. Yeah, I'm an environmentalist. I'm not telling people not to do stuff. I'm saying just do it over here instead of over here. That's simple. You know, and let's all work together, you know, because you're never going to convince somebody by telling them not to do something. You're going to convince them by getting them involved and laying them have the feeling and the attachment, just like you're. Saying exactly, Yeah, that's probably why we're growing that fast because it's a it's a new it's a new thing, you know, it's like three years old. And yeah, I think that's a new approach. And I'm really excited, really tired, really busy, but really excited.

23:04 Well I'm excited about what you're doing. And I even thought like it was pretty it was pretty cool that high lung is involved, because to me that made so much sense. You know, it's like that that's that's the like connection that is undeniable right there. So I mean, you're doing great stuff. How do people get involved with you? And how they check you out on the web? Socials and just tell them all they need to know of how little or a lot they can get involved or just check you out. Yeah, that that's that's the thing. You know, as a community, we have a voice if you even if you don't do much much more than just listening to our music, or following up on Instagram and talking to your friends.

23:56 I mean, everyone has the capacity to for fllow us on Instagram and ask two friends to follow us too, and they asked the same to their friends. And then we represent a bigger community because if we have a meeting with some local municipality or you know, people that can take make decisions on the local scale, they check our social media. They checked how many people will represent. So if you can do one thing, it's already this, you know, and then you can you can contact us and build a project or you know, make a small crop funding. I remember this really small band in France and I didn't I didn't know them at all, and I saw on Facebook I saw a picture of them holding a Savageance logo that they printed themselves and asking people to give money. And then my first reaction, as a stupid guy from the from the seventies, like fuck, they robbed my logo to get money, you know, But no, it wasn't that. It was then trying to get money for us. And they will shout to belong to this movement because they like the music, they like what we do, they like the artists that are on board with us, and they wanted to be part of it. So I think they collected something small, like three hundred or four hundred dollars, But the symbol is fucking great, you know because if all the small bands they would do that, and we wouldn't. We wouldn't even need any sponsor. You know.

25:30 We just work this way and have this huge army of musicians collecting money for us, and we would do the job, buying places and advertising these and it would make it grow, you know, and we would be totally independent and everyone would feel responsible and active in that movement. And I think that would be fucking great for us, and it would be a good lesson for the rest of the world that is not yet listening to metal. No doubt. And you know, the more the merrier, it doesn't matter what size they are. And you know what every big band were's a small band, so you just never know. Exactly, yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, the small band that does this three hundred dollars funding for us, maybe they're the new go Jira, you know, you don't.

26:15 Know, right exactly. There you go, and then Savage Lands can be at the Olympics. That would be great, right, anything else you want. To share with the listeners we haven't covered already. Well, I think I think we go pretty much everything. I just want to thank you guys for existing, you know, the independent medias that are totally dedicated to this music and this community. I think that makes a big difference compares to other areas, artistic areas where we just rely on mainstream medias. So I think it's important this this passion that people put into that music. And yeah, I want to thank the metal community, the artists, and yeah, if you don't know about us, just check it out and send us a message. We we're always happy to hear about you guys.

27:12 Well, thanks for all you do, and I definitely want to help you in your cause because it's a great cause and of course great music, and like I said in the beginning, combines two of my loves. And I thank people like you for saving the world that we live in, because the world's going to be a much more beautiful place with savage lambs. And thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipemin. That's man, that's a pleasure for me. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipelin. I'm w for CUI Radio.