Global Rocking

Despite the fact that Jonny Dubowsky opened for Stevie Wonder when he was only 14 years old, he's not the stereotypical rock star.

After countless years performing across Europe and the United States, one would think that Dubowsky and his Jonny Lives! crew would be wrapped up in a life of luxury like most successful groups. Instead, they're devoting their musical prowess and an entire tour to Dubowsky's brainchild "Rock N Renew," in which they educate students about the environment.

Dubowsky says that when he first started out he kept politics and music separate, but now his music has evolved to incorporate both.

"It's irreprehensible to not use the platform of art to bring light to dire circumstances that we've gotten ourselves into," he said.

The "Rock N Renew Tour" which begins at the Buffalo Icon on Saturday, consists of a half hour lecture by Dubowsky on the issues of global warming and sustainability, including simple changes that students can put in place for a better environment. The activist will also offer opportunities for students by putting any artwork they produce with recyclable materials in a gallery in their city for an entire month.

Now where would inspiration for an environmental based tour come from?

Aside from Dubowsky's passion for the environment, he has an equally fervent love for music. Growing up in a musical family, Dubowsky started his career at a young age. He says that he never really decided to be a musician, it just happened. It's apparent that music is in his blood, and his subconscious.

"The way I write songs is strange. I write songs in my sleep," Dubowsky said. He said he often wakes up after hearing songs in various forms and jots them down.

Other than his subconscious, Dubowsky has many other inspirations for his music, such as the East Side Village in New York City. In fact, their album "Get Steady" was basically a collection of stories from Dubowsky's time in college at NYU.

Dubowsky says that the first album of most bands consists of every song they've ever written in their entire life. The end result is a track list of the band's best songs, certainly not all of them. Unfortunately after that debut album, groups are expected to come up with new music on the spot.

"You can't continuously drink from that well. You can't use songs from when you were 18 when you're 30," he said.

Their second album in the works is based on how times have changed since he's lived on the East Side. He said the area has changed so much from what it used to be that sometimes the band sits around and laughs in disbelief.

As for the future, Dubowsky said he could see himself married with a few kids and about five or six albums to his name. He also hopes that he will have a successful non-profit company "Rock N Renew," and eventually a record label under the same name dedicated to helping other bands that are using their music for educating the audience on major issues in society.