Fighting Hunger With Hunger

In terms of bridging humanity through music, few artists have been more unparalleled in their contributions to positive social change than Bob Marley and the Wailers. These days, following 40 years and many personnel shake-ups, Jamaica's ambassadors of reggae (sans Marley) are still pouring out their rhythmic island roots to dance floors tangled with reeling bodies and felicitous feet.

Meanwhile, carrying on the long tradition of influencing social change, aside from capturing generation after generation with their politically charged anthems, The Wailers are now taking steps to eradicate world hunger by donating their contractual “riders,” or food allowances, to the U.N. World Food Program, hoping to inspire other artists to do the same.

“We're asking other bands — actresses, actors, whoever — to give up their riders, even for a day,” said bass player and longtime Wailer, “Family Man” Aston Barrett, in a recent interview. “Nobody eats and drinks all of their food. It's a waste.”

Riders are basically an artist's list of demands that promoters must fulfill, and usually consist of catered dinners and specific foodstuffs to be stocked in dressing rooms before and after the show. While many artists are unassuming, others are highly pampered performers with neurotically detailed demands running into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The Smoking Gun website has uncovered riders for 250 artists, from Metallica to Barbara Streisand, revealing a variety of backstage appetites. For instance, on top of “two packages of Altoids breath mints,” and “four organic lip balms,” blues-pop guitarist John Mayer requires “one box of a 'Kids Brand Cereal' (either Cap 'n Crunch, Count Chocula, Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp, or Cinnamin Toast Crunch).” Meanwhile, Sheryl Crow “requires 12 bottles of Grolsch beer, 6 bottles of 'local' beer, and a bottle each of 'good Australian Cabernet' and 'good Merlot.'” Oh, and Creed? “One large bag or several small bags of peppered beef jerky” and “One case of Hi-C assorted fruit juices.”

“We basically were on tour and we were looking around and going, 'Holy s--t, we're wasting so much food with our riders!' explained Wailers frontman Elan Atias. “About 80 percent of it was going to waste. So we decided to give the money allocated to us to the World Food Program. We recruited other bands like Slightly Stoopid and a few others to give up their riders as well.”

According to a news release on the I Went Hungry website, on top of foregoing their food riders, Slightly Stoopid also donated their entire earnings of $10,000 from a December 2008 performance. Fans can get involved, too. At Wailers concerts, the band sells I Went Hungry wrist bands for a $2 donation, and all the proceeds are given to the World Food Program along with those from the band's sacrificed rider.

“It costs 25 cents to feed one kid,” said Family Man. “If you buy a wristband, you can feed eight kids. They're dying, and we're trying to save lives. Life is important.” According to the website, 97,095 children have been fed through the Wailers' ongoing efforts with IWH to date.

“Food is a human right,” reads the I Went Hungry mission statement. “There are 25,000 people who die needlessly each day because they are denied this very right ... We invite our fans, fellow musicians, athletes, electricians, actors, artists, ceo's, students, mothers, fathers and all our brethren and sistren in declaring I WENT HUNGRY! This is something that we can all impact. This is a stage that we can all perform on.”

Photo courtesy of Janette Beckman, via Gorgeous PR.