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Conscious Alliance Back To School Snack Tour 2008 from freestyleMovement on Vimeo.

The "Back to School Snack Tour" was a concept that developed through continuous brainstorming sessions while Conscious Alliance crisscrossed the country from food drive to food drive in the summer of 2008. In early May, while hosting a food drive at the Summer Camp Music Festival in Chilicothe, IL Conscious Alliance was asked to introduce Hot Buttered Rum’s set, which led to the introduction of Justin Levy and Nat Keefe (HBR’s Guitarist). .

After some thoughtful discussion, they both came to realize that the missions of Conscious Alliance and Hot Buttered Rum complimented each other well and that there was an incredible opportunity for the two to join forces. The discussion ensued a few weeks later at the All Good Music Festival in Masontown, West Virginia. Nat inquired if the band could assist on a service project with Conscious Alliance following their early October two-night Fox Theatre run in Boulder, CO. The idea of a service project on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was brought to the table and slowly developed over the coming months through the combined efforts of both organizations. The trip was to consist of Hot Buttered Rum performing three assemblies at the Wolf Creek Tribal Elementary School where each student in attendance would receive a shopping bag full healthy organic snacks.

Following a successful two-night run of food drives at the Fox Theatre, the trip began with Hot Buttered Rum helping to load over ten thousand pounds of healthy snacks into the Conscious Alliance truck destined for Pine Ridge, South Dakota. All of the nutritious food used in this project was the result of the generous donation of over 600,000 lbs of food by Whole Foods Market. Also included in the delivery were much needed school supplies; graciously donated by many local Boulder businesses, and collected by the Conscious Alliance interns.

After five shows in as many days and a six-hour drive, Hot Buttered Rum arrived on the Pine Ridge Reservation only to begin helping the Conscious Alliance in the tedious task of making over 700 bags to be given out at the school the next day. The band and their crew along with the Conscious Alliance staff were then invited to attend a sweat lodge ceremony followed by a traditional Lakota meal.

Tuesday morning began with the completion of the snack bags to be distributed among the students of the Wolf Creek Tribal School. The band then went to the local Pine Ridge radio station to do a live interview about the project and their music. Following the interview, everyone headed to the school to join the students for a lunch of fish sticks and mac’n’cheese. The rest of the day was devoted to music as Hot Buttered Rum filled the halls of Wolf Creek with the sweet sounds of bluegrass. After each assembly, the students would exit the gymnasium where they received their healthy snack bag from the Conscious Alliance box-truck. As the kids looked inside they saw the chocolate covered almonds, fruit bars, granola, popcorn and more. Their expressions of complete happiness were priceless. Some of the younger students had to drag their bags away because they were so heavily laden with snacks.

The Conscious Alliance would like to thank the Hot Buttered Rum band and crew for all of the time, energy and love that they put into this endeavor. They are an amazing organization, of which each individual has tremendous heart. Their passion for playing music and the joy that it brings them was transmitted to the people of Pine Ridge. Many thanks, again, for all their help in making this project a success!

"First of all, I can't say enough about the organization Conscious Alliance. This non-profit consists of four outstanding full-time employees and a well-organized network of volunteers across the country. Their mission is to feed hunger with the resources of the music community. Nat Keefe of Hot Buttered Rum"

Nat Keefe, Hot Buttered Rum.

Check out more on his blog CLICK HERE