Danny O'Keefe

Good Time Charlie Likes His Coffee Shade Grown

It's 10 am, 56 degrees, raining like a monsoon and I'm on Vashon.  Oh, and I neglected to mention it's August!  I've just met up with Danny O'Keefe and we're headed from Emily's restaurant to the Birdhouse, otherwise known as his home.

For those of you needing an update Danny O'Keefe wrote the hit "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues."  Now that we're over that, I bet you're wondering what he's been doing since then.

Born in Spokane, O'Keefe is now a resident of Vashon Island (he jokingly notes it was a Ferry that brought him here).  He has continued to record and perform live since his start in the 60's.  His songwriting credits are enormous and include songs that have been performed by such notables as Jackson Browne, Judy Collins, Waylon Jennings, Earl Klugh, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Leon Russell and Charlie Rich.  

Most recently, he has completed a new album, Runnin' From the Devil.  Recorded in Nashville, overdubbed in Seattle and mixed in San Francisco, Devil includes some of O'Keefe's best writing to date.  Many of the tunes were co-written with others.  As O'Keefe points out "In co-writing you get another perspective, in my case, primarily a different musical perspective. I like to write lyrics fairly quickly when I have an idea and often when you're working with someone who approaches the music differently you get something more unique than if you bake the whole cake."  One of the album's highlights is "Sheila" a track that features a very distinct Irish arrangement.  "I played the penny whistle on 'Sheila' and my friend Tom Mooney played the bodhran. Being of Irish descent probably inspired the Irish flare. Sheila also means little girl in Irish and it was a memory of the past.

Now O'Keefe turns his attention back to a cause he has been a leader in lately, the business of letting the public know about the importance of drinking "Shade grown" coffee, or in other circles it's referred to as "Songbird Safe."  As we've been hearing a lot in the news lately, America's obsession with caffeine has led to acres and acres of Latin America being deforested so that beans can be grown in the sun.  O'Keefe is the director of the Songbird Foundation, "I am a fledgling birder and an avid appreciator of coffee and its various aspects. The Songbird Foundation was born out of a need that I thought was not being adequately filled: To inform the public of the effects of non-sustainable agriculture, particularly as it applied to habitat and species loss due to the loss of forests in Meso-America, something that was actively encouraged by the US government in the 80's. Trees are the key to the protection of habitat and species, as well as topsoil and water resources, in most of the world, and we are losing forests at a frightening rate. These weather patterns we're experiencing are not caused by the Niños alone. The removal of the carbon dioxide exchange produced by the forests contributes greatly. To help save the remaining agro-forests in Latin America I felt that getting people to realize they had the power to help change this situation by simply changing the kind of coffee they drink would empower them as well as educate them to the deeper issues of sustainability. If we don't figure out how to begin to develop sustainable economies very quickly we will be in a great deal of trouble fairly soon. There will be two billion more people on the Earth in the next twenty years. 

O'Keefe has enlisted a hefty list of old friends to support his cause including Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Mary Chapin Carpenter.  "They've been involved in issues of the environment and social justice for many years; were the leaders in many areas. They understand the need to help people understand the complexities of developing a sustainable economy. If you can get people to realize they have the power to effect the situation by voting with their dollars they are more inclined to act. If they have to rely on the government or other organizations they may feel less involved and empowered. I have kept Bonnie, Jackson and Mary Chapin apprised of my ideas and involvement with this issue ever since I started. Their help and advice has been invaluable. They are some of my favorite Songbirds, too.. " he notes.

Simply put, you can support the efforts of the organization by requesting shade grown coffee when you purchase it.  "Changing the kind of coffee you drink is a small thing but it is a step that begins a larger and more complex journey."  You can visit the website for more ideas and ways you can participate in this effort.

TM

Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby and Shawn Colvin have made the front 200 seats available on a donation basis for their September 25th performance at The Gorge.  Proceeds will go to the Songbird Foundation.  To purchase these seats call 1-800-728-6223.

Enter to win an autographed copy of Danny's new CD by filling in the form below.  Winners will be chosen the first week of November 1999.

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