Musician & Activist Ronny Morris is no stranger to charitable organizations and campaigns to help save the environment or help others! He has partnered up with GREENPEACE to promote his cause of choice: saving the arctic frozen landscape. He has gone into music to put forth his initiative via albums. . Album #2″ Sweet Silence” is available now and you can see his third and last video in the trilogy. “Build to Last” is that video and is shown below.
Morris takes his message to the older haunts of L.A. and inspired by long-time hero Bob Dylan.
The video focuses on the message of the song itself, displaying the lyrics on handwritten cue cards. The song, “Built to Last” serves as the inspiration for the video suite was released on April 7, 2014 from his debut album entitled Sweet Silence. All revenue from the single goes directly to Greenpeace in support of their “Save the Arctic” mission to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary.
I was able to reach out to Ronny Morris with some questions about this initiative and his music. Here are his very thoughtful answers!
Stevie Wilson: People know your work and the various organizations you have supported via your participation in various music events Modaid20, Diapsora for Africa, One Tree Hill, Ghost Whisperer etc.
Now you have done something with Greenpeace. This isn’t as much a change in how you feel but more of a signal that this is the path you would like to see others take in an awareness of environment, climate change and other things .
What precipitated this project?
Ronny Morris:
Well, as you already mentioned I have already been wrapped up in some amazing projects and knew very well about Greenpeace and the amazing and much needed work they do. But honestly I am no expert so sometimes it takes me quite a while to involve myself as I want to learn and observe what its all about before jumping head on. Climate change is something I have beel following for quite a while and indulged myself in the different knoledge we are beeing presented with today. Greenpeace had been campaigning for some time wanting to safe the arctic region in north which goal is make the arctic a global sanctuary, which secures the area for everything like fishing trawlers to arctic oil drilling. So when they asked me the answer was yes. If the music could be combined with the informal message which it the end could help educate people and bring their focus to the growing problem.
SW: What’s the take-away for fans who buy this music?
Ronny Morris:
The take away is that they support a much needed campaign which hopefully will bring the political powers to leave the area untouched and preserve the amazing wildlife there. As the ice melts which it does, vast areas will be open to mining, oil drilling etc, which is a great treat to the exsisting wildlife which uses this land as natural breating grounds.
The campain also touch base on a different problem which many of us has never thought about the very fact that no body owns the arctic which can open up to a very heated disbute over the rights to its natural rescources. Today the U.S, Canada, Norway, Russia and even Denmark has claimed the rights to the lands, and I am sure we havent heard the last word in that case. Other than that, people will get a hopefully very catchy pop song carrying a rather important message.
SW: What would you like to tell the major nations and their leaders about the impact of the changes in the Arctic?
Ronny Morris:
First of all I would like them to take a stand. Either they trust their own experts or they don’t. Once they do that they need to take actions. If the Ice is melting at the alarming rate they say it is we are up for some big trouble. First of all the leaders needs to recognize that this whole region has been in peace with the way it was and agree to that this is the best solution. Once they agree to making the arctic a sanctuary we have not only secured all the animals but we have also settled without war. Second we need to act and take action securing our people and infrastructures. If the arctic melts it will naturally mean rising sea levels which will impact millions of people around the world. I don’t even think we understand what an impact it will have. Can you imagine big parts of Europe and even Manhattan under water? So I call for action. Nations needs to work together and get the an opinion from the best international experts and then we need to create a plan. Remember this scary fact. If our infer structure falls apart, humans have a grim tendency of becoming very nasty and very violent,unfortunately.
Built to Last video
SW: Are there other locations that you feel people should know about or other initiatives that impact the Arctic ? How about ones that don’t necessarily affect the Arctic but have a relevance and meaning not only to you but ones that people can do something – -even the smallest thing– and have it make a bigger impact than they imagine.
Ronny Morris:
In todays world social media is everything. The media reacts to what people are focused on. So I think its very important that people share their thoughts and discuss this even amongst them selves.Don’t stick your head in the ground just because you’re no expert, no one said you should be. Engage with organizations out there like Greenpeace, and ask questions. Of cause when we talk about climate change, everybody can make a change. Buy locally, why because it takes less energy and creates less pollution shipping something from down the road than from the other end of the world. Buy organic. Just because you don’t think the organic producers aren’t doing everything you want, your are still supporting them in going in the right direction. Think about what car you drive, how much energy you use and know that every dollar you spend are shaping the future of this world, one dollar at a time.
SW: What about the people who say that their actions can’t make a difference? How can they help so that they can see it? What could/would you say to them?
Ronny Morris:
Just know that this problem is created by all of us and has to be solved by all of us. Its a numbers game. Not even the dirtiest prick in this world could create the problems we are in, so its has to be a mutual effort. Remember, we are all inspired by each other and one becomes two, becomes three.
SW: Considering that the world seems to be shrinking down to the size of facebook and youtube. What have you done or how have you used this to communicate your initiatives?
Ronny Morris:
Social media is everything. We are spending more money today on social media promotion than anything else. Its an amazing tool which not only allow me to share what I am doing but also get to communicate with people who even dont agree with my ways, and I always like a good debate 🙂
SW: Are there other organizations you like or participate in or follow? Are there other things that we can pay attention to?
Ronny Morris:
I don’t like to dictate people. There are so many amazing people who are doing an amazing job out there for so many great things. I like us all to consider how we in our own life support the future of this planet. Could we reduce our waste, could we spend smarter and support something which is sustainable. So many organizations exist today because it needs to safe something from us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they didn’t have to exist because we made a conscious choice not to danger anything. Its may be wishful thinking but we have to start somewhere and no better place to start than with our selves. I have listed a handful of great organisations on my website if anyone need some inspiration to get started.
SW: What’s new on your radar ?– Are there other trends or musicians you are seeking to work with or play with in terms of music trends?
Ronny Morris:
New on my radar is absolutely the release of my album. The album is to be released in late October–something I am truly super excited about. I have worked with what I believe is some of the best people in the music business from Swedish producer Adam Kviman who is best known for his work with artist like Eagle Eye Cherry to Steve Thompson who through the years has worked with everybody from GnR to the Wu Tang Klan and we even had the amazing privilege to record with the Czech National Symphony orchestra in Prague. It blew me away. Now we are about to release the first single of the album intitled I’ll Survive, a song a wrote a long time ago in London after a few days in the studio with Ronnie Wood.
SW: Are you still working in music for TV and movies? Is there a particular thematic thread that your music seems to be a pretty good fit? Is there one album that seems to be more of a step out on the edge that works well within that context or is it just the evolution of your music?
Ronny Morris:
We always pitch my music and songs for TV shows and films. But its like fishing, you never know what they need and when. So we do it and sometimes we are lucky that there is a match. I have been very fortunate having my music in TV shows like One Tree Hill, Brothers & Sisters and shows like Ghost Whisperer.
SW: Do you like working in that sort of arena *(music for TV or movies?) Or is it happy chance that specific songs fit the illustrative auditory needs of a movie or TV show?
Ronny Morris:
For me I have never written for TV. I write as I go along and sometimes we find a great match. I don’t believe in writing for a TV show, or let me say it this way, it’s not my thing.
SW: When you look back at your career.. are there things you wish you had done differently? Or events/styles/themes that you wish you had paid for attention to?
Ronny Morris:
Hahahaha the million dollar question. You know most people always say, njaaaa it made me who I am today. And yes they are right in some way. I would like to add that I had answers to some of those questions years ago, or that it sometimes would be as difficult as it has been. Writing songs is one thing, getting to know the business is another animal. But you know as they say, if you have fallen off the bike a few times, you end up becoming a great rider.
SW: You have followed an interesting career path with some highs and lows. Was there ever a time that you felt lost or wondered where you were going?
Ronny Morris:
Sure, I still have those days. For me this is still only the beginning. Yes, I have been in music for years, I have recorded with amazing people but coming out with a new album in a market
Where everything changes faster than one can blink, its all going to be new which makes it all even more exciting. On my new album there’s even a song called “Lost My Way”; so yeah I have been there. But find it all so much easier if I have a road map to follow. Even if I don’t follow the map every step, its great to know where one is going and what made you excited in the first place. All success comes from hard work and most of the times its all about getting things done.
SW: What are you doing for the balance of 2014? What’s new in your world .. professionally? personally?
Ronny Morris:
The new album entitled Sweet Silence is coming out and I hope that people will embrace it and pay attention to the all the great people involved. With the release of an album comes an intense time with promotion which I am looking forward to. I love people and I love going out there, exchanging experiences and stories. Hopefully this will lead to live jobs which will get me in front of the audience.
SW: Any new music you are working on?
Ronny Morris:
Yes, I am always writing. I need to. There is only so much space on my mental hard drive lol I have been asked to write some music for a major film, so I recently started to see if I have songs that would work or if I should say yes to something I have never done before. All very exciting.
As you can see, I asked a lot of questions and Ronny was very patient to answer all of them. I hope you find it illuminating as well as an incentive to buying his latest CD.
Find Ronny Morris’ latest C, Sweet Silence on his website and iTunes.com
My deepest appreciation to Ronny Morris for his time and his patience in answering these questions as well as waiting for this to go live!
Check out the song- Built to Last; the video: Built to Last and #SHARE it; and buy the CD, Sweet Silence! . Tuneful music with a potent message that will help illuminate a cause and a reason!
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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