JACK JOHNSON - JOHNSON GOES GREEN WITH NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY STUDIO

Surfer-rocker JACK JOHNSON has turned his new Los Angeles recording studio into a state-of-the art environmentally friendly place by using natural light and padding the walls with old denim jeans. The environmentally-conscious singer/songwriter, who will co-headline Australia's upcoming Live Earth global warming awareness concert, has created a green recording space, Brushfire Records, in Los Angeles' swanky Hancock Park. Johnson and partner Emmett Malloy have renovated a residential home, adding solar panels on the roof and insulating the walls with shredded cotton from old jeans. Hawaii-native Johnson aims to record and distribute albums and tour without harming the environment - and his Brushfire base is the first step. He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "When you're surfing really big waves, you're reminded of how itsy-bitsy you are. Seeing the power of nature all around you like that gives you a profound respect for it."