Rolling Stones Keyboardist Chuck Leavell and Daughter Go Green

By Amy Flurry
April 22, 2010

Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell and daughter Amy Leavell Bransford share not only a gene pool, but also a devotion to living and promoting a green lifestyle. On the occasion of Earth Week, we asked the pair how they've used eBay to give new life to old objects.

Chuck Leavell

Chuck Leavell (center) performing with Keith Richards (left) and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones

Chuck Leavell has spent a lifetime playing with rock-and-roll greats—like the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton—and recording and touring his own music. He is also a respected authority on forestry and conservation. As co-founder of The Mother Nature Network, he provides news, information and tips for green living on what he tells us is fast-becoming the most visited environmental site on the internet.

He spoke to TIS from his home in Macon, GA about how eBay fits in to his commitment to green living. “I’ve had great success in selling recording and musical equipment that had outlived their usefulness for me, but were solid starter pieces for a younger musician,” he says. “I listed it anonymously, of course, but one time I did tell the person who bought it how it had served me and that created a little bit of excitement.”

“I’ve also bought manuals for recording gear on eBay," along with rare or out-of-print books related to forestry, Leavell tells us. “It’s a win-win situation. I really like eBay as an outlet for things that may have otherwise ended up in the landfill. They find a second and third life.”

Vintage Analog Recording Studio Mixing Board (starting bid, $3000); Studio Projects C1 Professional Recording Microphone (winning bid, $140.51); Korg D888 Digital Recording Studio Multitrack Effects (buy it now price, $459)

Amy Leavell Bransford

“My parents didn’t throw anything away!” says Amy Leavell Bransford, who in a venture of her own is displaying her father’s same commitment to sustainability. Her Atlanta-based salon and spa, Aviary Organic Beauty Collective, is a boutique space that upon its opening last year, quickly surfaced as the go-to source for leading-edge organic and holistic beauty products and services.

Bransord looked to eBay when building out the interior of her spa: “There are so many ways a new business can creatively repurpose materials for displays,” says Bransford. Among her favorite finds was a slide projector screen that she now uses as a sign for her shop. “It’s portable so it can be used inside or out, and it’s also easy to store,” she says. “When I [go to] at markets or festivals [on behalf of my business], I need to identify myself and this does the trick without being heavy or cumbersome.”

Her husband, a videographer, gave her the idea of searching eBay for styling props and displays. “He has to stay current with technology and does a lot of buying and selling of equipment on eBay,” she says. “With two young children, it was easier for me to search from home than to get them both out to scour flea markets and antique sales.”