Due to the fact everyone in The Dropa Stone is a vegetarian or vegan, the band's food options and choices while on the road have become a definite challenge. A vegetarian is someone who chooses not to eat any meat products and a vegan takes it one step further by not eating any animal products at all. That means most of the meals we enjoy are plant based and are not the standard “touring rock band drive through” diet. Health and animal rights are the main reasons when it comes to our eating habits and as tricky as this can be on the road, we wouldn't have it any other way. Our meals are always full of color and variety while tasting delicious at the same time. There are many vegetarian musicians that we look up to that have lead a similar lifestyle, including Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Fiona Apple, Elvis Costello, Thom Yorke, Moby and Bob Dylan. As we are in the beginning stages of planning another tour, we are looking forward to using what we have learned during our previous excursions. We hope to continue to meet new people and visit new places. Here are some pointers we have picked up along the journey and would like to share: No fast food: Not only do most fast food chains use factory-farming methods for their “meat,” but fast food will sap any energy and motivation right away from you. What is factory-farming? While we'll spare you the gruesome details, we will say the animals that are unwillingly subjected to this lifestyle suffer extreme physical and emotional trauma in an environment not up to any living standard. It's simply something that we just won't take part in supporting. While it may have been obvious to some, studies are now beginning to show that over consumption of fast food can be linked to diabetes and obesity. Fast food chains are an ever expanding conglomerate so it's no surprise that global obesity rates have doubled since the 1980′s. We plan on writing and performing music for years to come and a diet free of fast food is going to help us keep doing what we love. Local farmers markets and restaurants: As artists and musicians, no one realizes the importance of supporting local entrepreneurs better than us. Not only is this a great way to make new friends, but it is the best way to inherit the culture and individuality of each city we visit. While it may require a little more patience and work, the results have been amazing! Our down time on the road is sacred and whenever we get a few hours to explore, we are sure to take advantage. While we were wandering the streets of Santa Monica during our first tour of California last year, we came across a huge farmers market the day of our show at an L.A. staple, The Viper Room. After explaining to a few local vendors that we were vegan/vegetarians on tour, they ended up letting us cook our lunches from the goods we collected on their barbecue grills and woks. They even pointed us in the direction of some locally owned restaurants that supported our diet and budget. (Don't worry; we hooked them up with a few free tickets to the show.) Similar stories have all happened in Miami, FL and Asheville, NC. While it's important to be prepared, a little exploration and conversation can go a long way. Special thanks and shout out to Cali for their soup selection! Read the rest on The Dropa Stone's blog here
