Agriculture + Lifestyle

'I Left the Land Better Than I Found It'

Posted on September 28, 2020 12:00 AM

关于查克·里维尔的才华，有很多书面的文字和很多的讨论. Not only is he a world-renowned keyboardist, 定期与滚石乐队合作，偶尔与埃里克·克莱普顿和约翰·梅尔合作, he’s also become well known for his love of forestry. 当你走在他位于佐治亚州中部的家中的松树林中时，这一点就很明显了.

“Well, you see this is my wife’s fault,” Chuck said. “Rose Lane的家族与这片土地有着千丝万缕的联系. 早在1981年，她就从祖母那里继承了一些土地，我们有责任继承我们所认为的土地管理遗产.”

Chuck和Rose Lane Leavell拥有位于Twiggs县的Charlane种植园. The property has been in Rose Lane’s family since 1792, and the Leavells have lived here since the mid-‘80s. 查克说，通过保护和种树来照顾土地，可以很好地平衡作为音乐家在路上度过的几个月. 

“I just believe that working the land, having a family as strong as we have, helps keep you grounded, you know. 这些才是生活中真正重要的事情。. “这对我来说是一个很好的机会，可以出去和这些优秀的艺术家一起玩, 但当你回来，你与这片土地联系在一起时，你会意识到你的优先事项是什么, and this is certainly a priority for us.” 

利维尔夫妇有几名员工全职住在这里, 在恰克和罗斯·莱恩不在的时候帮忙照看它. 

“Forestry, as we know, is a long-term thing. 它不像农业，你有行作物，需要更多的照顾, or peach trees or pecan trees. 这也是罗斯·莱恩和我在继承这块地时决定继续发展林业的原因之一,” Chuck said. “Forestry fit the bill for us in terms of, 我可以去巡演，录唱片，继续我的音乐事业，而不必每天担心这些.”

自从他们接管查理种植园以来, the Leavells have focused not only on conservation, 而是发展经营种植园的业务，特别是提供传统的南方鹌鹑狩猎. 

“We started that, I guess, about 20 years ago. Little by little, it has really grown. Now, it’s mostly repeat customers, lots of corporate clients that come in, developers that are entertaining their various people that they work with; we love that. 对我来说，这就像把观众带到我身边，而不是让我出去巡演，”查克说. “当然，我们有飞得快的鸟，伟大的狗和礼貌的导游. The food is incredible – Rose Lane makes sure of that. 我会坐下来给他们放几首歌，或者给他们讲一些路上的摇滚故事. 这已经成为我们在这里做的最令人愉快的事情之一. 这是季节性的，大约持续四个月，然后我们再做其他事情.”

乐迷们知道的“其他事情”包括在过去37年里与滚石乐队一起巡演和弹键盘. 在计划他们的巡演时，Chuck作为音乐总监在帮助策划演出方面发挥了重要作用.

“所以，事情是这样的，你知道你要唱那些标志性的歌曲. 我的意思是，如果你不做这些事情，人们会失望地离开. 但你要做的是用一些有趣的材料填满剩下的部分. The body of work is so incredible. 我是说，米克·贾格尔和基思·理查兹写过几百首歌. You certainly can’t get them all in there, 但你要做的是找到一些铁杆粉丝能认出来的有趣的东西, but that maybe the general public would say, ‘What was that?’ ... 我很乐意承担责任，因为我想我有一个球迷的观点. I’m not only in the band, 但我14岁的时候是滚石乐队的粉丝，在基督教青年会和我的第一支乐队一起演奏. So, 我想我对歌迷们想听到什么以及如何进行演出有一定的看法,” Chuck said.

对于那些除了滚石乐队不太了解查克的人, 你可能会惊讶地发现，他也是一名电视主持人, producer, website co-founder and documentary subject.

《亚洲体育博彩平台》在全国各地的PBS电视台播出, as well as on the website, americasforestswithchuckleavell.com. The episodes explore individual states in the U.S., touching on outdoor issues unique to each place.

“这个想法是几年前产生的，因为人们对林业有很多误解. In my travels as a musician or also promoting forestry, 人们不太了解可持续林业是什么,” he said.

查克分享林业和环境信息的方式之一是通过自然母亲网络, a website he co-founded in 2009.

最近，他是艾伦·法斯特(Allen Farst)的纪录片《正规博彩网站评级》(Chuck Leavell: Tree Man)的主角. 这部电影在2020年塞多纳电影节上获得了“人民选择奖”，耗时数年拍摄. 

“There are three components to the documentary. One component, of course, 我有幸拥有的音乐和职业生涯，以及与我合作过的不同艺术家,” Chuck said. “The second component is forestry. 第三部分，也是最重要的，是一个爱情故事. Rosie and I have been married for 46 years. We have two wonderful children and four grandchildren.”
 

With a family rooted in Middle Georgia, despite a rigorous touring schedule and filming dates, Chuck的心思仍然集中在家里和Charlane种植园.

“你知道，有时候这简直让我发疯. I’ll be out on tour and it’s wonderful. 你可以参观这些大城市，在观众面前表演, and play the music which is always awesome, but you know, part of my mind is back here, saying, ‘Well, did we get enough rain? Is everything OK?’ It is a constant thing, it is always on my mind. 但我要说的是，能够做到两者兼顾是一种美妙的平衡。.

从在他的三角钢琴上演奏曲子到种植松树, 他对家乡的盼望是:“我离开地的时候，比我来的时候更美好.”

利维尔一家可以住在世界上任何地方，但他们很自豪地把格鲁吉亚中部称为他们的家. 

“我只是一个顽固的南方人，在阿拉巴马州出生和长大. Rose Lane says I defected to come here to Georgia. But you know, I have roots in the South. 南方对我太好了，我宁愿住在这个世界上任何地方.”