We are very excited to exclusively premiere “It Ain’t No Sin,” the latest single from jam band supergroup The Contribution. The track will be available for download here starting Friday, with all proceeds benefitting Rock the Earth.
True to its name, The Contribution is using its music to give back, in this case, to several nonprofit organizations. Fresh off of their upcoming album Wilderness and Space, “It Ain’t No Sin” features Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth on guitar/vocals, Phil Ferlino (keys,vocals) and Jeff Miller (guitar, vocals) of New Monsoon, Keith Moseley of String Cheese Incident on bass, Sheryl Renee of The Black Swan Singers providing backup vocals, and Matt Butler from Everyone Orchestra on drums.
The Contribution’s conception began a few years ago when Carbone, Ferlino and Miller found themselves hanging out at String Cheese Incident’s Horning’s Hideout Festival in North Plains, Oregon, Carbone explained in an interview with The Poke Around. Carbone summoned the musicians, and they created the music for their first album; the only problem was that it was nearly impossible to get these already heavy-touring artists off of their main gigs to tour for this project. So, instead of selling tickets, the band used the money from their first record to produce Wilderness and Space, and has been releasing one single every month since February, with each track raising proceeds for a different nonprofit organization.
This month’s release, “It Ain’t No Sin,” will benefit Rock the Earth, an organizing platform supporting the LCV Education Fund’s work to turn environmental values into national, state and local priorities.
While the lyrical concept of this track doesn’t necessarily reflect the environmental initiatives of Rock the Earth directly, Mother Nature did have an influence on Carbone’s original idea for the track. After losing power in his Pennsylvania home due to the forces of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Carbone was stuck in a hotel room for about ten days. “It was just me and my guitar and my cats,” he said. While cooped up in that hotel, he came up with the first guitar riff and partial idea for words to the song. “It’s kind of a story about a person who is having a love affair perhaps that they shouldn’t be having, and the other person thinks they should. It’s essentially a plea, like, ‘it’s okay, we can do this because it ain’t no sin,’ even though it might be a sin,” Carbone explained.
The full Wilderness and Space album, which will feature three unheard tracks, will be available for purchase on vinyl this fall. “We really do believe in all of theses causes,” Carbone said. “And we truly want our music to mean something besides just being songs, you know. We want them to go out like little soldiers and fight the good fight.”
Buy the single “It Ain’t No Sin” starting Friday, May 19th here! And be sure to check out the band’s website.
Article by Meredith Warfield