1. For those who may not know you, or what you do, tell us about yourself.
"Well lets see. First and foremost I am an artist...I draw, design, creative consult, and write! You would never know it because I think I've always been a New Yorker at heart in terms of style, the music I grew up listening to, and my appreciation for being surrounded by hundreds of cultures - but I am actually a true born and raised California girl. Westside til' I die ; ). I come from a big and close latino/italian family and I moved to NY about five years ago to go to NYU where I studied cultural anthropology, environmental studies, and studio art. Moving to NY from Los Angeles, California was definitely a big adjustment. Not one part was easy. Finding an apartment (a full time job on its own), getting used to real seasons and a real winter!, living in a ruthless urban jungle, the transportation, all on top of the already difficult changes that come with going away to college in a new city away from home, family, and friends. But I guess thats New York for you. It is also what I love so much about New York. Despite changes in the city aesthetically and visually over the past years, it has always remained the home of art, fashion, design, innovation, culture, and music! There isn't one block that doesn't speak volumes, that doesn't have the ability to inspire and provide for you in some way. What you want to take from it is up to you. The opportunities are limitless.
So you could say my true loves in life are music, the environment, and culture (all that good stuff that goes into it - food, fashion, history, and language). Coming from my mixed family taught me at an early age to embrace culture and differences in background. Growing up in California gave me a natural appreciation for the environment. And if it wasn't for my siblings who are about ten years older than me, my energy for music, for hip hop and the culture that gave birth to it, would never be the same.
I grew up raised by my amazing parents, my four siblings, and their friends - most of whom were in the music industry as A&Rs, artists, DJs, and producers. So my childhood was a little atypical than most other LA kids. While most young teenagers were out with fake i.d.s trying to get into clubs and destroying their parents homes with house parties, I spent most of my nights in the studio with west coast DJ/producer and family friend DJ Quik, on tour with Naughty by Nature, Cypress Hill, and my "older brother" Danny Boy from House of Pain, shopping on the weekends with close friends Jodeci, and giving my opinions on video treatments and album covers as a youngster to management teams. I was that kid that people just liked having around because I brought a sense of realness, honesty, and positive energy to the room. In turn most of these same people helped raise me and were in turn deep influences when it came to the music I listened to and the personal style I developed. Ten years later I think I have remained to be that name kid in a lot of ways."
2. What sparked your ultimate decision to make a difference and create GreenJAR.net?
"I've been an huge advocate for the environment ever since a really inspiring and motivational teacher in high school convinced me to join her small Environmental Studies class. The class was so small and she was so tough (we all have that one teacher that just kicks our butts and makes our hearts race - usually the best one) that you couldn't come to class without really knowing your stuff. In turn, it caused me to be more involved than I had ever been in a subject of study before. For the first time in school, it wasn't work anymore, because I enjoyed it and I was passionate about learning more. Ever since I've worked hard at challenging myself to become as informed as I can be about the state of our environment and incorporate what I learn into my lifestyle as much as possible. This has effortlessly caused me to be a huge advocate and spokesperson for the environment to my friends and family.
I've been working on environmental campaigns and initiatives for large corporations for about the past three years within the music and fashion industry. Sometimes when you have so many different passions, people will advise you to focus on one. I've always been someone that could never settle for following just one of my passions. Instead I try to combine them daily, the environment with fashion, music, and culture, etc... And I think I've done a pretty good job so far. I could be wrong. So in a way I'm paving this path for the first time and it can get a little nerve-wrecking because I have no pattern to follow.
When it came to GreenJAR. GreenJAR is really my dream of showing the relevancy of being environmentally conscious to cultures, demographics, and industries that might see themselves removed from it. GreenJAR is the first environmental lifestyle website that caters to a culture thats values are based heavily on music, design, street fashion, and a city life. It is the one place where you can go inform yourself about the environment where "being green is not at the forefront" of the message. But being You is! Every article has a laid back and casual tone that is approachable and accessible. And every product review is something you would want to learn about regardless if it had to do with the environment or not. Essentially its a place where you can go and read about the environment without losing your cool."
3. One way you've managed to reach out to the youth is through GreenJar.net features with artists such as Kid Cudi, and Jeremih. Explain how these are made possible.
"I love talking about the environment and all I can hope for is that people enjoy and will continue to enjoy coming to my site, reading my articles, and are taking something away from it. But at the end of the day, there are some people, such as artists, celebrities, and influential speakers and executives that have the ability to reach a larger audience in a much more powerful way.
The the environment is fortunate to have many people speaking on its behalf, it can never have enough. And when we consider urban music few people have chosen to take a stand for the environment in a very public way enough to really translate the message to their fans and admirers. The truth is people do have an opinion. So why not share it. GreenJAR is a platform for the urban community to become informed about ways they can contribute to the environment by people that are arguably leaders within their communities. Kid Cudi was GreenJAR's first spokesperson and if you go to the site now, Def Jam artist Jeremih can be found speaking about reusable water bottles.
Living in New York and most recently working at Island Def Jam has allowed me to work closely and form relationships with artists. The ones that are supportive of the movement that GreenJAR represents are the ones you will find on our site. At the end of September you'll be able to catch Wale on there."
4. A normal day in the life of Jamie Baratta would consist of:
"A normal day consists of struggling to find structure! Waking up around 8 in downtown NY where I live, getting it in at the gym, sifting through e-mails and going through my goals for the week at the start of my day while I eat my breakfast, getting the word out there for all the new GreenJAR posts (written the night before) via an array of the crazy PR allies we have today on the internet. Then mid afternoon I'll usually venture out via my bike to the Island Def Jam office where I am now a freelance creative consultant to catch up with associates and see what projects are going on, later I'll have a couple meetings with companies and management teams that I work closely with on brand strategizing, I'll return home or find a chill cafe to work on upcoming projects, proposals, and designs, and at night you'll either find me at one of my favorite restaurants with friends eating everything in site, in the studio listening to new music, or attempting to perfect my skills as a wanna be DJ at dubspot in Chelsea. And if energy permits after writing up my GreenJAR articles for the next day, heading out to a lounge or club to unwind. Its important to work hard but it is important to also balance your time and energy. So of course there are those days where I'll stay focused and dedicate my time to only one project and stay put at home for hours on end."
5. With the buzz about Green Jar consistently growing, do you plan on expanding the brand, possible merchandise, or collaborations?
"Absolutely. Right now I want to really focus on the site as a media go to destination for environmental news before I try to juggle too many things at once. The site will be selling merchandise this winter of which will include collaborations with brands (that I'm not going to mention just yet) that we are all very familiar with. And early this fall we will be producing and sponsoring events of which we will be keeping all the readers tuned into. I don't want to mention to much just yet though!"
6. With the world increasingly accepting the "go green" concept by altering cars, books, lighting, and fashion, where do you see the earth's health in 5 years?
"Five years isn't much. So I wouldn't say that we are going to be able to statistically see much difference. But we will definitely feel a difference in terms of awareness and lifestyle changes. Right now we see so much environmental activism in marketing campaigns and product altercations. Its a little overpowering. Soon more and more people will understand how to contribute to the state of our environment and make it something personal that works for them."
"Five years isn't much. So I wouldn't say that we are going to be able to statistically see much difference. But we will definitely feel a difference in terms of awareness and lifestyle changes. Right now we see so much environmental activism in marketing campaigns and product altercations. Its a little overpowering. Soon more and more people will understand how to contribute to the state of our environment and make it something personal that works for them."
7. New York's restaurant "The Spotted Pig" has been named as a great eco-friendly stop. Explain their involvement.
"The Spotted Pig has been around for a long time and its for sure one of New York's most special places to enjoy amazing food, good music, and a great staff in a laid back and casual mixed environment. Even when I try to take breaks from going there in order to venture out and discover new places, I somehow always gravitate back to it where I'll find myself spending hours upon hours there catching up with old friends and always making new ones. What I love most about the pig is that while the owners of the restaurant are a team of superstars, it is known for its food and not for its company.
One of my good friends who works there informed me about the degree to which their restaurant makes an effort to stay environmentally conscious with all of their food being completely natural and composting the larger majority of waste disposal daily around the same time GreenJAR launched. This sparked our opening feature story on the restaurant/gastro pub."
(Checkout Jamie at the "Spotted Pig," in Episode 4 of Maestro Knows Tour Edition.)
8. Recently the "ESPY" awards went to great extents to create a very "green" setup. Explain your excitement upon hearing the news.
"Well I was very quick to inform my readers about this. I am a huge sports nerd. I grew up in a very sports dominated household, where each weekend was either spent at a game or at home watching multiple games. There was seriously a huge phase in my life where I was considering being a sports agent when I grew up. Other than the Nike Reuse a Shoe campaign which I am heavily involved in, I haven't seen many athletes or sports organizations lending their name to the environment. So naturally, when I learned about the ESPYS I was super stoked...a little jealous that I couldn't be apart of it, but nonetheless really excited about the incorporation of a green setup to their event production."
9. You've landed your first nationally televised air-time. What's your first sentence to address the world?
"Well to "OPEN THE JAR" of course!"
10. What's the one thing people might not know about Jamie that you find interesting?
"Something I find interesting...I'm probably the worst person to answer this question because I'm horrible at looking at myself like that. I'll have to get back to you on this one!"
Sid Ashford: I want to thank Jamie for taking the time out to participate in this interview. I wish you the best and I will tell everyone to "open the jar!" Head over to GreenJar.net and check it out now!
