Meet Lottie from Mista Mushroom. Despite the nine band members having trouble fitting on stage, Lottie finds no trouble fitting compassion into her life! When SARC caught up with this vegan pianist, she had plenty to say...

SARC: Can you introduce yourself?
Lottie: Well, my name's Lottie Bowater, I'm a 19 year old piano player/singer from a tiny village called Shorwell on the Isle of Wight. I like collecting old keyboards and feeding the chickens around my house!

SARC: Can you give us the 411 on your band?
Lottie: We're a 9 piece death reggae band called Mista Mushroom. Well, I say "death reggae" but I guess what I really mean is Skacore. We play a mash-up of many a musical style - Ska, dub, punk and metal, Jazz, Hip-hop. We've been known to delve into tango, Spanish and Mexican vibes too. I guess we're as diverse as our band members who are all pretty, err.....how can I put it?? They're all very special in their own little ways.

We've been together for about 2 years and have recently finished our debut album, amidst playing at this year's Bestival on the Isle of Wight.

SARC: Why did you go vegan?
Lottie: Well, initially I went vegetarian at around age 6 or 7. Either way, I was very young at the time. See, I've always grown up on this kind of defunct farm on the Island. I used to run around in the fields patting the sheep and cuddling the chickens and stuff. Of course, one day I found out where meat actually came from. The turn was pretty swift after that. I came home one day and said "Mum, I don't want to eat anything with a face".

I think it's kind of difficult to fully understand the association between "meat" and little fluffy animals when you're a kid. It was always so disheartening seeing all these animals who I'd befriended and watched grow up being carted off to be hideously slaughtered. I guess I still feel guilty about the years before I was veg, when I didn't fully comprehend what meat was. I think parents should DEFINITELY raise their kids as veggies to eradicate any chance of guilt on the children's conscience.

As for turning vegan, I think I turned completely around 3 months ago. I was never really into eating eggs or dairy products (so clammy and disgusting!) and I remember I was being pretty slack with some of the animal rights stuff, not getting involved etc. And then a friend referred me to Peta and a few other sites and I suddenly realised that I needed to make the change to a completely guilt-free lifestyle.

I'm kind of interested in Buddhism and would like to pursue that in the future so I guess that's where my initial interest in veganism came from.

SARC: At present you're the only vegan in the band - how is this viewed by the others?
Lottie: Ooooo! This is a good one! Err....basically a few of the guys in the band (not naming names) rip the piss out of me about it. It's all in good jest I suppose and I tend to avoid arguments as much as I possibly can.

But if Jason, one of our guitarists, runs after me shouting "meat" in my ear one more time, I swear I will attack him.

I guess it does get incredibly dull when one of them says "Lottie, do you want some meat. Mmmm meat". Well, I've been vegetarian for the majority of my life so I wonder what the answer to that will be?!?!?!

Still, I do most of the copying and distribution of our cds so, as my reward for putting in all that extra effort, I always surreptitiously slip a little animal rights literature in the sleeve! Hehehehe, I'm good like that.

SARC: How punk is animal rights?
Lottie: PRETTY DAMN, PRETTY DAMN PUNK. Haha, I guess the A.R. thing and music tends to go hand in hand. I think especially because nowadays, what with all the distortions of punk music, i.e. the whole emo wave tends to attract a lot of kids who want to express themselves in some way, be it through music, art or writing. Music tends to attract people who think outside the box, thus those who would like to express their opinions. The whole music scene seems to be about clubbing together, whether it's through being in a band or going to gigs. So I think it gives us an opportunity to find other like-minded people to mix with.

SARC: Is there any area of animal cruelty that affects you most?
Lottie: Well I think that killing any living being is wrong, full stop. But what makes me ever-so pissed off nowadays is the general disregard for life. Factory farming animals is a pretty disgusting thing. The fact that something can be born specifically to be killed really freaks me out. Of course, a lot of meat eaters use this as an excuse to eat meat saying things such as "well they're gonna die anyway" as if the animal hasn't got the ability to think as an individual. And it's obvious that a lot of animals are very intelligent and can form very fulfilling relationships with each other, and humans.

I've worked in kitchens and stuff before and the amount of food that just ends up in the bin really sickens me. People will come in and order a steak or something and then end up chucking the majority of it away. And thus the animal has died for no apparent reason whatsoever. I remember seeing a report about some health officials coming across piles and piles of chicken carcasses dumped on the floor in a factory somewhere. So all of that meat has gone to waste and again the animal has died for no reason whatsoever.

People don't seem to have respect for life anymore. I remember reading a book by a Somalian desert nomad. She was talking about how their tribe kept camels, and how it was a real treat to drink camel's milk. She was also saying that they would keep the animal throughout its entire life and use them for everything. The would only actually slaughter and eat the meat if the animal was sick and dying or if there was some special occasion such as a wedding or something.

This seems like such a better way to treat meat. If you think about it, something has to give up its OWN LIFE to satisfy your hunger pangs. You have to treat it with a bit of respect.

It really disgusts me when friends of mine say "I need to get some food...I'll just go and grab a burger".

I also dislike the way meat is marketed to children. As a "yummy treat". Fast food companies seem to be the main culprit of this. It really sends shivers up my spine.
Other things that really hack me off are the pointless tests that are carried out on animals. Tack Iams for instance: I find it pretty ridiculous that Procter and gamble feel the need to hack up fluffy little animals to test their pet foods. Seems a bit ridiculous to me.

SARC: What do you think the best way is to spread the message of animal liberation?
Lottie: Definitely via the arts, especially music. I've found that being in a band really gives you a podium from which to display your views. Even if it's just through flyering at gigs, or putting A.R. literature in your merchandise.

I think that musicians are in a very good position nowadays in which to influence society. With the celebrity culture acting almost as a second religion I think we're going to see more and more musicians and actors etc trying to do something about the world we live in. The whole live aid thing is a perfect example.

If people feel that they can connect with a band they're going to be much more likely to think about something like animal rights than if they were to be approached by a randomer on the street.

You always hear celebrities complaining about fame, which is a real shame, and rather selfish to say the least. If you're in the position where a vast number of people are happily willing to listen to what you say you should bloody well put it to good use!

I'm not going to deny that I would like to be in the position where I'm selling lots of records. Wouldn't we all, eh? But I always assumed from a very early age that if I "make it" I would put my social influence to very good use and do my best to try and change this fucked up world that we live in for the better!

SARC: Can we expect to see the animal rights movement blossoming on the Isle of White?
Lottie: I would love to think so. The Isle of Wight is made up of a lot of farm land, so there's an awful lot of cattle breeding etc going on. But luckily there is a very active music scene. I know that there are a few bands that have Isle of Wight connections promoting animal rights and stuff.

I always try to talk to the local gig goers about veganism and stuff and I'm hoping that the message has gotten through to some of them.

Unfortunately, I'm going off to Uni in London to do a music and philosophy degree in the next week or two so I'm not going to be able to have as much input on the Island as I would like!

It's always been a dream of mine to open an entirely vegan cafe/gig venue so, who knows? *Fingers crossed* that maybe when I've finished Uni I'll be able to come back and set something like that up!

SARC: Have you got a message for our street-team?
Lottie: Yeah, always fight for what you believe in and stand by your true views. No matter what people tell you. If you're doing a good thing then no one can criticise you. BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING A GOOD THING. I guess this just proves that they're feeling incredibly guilty about some aspect of their own lives.

SARC: Anything else you'd like to add?
Lottie: Yeah! Check out our debut album "Class A's on a School Night". We're not signed (yet - is that wishful thinking?!) so it's available via mista_mushroom@hotmail.com.

Check out www.myspace.com/mistamushroom for some preview tracks or our website at www.mistamushroom.com.

YEA BOI!