JOHN MELLENCAMP SAYS FARM AID STARTS WITH INDIVIDUALS

(VIDEO) John Mellencamp says Farm Aid starts with America as individuals.

John Mellencamp joined his Farm Aid mainstays Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews for the 21st edition of Farm Aid. The benefit concert was held in New Jersey, and it featured performances by those four as well as Gov’t Mule, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Los Lonely Boys among others.

At the press conference prior to the event, Mellencamp echoed that Farm Aid can only do as much as people want them to do.

“You see the ghost towns along the highway now, and you see how our communities have changed, and I guess it’s all up to us. What kind of world do we want to live in? How do you see yourself, and who are we really? Not who we pretend to be, but who are we really. I think when we take a hard look at ourselves that we’re probably now who we want to be or we’re not what we should be, and we’re not raising our children the way that we…were even raised ourselves. For me Farm Aid and everything everybody’s talking about boils down to one thing: if you want a better world, it starts with you.”

Mellencamp and his buddies helped raised 1.1 million in ticket sales alone, and additional funds are expected from pledges generated by the concerts. Those who wish to help out Farm Aid and save the family farms can do so by visiting farmaid.org.

Meanwhile, John Mellencamp is currently writing songs for a new album that should be finished sometime in 2007.