It was love at first sight. As quickly as her fans fell for her in 1976, Kate Pierson fell for the Hudson Valley in 1987.

The B-52s were visiting a friend of guitarist Keith Strickland, and Pierson was in the market for a more permanent residence. She saw a house she just had to have, bought it, and made the move from New York City to the Hudson Valley, where she’s lived ever since.

However, while the geography hasn’t changed, she now lives in a different house than the one she bought in 1987—and it’s easy to see that energy efficiency was a motivation for the switch.

Pierson is a strong advocate of sustainable living and green initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint. “Obviously green is important for our planet,” Pierson says. “It’s survival now. It’s not about being politically correct or anything…We have to be green.”

She wholeheartedly reflects this sentiment in her life. Pierson’s new house has a much different feel from the “love shack” of her band’s hit song. She built a house that implements some of the most effective sustainable technology, including passive solar and large windows so the house is naturally warmed by the sun. To complete the heating system, the house uses the efficient radiant floor heating only as a supplement to the incredibly efficient Tulikivi fireplace.

The rest of Pierson’s cozy escape from rock stardom doesn’t leave much room for improvement at being green. Her pool is filled with salt water to cut the usage of chlorine and other cleaning chemicals. The patio is made entirely of rock from a local quarry and the house was built with some recycled timber. Beneath the ground, there is a water tank that collects rain water to be used in the organic garden or to fill the pool.

Pierson’s daily life is also filled with environmentally-friendly behaviors, like buying local goods; growing, canning, and pickling her own vegetables; using natural cleaners such as baking soda; and using steam cleaners. And of course, she is an adamant recycler.

Pierson’s recycling effort has been brought to a new level with a less musical business venture: Kate’s Lazy Meadow Hotel in Mount Tremper. Pierson, who calls herself a “hippie at heart,” decided to purchase an old cabin motel and renovate it. After two long years of renovation and decorating, and with a ton of help from her life partner, Monica Coleman, on the business side of the operation, the motel was open to the public.

At first, the project focused on restoring the rustic feeling and beautiful appearance that the land had lost prior to Pierson’s purchase. Landscaping was important to Pierson because she wanted to return the land to its former glory, in her eyes, as the “gateway to the Catskills.” In an effort to retain its charm, Pierson decided to recycle everything imaginable that was left on the property, reusing and revamping everything from appliances to furnishings to the sign out front. To make the place more energy efficient, the insulation of the cabins was redone. The cabins and trailers are much more energy efficient than other resorts due to its size and insulation, she says. Fruit trees were planted, and local gardeners brought in native plants to fill out the now beautiful meadow. Don’t look now, but Pierson hopes to put in a windmill there someday.

A great thing about Kate’s Lazy Meadow is the alternative it provides to the typical family vacation, says the wig-wearing singer. The promotion of local businesses and green initiatives at the motel is well above the standard of “run-of-the-mill.” Relaxing outdoors and shacking up in a cozy energy-efficient cabin is much more environmentally-friendly than going to an amusement park or staying at a hotel in a big city, says Pierson. And it may even be more fun.

Away from her green Hudson Valley home, Pierson is once again on tour with the B-52s, performing hits like “Roam” and “Whammy Kiss” as well as new titles such as “Juliet of the Spirits” from the band’s latest album, Funplex, released in 2008. The band has stayed together for more than 30 years, and Pierson notes a key reason for their success is their family-like nature. Through all of their years together, Pierson says, “You always know that you have each other.” The members were close friends before they formed the band and, to this day, they hang out together after shows.

The unique sound that has propelled the B-52s to their enduring popularity comes from the collaboration of the four members, says Pierson.

“You get into a collective unconscious state and stream-of-consciousness style of writing.” That stream of consciousness has taken their fans on an incredible ride of musical creativity: rocketing through the wilderness, from their own Private Idaho to Planet Claire, and under the commotion in the ocean where they saw a rock. No—it wasn’t a rock. It was a rock lobster!