Yellow Bird Project
During a recent conversation with Bobbie Gale from Big Hassle, I became aware of a non-profit from Canada called Yellow Bird Project. Since we share a common interest in social entrepreneurship, I thought it would be fitting to introduce you to them as well. On September 18, 2009 I sat down with them via Skype to get more information on this unique new enterprise.
The mission of Yellow Bird Project, a non-profit organization founded in Montreal, Quebec by longtime friends Matt Stotland and Casey Cohen, is to bridge the worlds of music, art, and charity. Founded in 2006, YBP has enlisted a wide array of musicians to create their own unique t-shirt designs, with all profits benefiting charities of the artist’s choice.
In 2006, both were in their senior years at university – Matt in Boston, Casey in London. Their long distance relationship only served to increase the bond between the two friends, who decided to turn their lifelong love of music into something that would utilize their creativity and business acumen, while also benefiting the community at large. Matt now lives in Montreal and Casey still lives in London. So this is very much a long distance partnership. “We felt so inspired by the music we listened to,” Cohen says. “Like everyone, we want to create something bigger than ourselves which we could be a part of, and music just seemed like the natural link”. “We came up with the idea of getting all these bands that we loved and respected to design really cool t-shirts,” says Stotland, “which we would then sell for charity. We saw it as a great way for us to do something fun together, to learn how to run a business and to do some good work”.
Stotland and Cohen approached a number of their favorite bands and artists with their concept. Freak folk singer Devendra Banhart was the first to come aboard, and others quickly followed. Among those who signed on to the nascent Yellow Bird Project were Brooklyn indie icons Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Scottish psych-folker King Creosote, Australian acid rock trio Wolfmother, and their singing, songwriting Canadian countryman, Hayden. Each contributed unique designs, which were then screen printed onto high quality American Apparel t-shirts. Yellow Bird Project officially launched its website that summer, which they followed with a booth at the annual Osheaga Festival in Montreal. Though Stotland and Cohen were initially concerned that YBP would appeal only to a niche audience, their trepidations proved unwarranted. The fans connected with YBP’s interweaving of art, music, and philanthropy, resulting in thousands of t-shirt sales. What’s more, festival artists like British pop troupe The Magic Numbers soon became new additions to the YBP roster.
It wasn’t long before Yellow Bird Project began reaping a bounty of rapturous press coverage, with features in a diverse range of publications and websites spanning Spin and Pitchfork Media to Marie Claire and Pink Is The New Blog. Needless to say, more and more artists got involved, including Stars, K-OS, The National, The Shins, Bon Iver, Rilo Kiley, and The New Pornographers. The Project’s success is inextricably linked to the close bond between the artists and their audience. YBP gives fans the opportunity to support and promote their favorite musicians while simultaneously raising money for such diverse charitable organizations as Art For Change, AIDS Society of Canada, Teenage Cancer Trust, Free Arts For Abused Children, Safe Space, and The Elliott Smith Memorial Fund (For a full list of charities supported by YBP, please visit the official YBP website, located at www.yellowbirdproject.com/charity). Contributions to the respective organizations are made quarterly, with the donations based upon each t-shirt’s sales. “There’s this very basic business relationship between musicians and their fans,” Cohen says. “They create music, and (hopefully) people buy it. But, this also creates a unique opportunity for both fans and musicians to use this relationship to their advantage. You see bands putting out CDs for charity, you have bands performing at shows and festivals all for charity. Bands play and people pay – and at the end of the day, it’s the charities that benefit.”
YBP’s latest philanthropic venture is The Indie Rock Coloring Book, a collection of coloring and activity pages by acclaimed artist/graphic designer Andy J. Miller, inspired by some of today’s most vital and visual indie rock artists. The Indie Rock Coloring Book will be published by Chronicle Books in September. The Manchester, England-based illustrator, art director, designer, and musician initially approached YBP, volunteering his services to create a banner for the Project’s website. From there, Miller created ready-for-coloring illustrations paying homage to the many artists who have already teamed up with YBP. All royalties from The Indie Rock Coloring Book will benefit the various charities supported by Yellow Bird Project. “Andy is very comfortable and familiar with the intersection between music and art,” Cohen says, “and as a young illustrator he’s paving the way in this area in many ways.”
Stotland and Cohen are continuously conceiving new ways to involve artists and audiences in their big-hearted project. One of the new plans is creating original music to raise awareness for Yellow Bird Project and its many initiatives. With that in mind, acclaimed Swedish folk singer The Tallest Man On Earth recently penned a theme song for YBP, entitled “A Field of Birds” (http://www.yellowbirdproject.com/themesong/). Having already branched out further than initially planned, Yellow Bird Project is intent on spreading its wings to make as big a difference as possible. “We want to grow, we want to expand, and we want to diversify,” Cohen says. “We’ve already been able to raise a substantial amount of money for charity, but we know that we can raise more. We want YBP to become a larger collective, with more bands, more charities, and more people involved”. “The coloring book just sprung out of the dark,” Stotland says. “We want to continue in the same vein, doing original stuff that hasn’t been done before.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, please visit Yellow Bird Project at www.yellowbirdproject.com or www.myspace.com/yellowbirdproject.
