You can think of us as a tree of creativity, with branches joining together indie musicians, charitable organizations, and t-shirts with a fashionable punch. We’re a Montreal based organization dedicated to bringing our customers the finest of quality, originality, and philanthropy. We seek out only the coolest of cool artists, collaborate with them to design awesomely awesome tee-shirts, and give all the prettiest of pretty profits to charities of the artists’ choice.
This is the greatest day ever! A brand new 50’s pulp comic-inspired t-shirt, comissioned by Emmy the Great and designed by Henry St Leger. And guess what else? IT GLOWS IN THE DARK! Buy this t-shirt, look awesome, and feel good about helping kids in need. All profits will benefit Kids Company; a London-based charity which helps impoverished inner-city kids who struggle to get the practical, emotional and educational support they need from their home environment. Comes in all shapes and sizes too, you can purchase one here!
Do you recall our first video session we did last year with Dry the River? Today we’re please to announce our next video with another one of our bands, the venerable Yann Tiersen. Yann performs his newest single in the middle of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) office building, while their employees are seen in the background, hard at work saving the world! You may recall that Yann has designated the profits from the sale of his t-shirt to benefit MSF, so this felt like a good way to raise awareness for their organization.
The song which Yann performs, I’m Gonna Live Anyhow, is about the inevitability of life before death and about appreciating the small things in between. As Yann himself describes:
“The song is inspired by the title of the 1959 Alan Lomax album I’m Gonna Live Until I Die. It focuses on the tiny pleasures of life with lyrics like ‘I love the woods after the rain’ and ‘I love the shore after the storm.’ The song grew out of the thought that you have no choice to live before you die it has to happen in that order and the cycle is inescapable.”
And a warm welcome to the newest addition of our YBP Gold range — the YBP Montreal Sweatshirt. Illustrated by Maxime Francout and photographed by Maggie Pelude, this sweatshirt will be the most welcoming addition to your Spring wardrobe. It’s warm, but not too hot… just like Montreal in the Springtime! :)
A lovely session by the folksy, London-based bunch (whose upcoming album is a treat) - recorded for the Yellow Bird Project, which sells natty charity T-shirts designed by acts like Bon Iver, The National and Editors. CS
In this light and on this evening, urbanites are invited to unite and escape the brisk, winter chill by helping those affected by poverty, thanks to the newest contribution to the YBP catalogue. British indie rock band, Editors, have created this unique urban oasis teaming with towering skyscrapers and rolling hills especially for YBP in an effort to support Oxfam. Profits from the shirt will go directly to this organization that provides communities with the skills and resources they need to make sustainable changes to dire issues like sanitation, water crisies, education, hunger and health. See your city a little brighter and make a purchase of this specially edited metropolis.
Watch below, a video of the Editors performing ‘No Sound But The Wind’; a song originally inspired by Cormac Mccarthy’s best-selling novel, The Road.
Close to this time two years ago, Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. (A.K.A. Jay Reatard) passed away in his sleep at the young age of 29. He recorded music prolifically, leaving behind an extensive musical legacy and a lasting impression on the world of indie rock.
To celebrate the memory of Jay and his contributions to music, we’ve commissioned this t-shirt, which depicts a Gibson Flying V; one of his trademark guitars. Jonathan Lindley drew this using a black pen on A2 paper, basing his design on a photograph of one of Jay’s guitars. He replaced the branding on the headstock with the initials ‘JR’.
All of the profits from the sale of this t-shirt will benefit the St. Judes Research Hospital, a charity chosen by Jay’s father, Jimmy Lee Lindsay Sr. This facility is known - amongst other things - for its policy of accepting people for treatment, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.
Photographs below are of musician Luther Russell and Catherine Herrick (of Matador Records). Catherine did publicity for Jay’s last album, Watch Me Fall. Photos were taken by Reuben Cox and Miwa Okumura, respectively.
If you don’t happen to be familiar with Jay’s music, we’ve put together this Spotify playlist for you to enjoy.
With the apocalypse in our rear view mirrors, uninhibited adoration for facial hair has reached new heights. Welcome to 2012, beardos.
This month’s post is going to be simple, and sweet – much like a well-kempt moustache. With the introduction of a new year, we give tidings to blessed, bearded men that are going to astound us (not only with their whiskers, but their musical talents, as well).
1) Other Lives’ Jesse Tabish
Jesse Tabish, singer in Other Lives has not only extolled us with his both haunting and hypnotizing vocals, but his al-naturale head of hair and beard compliment. The perfect portrayal of the Americana ensemble (equally rugged and approachable in his facial hair composition) has easily made him my breakout beard of 2012.
On the Beardlesque Brittany scale, Tabish is a 9, a near perfect score.
Formally known as Kunek, Other Lives is not “new” in the slightest – however, their newest album, Tamer Animals (2011) and Tabish’s beard have been reprised on multiple occasions for their recent successes. This year Other Lives is expected at Coachella, a music festival in Indio, California, and is opening for Radiohead in their upcoming tour.
Beardlesque Brittany tip: Listen to their song Old Statues first.
2) Dry the River
Each member of Dry the River, at one point or another, has boasted a beard, or the semblance of facial hair – and they haven’t yet even come out with their first LP. This folks, is talent in its most raw and rare form. We’re not only looking forward to their album “Shallow Bed,” but my hopes extend to the potential of their fuzz(es). My expectation is boundless considering the bass guitarist and back-up vocalist Scott’s bewitching (and untamed) bear of a beard. His torrent of hair is indescribable, and can only admired, much like their music.
