Alex Schaaf of Yellow Ostrich may have set-up shop in Brooklyn, but his roots are in Wisconsin. Orginally from Prairie Du Chien, Alex attended Lawrence University in Appleton and played in the Fox Valley-based Chairs band before the emergence of his solo-outing as Yellow Ostrich. Testing the waters of live performance with tape loops, one of the first Yellow Ostrich shows took place at the Gates of Heaven in Madison in May of 2010.
Relocating to Brooklyn, New York, Alex and Yellow Ostrich quickly evolved into a three piece touring outfit with the help of multi-instrumentalist Jon Natchez and drummer Michael Tapper. The trio created quite a buzz on the road behind "The Mistress" album that was re-released last year on Barsuk Records. With the guidance of manager Ryan Matheson of C3 Presents and the Muzzle of Bees indie blog, Yellow Ostrich prepares for the release of their sophomore effort "Strange Land" due out in March. While Schaaf played all of the instruments for his last album, The Mistress, the new LP will incorporate the combined synergies from the trio creating a fuller sound.
“I came up with all of the basic chords, lyrics and melodies," says Schaaf in a recent Paste Magazine interview, "but it became a band thing when I would bring in the demos and we would all flesh it out. The arrangements and the general vibes of all of the songs were done with the full group."
The band hits the road in March with a string of SXSW dates in Austin and a stop in Madison at the Memorial Union Rathskeller on March 9th. Check out the first track Marathon Runner. We unwittingly took a video of Marathon Runner when Yellow Ostrich played the Sett at Union South last December with a little help from Delicate Steve.
Marathon Runner by Yellow Ostrich
Strange Land Track Listing
1. Elephant King
2. Daughter
3. Marathon Runner
4. I Got No Time For You
5. Stay At Home
6. I Want Yr Love
7. The Shakedown
8. Wear Suits
9. Up In The Mountains
10. When All Is Dead
Yellow Ostrich Tour Dates
03-03-12 - Allston, MA - Great Scott (w/ 1,2,3)
03-04-12 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place (w/ 1,2,3)
03-06-12 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern (w/ 1,2,3)
03-07-12 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room at The Crofoot (w/ 1,2,3)
03-08-12 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (w/ 1,2,3)
03-09-12 - Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller (w/ Lower Dens, Grace Weber)
03-10-12 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry (w/ 1,2,3)
03-11-12 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club (w/ 1,2,3)
03-12-12 - St. Louis, MO - The Gramophone (w/ 1,2,3)
03-15-12 - Austin, TX - SXSW (tba)
03-16-12 - Austin, TX - SXSW (tba)
03-17-12 - Austin, TX - SXSW (tba)
03-18-12 - Austin, TX - SXSW (tba)
03-19-12 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
03-20-12 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
03-21-12 - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theatre
03-23-12 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
03-24-12 - Arcata, CA - The Depot at Humboldt State
03-26-12 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios (w/ Howler)
03-27-12 - Vancouver, BC - Media Club (w/ Howler)
03-29-12 - Nampa, ID - Flying M Coffee (w/ Howler)
03-30-12 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court (w/ Howler)
03-31-12 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive (w/ Howler)
04-02-12 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room (w/ Howler)
04-10-12 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
04-11-12 - Washington DC - Black Cat Backstage
04-12-12 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
