The Yarrow

When Utah-based rock band The Yarrow first got paid for a performance, the band quickly realized they weren’t going to be able to do much with the small amount of money they received; instead, they decided to look for a worthy organization to donate to.

“I think we got paid US$35 for our first show,” said Jeff Harris, the band’s violin and keyboardist. “We knew we could either use it to buy something fleeting like pizza, or we could try and help the community, which is what we decided to do. It's been the best decision we've ever made.”

The Yarrow, after searching local and national charities, decided to team up with Community Action Services and Food Bank, an organization that provides food to needy people in three Utah counties, as well as family services such as heat and housing assistance.

“We just wanted to do something to give back to our community, because so many people here have supported our music for so long,” said Kyle Owen, bassist. “Community Action just seemed like a great fit for what we wanted to do with our money. They do so much good for so many people.”

Since teaming with Community Action, The Yarrow has received coverage from many Utah publications, including magazines, newspapers, and TV news stations, as well as an extensive interview with Los Angeles radio station KXLU. They have also received several high-profile gigs and substantial amounts of money - all of which has been donated.

However, there have been some drawbacks to being an all-for-charity rock band. The band has struggled to find finances to record an album, something they’re hoping to do with several well-known music producers who have offered to assist their cause.

One possibility for fundraising is through Pepsi, which is currently holding a contest for charities and non-profit organizations to receive US$25,000 in grants.

“This Pepsi contest could really put us over the edge,” said Mitch Mallory, lead vocalist and guitarist. “We are asking people all over the world to vote for us daily, because we have to be in the top 10 to win. We feel like we have a really worthy cause and we’re doing service in a very non-traditional way.”

The Yarrow, known for intense, thrilling, and crowd-interactive live concerts, have several accomplished musicians in the group. Jeff Harris, violinist, and Nick Dudoich, French hornist, are both classically-trained, with Dudoich holding a Bachelor’s Degree in music. The band also utilizes a wide array of instruments, including violin, French horn, clarinet, trombone, melodica, keyboards, and hand percussion along with traditional rock instruments. They say their live shows are just one of the many ways they’ve been able to promote their music, grow their fan base, and raise money and awareness for Community Action.

“We just want to help people who need it, and if rocking out can change somebody’s future, it makes the band worthwhile,” said Mallory. “We don't know of anyone else who does this, and it's helped so many people including us as band members. We feel like our music is serving a better cause than just ourselves.”

The Yarrow is available for corporate and private live performances and bookings. To contact them or request a free copy of their latest single, “Every Day is the Hardest, Every Night is the Longest,” visit them at www.facebook.com/theyarrow. To vote for them in the Pepsi contest, visit www.refresheverything.com/theyarrow .
- eTurboNews

A lot of college-aged guys start up bands. But not very many of them donate all of their proceeds to local non-profit organizations.
Meet The Yarrow, a group of guys that say they will play rock ‘n’ roll until the world ends or the Utah Jazz win the NBA finals, whichever comes first.
“We all love music,” said Vic Kickstart, the band’s lead singer and guitarist. “And one day it hit us that we don’t care if we make any money doing this because we love it so much, so we might as well find a cause that we support and give the money to them.”
And that’s exactly what they do.
In January, the band told the administrators at Community Action Services and Food Bank that they wanted to give all proceeds from their concerts and appearances to the agency.
They may not be bringing in a lot of money, “But we feel like a few dollars here and a few dollars there can make a big difference,” said Kickstart.
The members of The Yarrow pride themselves on their high-energy show that involves the audience in unique ways.
Kickstart says he hopes The Yarrow can be an example for members of the community. “Wouldn’t it be great if everyone found something they loved to do and put it toward a good cause?” he said. “The world really would be such a better place.”
Band Members/Roles:
Vic Kickstart: Lead guitar, facemelting solos, dulcimer, vocals
Krash Mason: Drums, percussion, ribcage
Freddie Masters: Keyboards, theremin
Jonny Murdock: Guitar, bikelophone
Baron Helmut von Zuhalter: Bass guitar, octohorn
The Yarrow Support:
Community Action Food Bank, Home Buyer & Mortgage Counseling Services, Support Services Family Development, HEAT Program, Community Action Youth Program, Elderly Services
The Yarrow Online:
myspace.com/theyarrow
Facebook Search: The Yarrow - Schooled Magazine

There are no shortage of rock star humanitarians who shred their guitars for world peace and bang their tambourines to solve world hunger, but how many actually put their money where their mouth is?

A Utah County band called The Yarrow does, down to the last penny.

The Yarrow, a self-described "eclectic independent rock group," donates every cent it earns to Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo.

"I never thought that playing my guitar could help someone that doesn't have a home," said Mitch Mallory, the band's 23-year-old lead vocalist/guitarist who plays under the name Vic Kickstart. "It will help other people look for nontraditional ways that they can serve as well."

The band, named after a hotel in Park City, will be performing at Utah Valley University on Monday to kick off UVU's Volunteer Week.

Mallory and his bandmates, whose stage names are Krash Mason, Freddie Masters, Jonny Murdock and Baron Helmut von Zuhalter, figure they will "play rock 'n' roll until the world ends, or the Utah Jazz win the NBA finals, whichever comes first," so they might as well put it to good use.

"I think sometimes we think if we're not baking a casserole for somebody or helping an old lady across the street, we're not doing service," said Jeff Harris, 24, aka Freddie Masters.

Odd as it sounds, now people can serve their community by attending a rock concert, Mallory said.

Once the group members decided to donate their earnings, they did their homework on various charities and came up with Community Action, with whom Mallory had previously completed an Eagle Scout project. While the fledgling band isn't exactly steeped in revenue, the money can go a long way in the right hands.

"They may not think that they're giving us a lot of money, but for us, $1 generates 17 pounds of food," said Erica Hone, the communications director at Community Action. "We don't buy food, but there are costs associated with collecting food. We make 100 stops a week with our trucks."

The Yarrow also serves as an advocate for the charity, taking time each concert to talk about where its proceeds are going. Community Action will have a booth at Volunteer Week next week, and the band will be pointing crowds in its direction.

While the temptation to dip into the band's income does exist, particularly when the guys are frequenting the Pie Pizzeria in Salt Lake City after most shows, the band is steadfast in its resolve to grow without sacrificing the donations, Mallory said. The Yarrow already has spoken with a few record labels and started recording a few tracks for an album.

"We're not dumb, we know the record industry is very competitive," he said. "We feel like our music is very capable and can stand on its own with some of the best people we've played with locally."

To learn more, visit www.communityactionprovo.org or www.myspace.com/theyarrow.

The Yarrow

What: Concert at Utah Valley University's Volunteer Week

When: Monday, noon-1 p.m.

Where: Center stage at Sorensen Student Center, UVU campus

Tickets: Free, no tickets required

Info: www.facebook.com/theyarrow
- Daily Herald

The Yarrow (pronounced YAH-row) is an indie rock band based in Provo, Utah which donates all profits to a local charity, Community Action Services and Food Bank. The Yarrow, along with traditional rock instruments bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard and drums, use several band members' classical music training to implement such instruments as french horn, violin, clarinet, and trombone.

The Yarrow has been featured in nearly every major Utah publication, including the Deseret News,[1] Salt Lake Tribune,[2] Daily Herald,[3] and KUTV [1] due to their extensive charity work and unique energy and style. The Yarrow was also featured in an extensive interview on Los Angeles' KXLU radio station.

They were also one of the first local bands to focus more on maintaining and communicating with fans through their Facebook fan page [2] rather than MySpace.com, which is more popular in the music industry.

The band consists of three Brigham Young University graduates (two of which are now attending BYU Law School), a Utah State University alum, and students of Utah Valley University and The University of Utah. Drummer Thomas Knight currently teaches ceramics at Timpview High School.

According to an article in Schooled Magazine, the band plans to play music, "Until the world ends or the Utah Jazz win the NBA Championship, whichever comes first."[4]

[edit] History
[edit] Formation
Through high school, Mitch Mallory frequently wrote music and performed with various friends. In 2008, he booked a show at Muse Music Cafe in Provo, Utah and recruited Jeff Harris to accompany him under the band name The Yarrow. He and Jeff continued to write music and play occasional shows in the following months. Over the next few months, Mallory and Harris recruited various members to join the band until a cohesive mix was found.

[edit] References
1.^ The Yarrow isn't in it for the money
2.^ The Yarrow gives marrow to food bank
3.^ For local band The Yarrow, music really does feed the soul
4.^ Schooled Magazine. "The Yarrow". http://www.schooledmagazine.com/pdf/issue37.pdf/. Retrieved 2009-12-27. - Wikipedia

A lot of college guys start their own bands. They do it because they love music. They do it in hopes of going on to fame and fortune. They do it to meet girls.
Except that last reason doesn't mean much at BYU, jokes Mitch Mallory. "You tell a girl you have a band, and she says, 'Big deal, so does every other guy I know.' There's no shortage of bands around here."
But Mallory's band, The Yarrow, does stand out in another way. Yes, the guys love music. In fact, they love it so much "that we say we'll keep playing rock 'n' roll until the world ends or the Utah Jazz win the NBA Finals, whichever comes first," says Mallory.
But they are not in it for the money. In fact, they give away everything they earn.
"At our first concert, I think we got paid $35," says Mallory. "We realized we were never going to get rich, but we also realized that we didn't care if we made any money doing this because we love it so much. We decided to find a cause that we could support and give all the money to them."
That cause turned out to be the Community Action Services and Food Bank. They met with the administrators in January and offered their proposal, which was met with enthusiasm.
That day was a cold and rainy day, Mallory remembers. "The waiting room was standing-room-only with people needing help. It was cool knowing that we could help. Community Action's goal is not to provide a handout, but a hand up. The Yarrow doesn't bring in a lot of money, but a few dollars here and a few dollars there can make a difference."
In addition to Mallory, who does "lead guitar, face-melting solos, dulcimer and vocals," Yarrow is composed of Kraig Jacobson, who plays "drums, percussion and ribcage," Kyle Owen, on bass guitar and "octohorn," Jeff Harris, on keyboards and "theremin" and Morgan Williams on guitar and "bikelophone."
If you wonder what some of those instruments are, well … you'll have to go to a Yarrow concert. But it's clear that the guys are having a lot of fun.
When they are not making music, they attend college classes or work on graduate school applications. Plus, they all have other part-time jobs working at everything from architecture to religious education.
The Yarrow got started on a whim, says Mallory. "I saw a flier for a concert asking for local bands to come play, so I signed up. Then I called Jeff and told him we were playing. We got a good reaction, so we decided to keep doing it and got some more guys to join us."
The songs The Yarrow does are all originals, mostly written by Mallory, who has been writing music since he was 15. "I started playing the guitar about then, but I wanted to play my own music, so I started writing my own songs."
All the band members have been involved in music for a long time. Harris started violin in the third grade and then switched to piano at age 11. Williams is "one of those guys who took piano lesson as a kid and then quit. But I don't regret quitting. I'm not one who will ever say he wished his mother made him keep at it," because, he says, "my dad had a guitar. My brother and I taught ourselves to play." That, he says, was his instrument.
Jacobson, on the other hand, "started on the guitar, but I wasn't very good. My brother had a drum set, but he didn't play it much. I jumped on that and have done the drums ever since."
Owen got his first bass guitar in high school but wasn't sure he wanted to be part of a band until he met Mitch. "He kept harassing me to come play with them. Finally, I caved. I've had a lot of people ask me to go jam, and mostly they just sit and play by themselves. Mitch and Jeff were playing songs they had written. That was a lot more fun."
The songs talk of life and love and other aspects of being human, says Mallory. They are not necessarily autobiographical, but there are some truths in them.
"Yeah," jokes Williams. "I used to listen to break-up songs and wonder who those girls were who could break hearts. Since I got to know Mitch, I know who those girls are."
But there is also a lift, a positive outlook to many of the songs. "We want to make music that we'd not be embarrassed to listen to," says Mallory. "We're excited to share this kind of music, which we think is better quality that much of what you hear around on the radio."
The Yarrow is "really unique," says Stephanie Sage, who claims to be the band's No. 1 groupie. "I like their style. I like their creativity."
The band is working on a CD. "We're recording it in a home studio, but we hope to do something more professional, as well," says Owen. Proceeds from that will also go to Community Action.
Plus, they are up for gigs "anytime, anywhere," says Jacobson. They do parties, receptions, company gatherings and will be playing at about 10 city festivals this summer. "We just love to play." (For information or bookings, call 801-722-9244 or go to myspace.com/theyarrow.)
The band's name comes from the fact that they were at the Yarrow Hotel in Park City at the Sundance Film Festiva - Deseret News