SHIFT Releases Music Video to Help Raise Awareness For Deforestation

Online, September 4, 2009 (Newswire.com) - September 4, 2009 (Nevada City, CA) - SHIFT releases a new music video for "Love Will Not Bend" to help raise awareness for clearcutting and deforestation. Love Will Not Bend is the closing cut on the new SHIFT album and can be described as a heartfelt rallying cry for a grassroots movement. For SHIFT it is one of ten songs on a new concept album called "The Hundredth Monkey." The video shines a brutal light of honesty onto the harmful practices of the modern timber industry.

SHIFT founder Paul Tardo is originally from Long Island NY and moved to California in 2002. Paul recently became aware of the plan to clearcut thousands of acres of forest near his home in the Sierra Mountains of Northern California and so decided to make a video to help bring attention to the issue.

When asked about his inspiration for the song and video Paul had this to say: "It's an amazing story... one of those magical synchronicities... Love Will Not Bend was inspired by a lyric from a traditional folk song called Waly Waly or The Water is Wide... it goes "I leaned my back up against some young oak... thinking that he was a trusty tree... but first he bended and then he broke... and so did my false love to me."

I had created videos for all of the songs on the new album except for Love Will Not Bend. The videos are part of my live show... so I was using a re-cut 10 year old Bjork video as a place holder. The video for this song was like a missing piece in a puzzle for me.

When I became aware of an effort in my community to stop the clearcutting I began putting images together the night before our first meeting. At some point I had a eureka moment and added Love Will Not Bend into the mix. The combination of images and music turned out to be quite dramatic in this piece. I think its a powerful video because it evokes feelings of unity in a cause for common good.

The footage is recycled from an occupational safety film produced for the timber industry and some Vietnam era demonstration footage. I also added some video of the clearcutting operations that are currently decimating this region of the Sierra. This footage came to me courtesy of the kind people at stopclearcuttingcalifornia.org."

A broadcast quality version of the video is available upon request. There is also a 30 second PSA version available to any news or public access television stations who are interested in airing it.

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Mail:
Pop Icon Records
P.O. Box 741
North San Juan, CA 95960