When Casey Cohen and Matt Stotland had little money and even fewer industry connections when they started their musical charity, The Yellow Bird Project.

The friends, who met as high school students in Montreal, essentially began cold-calling musicians they admired and asking them to participate by creating designs for T-shirts, the proceeds of which would go to a charity of their choice.

“It was really that kind of DIY approach” Cohen said. “We knew nobody.”

“The key was getting that first band to sign on” Stotland added.

That initial “yes” came from Devendra Banhart, and many others soon followed.

“I didn’t think we would actually (get the project off the ground), but if he’s willing to do it, there’s no reason why we can’t” Cohen remembers thinking after getting an enthusiastic note “in all caps” from Banhart in response to their request.

Soon, they found that word of mouth about their project was spreading like wildfire among the insular indie rock world. Some artists they contacted had been working independently on illustrations; others, including The National, already had T-shirt designs prepped and ready to go.

But they heard some “no”s along the way, too.

“Most of them have a reason that’s justifiable” Cohen explained. “Some said they don’t have artistic inclination.”

Thus far, the Yellow Bird Project has raised money for organizations like Art for Change, AIDS Society of Canada, Safe Space, and Free Arts for Abused Children.

Cohen and Stotland recently expanded their venture from clothing to create a children’s activity book dubbed the “Indie Rock Coloring Book.” Parents looking to up their “cool” quotient will be glad to hear that the finished product includes music-inspired illustrations and activities from indie darlings like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver and Rilo Kiley. (Cohen and Stotland like to quote The National’s Matt Berninger, who once said “I’ve decided to have kids just so I’ll have somebody to give this book to.”)

While the Yellow Bird Project is currently just a side project for both Cohen and Stotland, they each hope to turn music-related charity work (or is it the other way around?) into a full-time career. Stotland, who has a background in computer science, still lives in Montreal and does freelance computer programming; Cohen studied philosophy in college and now resides in London, where he works for a marketing agency.

The two 25-year-olds are still two unassuming music fans who can’t hide their excitement about working with artists they enjoy and admire.

“We just really like music” Stotland said. “This project just sort of fell into our laps.”

They celebrated the book’s September release with launch parties in New York City, Montreal and at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco.

“It’s basically our favorite bands (who participate)” Cohen said. “To have people who want to be a part of that “¦ It’s quite cool where this has taken us.”

The Indie Rock Coloring Book is available at various online and retail locations, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at www.yellowbirdproject.com.

Funcom, famous for their successful MMO project, “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures,” today announced the opening of a brand new studio in Montreal, marking the companie’s determined effort to reach the North American audience.

Funcom cites “tapping into the excellent talent pool in the region” as a major deciding factor for the opening, but really, come on now, we know it’s all about the beer, hockey, and bacon..right?

Workers at the new locale, including high-ranking “key personnel” are reportedly working on two projects, both continuing support for Age of Conan, and also creating another MMO, The Secret World, which is being shown at PAX this weekend.

Here’s what Funcom CEO Todd Arne Aas had to say regarding the ribbon-cutter move:

“Montreal has established itself as one of the world’s most important locations for video game production, and we are looking forward to taking part in that success. In addition to strengthening our North American presence, the new studio will take advantage of the great incentive programs offered by the Quebec region, incentives that makes Montrƒ©al one of the most cost effective locations in the world for developing MMO games. This will in turn allow us to better balance our costs, making it possible for us to continue to expand our investments into the MMO segment.”

Any serious music buff will tell you that a band’s second album is a make or break-type deal, especially if that band’s first release amassed enormous amounts of critical and commercial acclaim.

In the case of the Arcade Fire, I think it’s safe to say that their sophomore effort, Neon Bible, will make–or rather continue to make–the band’s already solid reputation within industry circles.

Rewind back to September 2004, when the Montreal-based outfit released their debut album, Funeral. The record immediately garnered extraordinary reviews from the independent local press to the New York Times. Overflowing with lush, textural sounds and endearingly sweet melodies, Funeral became a staple record for anyone who dared to call themselves fans of indie rock.

In juxtaposition, Neon Bible picks up where Funeral left off; the band perpetuates their signature sound of swooning, heartfelt melodies backed by an array of pleasantly uncommon instruments–accordions, harmoniums, harps, etc.

In terms of content, however, Neon Bible is a work far more diverse then both Funeral and other albums from bands of a similar feather. The Arcade Fire, in a sense, took a chance when recording this album, as it features a broader range of styles. Whereas Funeral was a slower-paced, more brooding album (it was inspired by the deaths of three different relatives of the band within one month), Neon Bible is more cheery than it is gloomy and introspective.

Recorded in a large church near the band’s hometown of Montreal, Neon Bible reflects this notion precisely; every track on the eleven-song album is spacious and grand, the layers of sound and instruments seemingly flowing through a tonal landscape of rich texture. Having worked around a giant pipe organ that the band found inside the church, the Arcade Fire produced, with the help of several musically-related friends (Wolf Parade, Calexico, Final Fantasy), an album of sonically epic proportions.

The standout tracks on this album—the unofficial “singles,” so to speak—are No Cars Go, The Well and the Lighthouse, Intervention and Keep The Car Running (the band performed the latter two songs on Saturday Night Live back in February). As a testament to the album’s diverse sound, all four of the aforementioned tracks differ immensely. No Cars Go showcase the band’s newfound penchant for a driving, fist-pumping melody, coupled with layers of almost heavenly violin orchestration. Intervention, on the other hand, makes full use of the discovered organ and provides the band with a soulful backing to an anthem-like song about misery and longing, harking back to the themes of Funeral.

That being said though, Neon Bible is not, for all intents and purposes, an amazing, ground-breaking album; those who are familiar with the previous work of the Arcade Fire will most likely peg it second to Funeral. For every good song on the record, there seems to be another one of mediocre quality (Rene, the female vocalist/instrumentalist, should steer clear of singing). It is, however, an album that remains true to the band’s unique sound, and even expands on it through use of several more interesting instruments, a more diverse body of songs, as well as impressively executed orchestration.

Overall, if you dug Funeral, buy this album to stay pleased with the Arcade Fire. And if you’re new to the band, buy this album to hear what serious instrumental talent and impeccable songwriting sounds like.