On September 6th, Americana indie-rock duo THE STATISTICS will be releasing their album entitled “Robson Street Hymns”.  The Statistics have stated that they combine their love for Americana music with their love of early punk music on this upcoming release.

On the new album, Darby Yule shares: “I wrote the Robson Street Hymns about a time of great change in my life. I had just moved from a small town to a big city then right back again. I think this is an album for anyone who is a hopeless romantic or dreamer and is still trying to find their place.”

Darby Yule of The Statistics has written an edition of The Musician’s Tribune for Madness To Creation talking about “Mental Health Perspectives as a Youth Caretaker”.  In this, Darby hopes that those that read it will find hope and love in youth that suffer from emotional and mental health disorders and for it to be an encouragement for those that partake in the work for a living.  Here is what Darby had to say below:

I come from a town which, until recently, was considered the crime capitol of Canada. There was actually an article in Maclean’s Magazine proclaiming it the “Most Dangerous City in Canada” a few years ago. We have a one square mile VLA that accounts for almost 90% of the poverty and crime in our town, I grew up beside a trailer court that has the second highest rate of incidents after the VLA. Not only that, we have the highest opioid overdose rate in the province. Nearly doubling between 2017 and 2018. Now, I’m always a musician first but every up and coming musician needs a day job and I believe strongly in being the change we want to see in the world. Four years ago, I took a job for an Alternative school as a Youth Care Worker. Basically, I help care-take for Youth with mental health issues or youth who have fallen on hard times and can’t seem to get out. This ranges from kids who are depressed or just can’t function in a mainstream school all the way to kids with severe drug addictions and diagnoses like Bi-Polar II or Schizophrenia. They are all great kids in bad situations. I can honestly say that I like all of my kids and wish the best for them. Just to be clear, I’m not a social worker or counselor. I’m merely a care-taker. I took the job over easier ones because I believe that the best way to fix these problems is by being proactive and helping people when they are young. It’s always better to build a base to grow on. 
 
The teacher I work with and I spend a lot of our time out of the classroom building connections. Thus, I spend a lot of time in the VLA. We believe that one of the best ways to deal with mental health is to be connected to someone safe. Anyone. This is pretty clear across the board. I have a counselor friend who always compares depression to another person talking to you. I always thought that was an interesting idea. We’ve all been there at some point or another and I can say from my own personal experience that it seems like that is exactly what’s happening. You are talking to yourself like you are someone you hate. Depression and shame run really deep within all parts of our society and I believe it comes from isolation and loss. My kids deal with it, I’ve dealt with it, people I know and love deal with it, my peers in the music industry deal with it. Part of my job is fighting that isolation. It’s actually the biggest similarity between my job and songwriting. 
 
Songwriting is fighting isolation through music. I think I use a really similar set of skills to do both. I think one of the reasons why I write good songs is because I have a high level of emotional intelligence. I’m good at reading people and I love to do it! I’m also a major people watcher. I have found that this job has had moments that I’ve wanted to write about but it’s a little difficult. I feel like they aren’t my stories to tell. It can also be really emotionally demanding and diving into that can of worms can be tough. I think overall, it’s given me a much better understanding of the world around me and that always helps with songwriting.”  – Darby Yule
The Statistics have several gigs coming up.  Check out the gig dates below:
Sat. 8/3- Bulkley Valley Brewery in Smithers, Canada
Thu. 8/8- Funhouse in Seattle, Washington
Fri. 8/16- Railway Stage & Beer Cafe in Vancouver, Canada
For tickets and further information, click here.
Fans can find THE STATISTICS at the following locations:

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