The E-Scooter Craze Gets It's Very Own Anthem With The Aptly Named "Bird Gang"

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 10, 2018 - PRLog -- App based e-scooters are the newest trend in urban "micro-mobility", and their popularity is growing. The top companies in the market are Bird and Lime, currently operating in over 50 markets in the US alone and are expanding internationally. The scooter surge is not without controversy however, with many cities banning the scooters until new regulations can be enacted. While some people love the scooters, others say they're a dangerous public nuisance. Since the scooters are "dock-less" they are often parked and/or discarded all over the sidewalks of major cites. Scooter riders also often don't abide by helmet laws, and drive scooters recklessly on the sidewalks instead of bike lanes. People have even gone so far to express their disdain for the scooters, by throwing them off buildings, in bodies of water, and in garbage cans and dumpsters.

The scooter phenomenon became the focus of filmmaker Andrew Oleck, who recently finished his A World Without Facebook  project. "In less than a year, the scooters have have spread across the entire city and changed the urban landscape of LA. I knew it was a great idea, and could change the way people get around in cities, and I wanted to make a commentary on the emerging cultural wave," Oleck recalls. It was June 2018 when Andrew hatched a scheme to make an original scooter-themed comedic hip-hop song with an accompanying music video.  The product of Oleck's creativity would be the hilarious pun-filled tune, "Bird Gang".

To make his concept into a reality, Oleck teamed with friends and talented musicians Ryan Wink, Evan Shafran and Ross Steeves. The trio collaborated with music producer Andrè de Santanna to write and record the catchy tune. "We wanted to make the song a story about the scooters, with lots of bird references and funny puns, but also keep it G," says Ryan Wink. "Bird Gang" was recorded and the principle filming for the music video was done in early August 2018. Around the same time, more and more news stories began to emerge about the scooter trend and the controversies associated with them. The issue gained national attention when, on August 14th, a scooter protest was initiated by Bird and Lime at Santa Monica City Hall. The companies were calling on users to show support, as a city council recommendation showed Bird and Lime out-ranked by Uber and Lyft in the running to continue scooter operations in the city.

The protest was the perfect backdrop for the "Bird Gang" trio to perform their song, while filming some more content for the music video. The stage was set, and the news cameras in place when the group began to perform their song with a mic and a battery powered speaker. The performance was cut short by Bird employees who asked them "to be more appropriate" and to turn down the volume. Perhaps Bird didn't want to associate the word "gang" with their brand, but the song is all meant in good fun and actually seems to sway in favor of Bird. Though they didn't get to finish the entire song, the news cameras were rolling the "Bird Gang" was featured in pieces from FOX, NBC, The Today Show and the LA Times. The footage from the protest was also incorporated into the "Bird Gang" music video.

"The e-scooter boom is just so interesting to me, there's so many different sociological factors in the mix, I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. I'm really proud of the video we made, and glad we got to poke fun at the issue, and also make an anthem for all the Bird riders out there," Oleck says.

If you are curious about all this scooter business, then be sure to check out the "Bird Gang" music video released by Bayview Drive Films and available on Youtube, Vimeo, and Facebook. The track is released by Little Giant Acorn Records, and available on Spotify and Beatport.



https://youtu.be/TIEKWxYp240