Let’s help Bowsie make big difference

This month sees the release of Bowsie, the fifth song from Shortstraw’s Those Meddling Kids Collective.

The song is all about Bowsie, Alastair Thomson from the band’s beloved part rottweiler, part Labrador who died last year while the band was on tour in Europe.

From the start, Alastair’s love for his dogs led to the use and mention of dogs in so many aspects of the band’s image and creative output. For many years, they practiced at Alastair’s house and so the dogs were a big part of their lives.

Alastair never got to say goodbye to Bowsie, so now, a few months after her death, she gets honoured with a song about her and the loss felt now that she’s gone.

With the release of Bowsie, the band is also launching The Bowsie Foundation, an initiative set up by the band as a means to support animal charities in South Africa. The aim of the foundation is for the band to do their part in making sure animal charities can receive whatever money and aid they can give them. The band often gets asked to do charity shows and wish they could do them all.

Instead, with starting their foundation, and their annual Mandelapalooza, they can focus their efforts on making sure the charities they believe in receive the right funding and that they know they are doing everything in their power to make a difference.

For a long time, the band has had the idea to match YouTube views of a video with a brand that would donate money to a charity, based on how many views are achieved in a certain amount of time.

They never acted on it because there was never the right song for it. With their love and celebration for dogs, it only seemed right that the charity of such an idea should be dog-related.

When the song Bowsie surfaced, they knew they had to make this idea happen. Shortstraw announced that Montego has come on board to pledge money for The Bowsie Foundation’s first project – the #BowsieChallenge. Montego will be donating R1 for every view of the Bowsie video received within 15 days, up to R15 000, so the band is setting out to achieve 15 000 views in 15 days.

The Bowsie Foundation will be donating the money to an animal charity of the band’s choice. The band is also giving fans the chance to recommend charities.

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.