The Mailboxes       Inside OutSide

 Who & What:

            Jillian and Logan Ivey are creative partners from Cleveland, Tennessee in a musical duo called The Mailboxes. Jillian is a classically trained pianist and singer-songwriter who began playing shows under the moniker of The Mailboxes in 2009 and then released a full-length record called Red Flags in 2013 and an EP called Post Script in 2015. After her second release she started touring and playing shows across the country for weeks at a time which is when Logan, her husband, decided to join the project full-time as her drummer and creative partner. The two began touring and reimagining the project as a collaboration, and now the project has become more than just a musical group, but a creative endeavor that blurs the line between and performance art and music performance.

            In 2019, they will be releasing a new album of original songs called Inside Outside. They plan to promote their new music release through a series of connected art pieces involving a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, handmade lavender clothing and gear, and a national tour. Their mission is to connect to people and the world around them in order to cultivate care that leads themselves and others to create artwork and solutions that educate and solve problems in our world. Their goal is be full-time artists creating music and art pieces to engage and share with others.

Why:

            The album colors for Inside Outside, lavender and dark green, are meant to represent our inner and outer worlds. Lavender represents our inner world: humanity’s creativity but also our desire to be comfortable and safe. Dark green represents our outer world: the beauty and inspiration but also the danger coming from the external forces around us. The album Inside Outside is about exploring and reconciling those two worlds in our own lives in hopes of finding meaning and connection. We hope to inspire others to go on their own journey of exploration and find how their passions and talents can benefit others and the world around them and bring meaning to their lives. We want our project to connect to people – both literally in that we want to physically meet people on the trail and tour but also hoping that the art we make moves and connects others near or far to think and grow. We are going to be hiking the Appalachian Trail and going on tour wearing completely lavender clothing and gear to represent bringing our inner selves to the outside world. The outer world will be represented by dark green found in the nature around us on the trail and by green backdrops on stage during the tour. 

When & Where:

            Starting in January The Mailboxes will be releasing singles from the album leading up to the online release this summer. They are launching a Patreon page where fans can pre-order their album and follow along their journey. On March 2nd there will be a trail kick-off and album release concert at Songbirds North in Chattanooga where local fans can purchase the album before its full release. From March through June The Mailboxes will be hiking the AT in completely lavender gear while playing ukulele versions of their songs to fellow hikers. They’ll be posting pictures and uploading vlogs of their travels so people from back home and across the globe can follow along their travels and experiences during the project. After they reach the end of AT in Maine their tour crew will meet them and they will start a 2-month national tour playing shows in venues across the country while continuing to wear lavender and using lavender instruments. After the national tour there will be a free community concert at Lee University and an art gallery at Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga displaying all their lavender gear where they will present on the finished project and allow people to experience their art and music in a gallery setting.

Timeline:

March 2nd - Trail Kick-off & Album Release Show at Songbirds North

March-June - Hike the Appalachian Trail!

July-August 2019 - National Tour!

September 2019 - Free Community Concert at Lee University

October 5th - Art Gallery Event at AVA in Chattanooga, TN 

How:

            Logan and Jillian have been pouring all their time, energy, and money into making this project happen in hopes that it will launch their career as full-time artists. They want to tour full-time playing shows and continue to record music and make art that impacts others. They are looking for the support of like-minded groups and individuals that want to see artists in our city and area thrive and want to see art here in Cleveland & Chattanooga improve our community.  They need more financial support to make their project a reality and pay for the expenses of recording, printing CDs, and purchasing materials for their lavender gear that they’ve been dyeing and sewing themselves. They are looking for local companies to sponsor 1 week of trail food by either purchasing the food and sending it to them or giving $300 so they can purchase their own food and mail it to themselves on the trail!

           In return for your support we would love to promote you through our online posts and videos during the trail! I’m open to discussing ways you would be excited about us promoting you and making sure you are thanked publicly for helping us! If you’re interested in helping us and wonder what that would look like, there are some suggestions and guidelines below!

Our Trail Food Wish List! 

Length of Trail: 2200 miles in 16 weeks – Georgia to Maine

Estimated Trail Food Cost: $300 per week  

**First off, we are vegetarians – we eat anything EXCEPT meat. We eat cheese, milk, eggs, chocolate, etc!** 

**Most companies offer serving sizes for 2 that will be cheaper than buying meals that are one serving!** 

**Below are some suggestions of companies and trail food we like!**

**Feel free to use it as a guideline or go your own way and surprise us!**

**We need 3 meals a day for 7 days to feed 2 people, plus snacks and morale boosters like candy!**

Trail Food Companies We Love:

Outdoor Herbivore: https://outdoorherbivore.com/

Good to Go: https://goodto-go.com/

Mountain House: https://www.mountainhouse.com

Backpacker’s Bistro: https://www.backpackersbistro.com/

Favorite Trail Snacks:

Fruit Leathers, Mixed Nuts, Sea Salt & Pepper Chips, Cheez-It Snack Mix, Vegetarian Jerky

Favorite Trail Candy:

Sour Patch Kids, Snickers, Peanut M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces or Peanut Butter Cups, Werther’s Hard Candies

Mail or Drop off Packages at Logan’s Parents’ House in Cleveland, TN:

Address: Wendy Ivey 1312 Asterwood Trail NW Cleveland TN 37312

Logan’s mom, Wendy, will be sending the packages our way and we can be in direct contact with her and let her know when we should be arriving in cities where we can pick up the food you’ve sent!

Thank you!!! If you choose to support us, it will mean the world to us and help make our outdoor art project possible! We’ll be posting on social media telling our followers who is supporting us with food each week. Please leave a note in the box letting us know who the food is from so we can say thank you for your specific box from the trail!

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