While pursuing his music degree at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, Schaaf had the opportunity to open for Bishop Allen, for whom Michael Tapper played drums at the time.

[2] The two musicians made a connection, and when Schaaf moved to Brooklyn at the same time as Tapper in 2010, they decided to perform together officially as Yellow Ostrich.

[1] After recording their first studio album, The Mistress, the band enlisted the help of multi-instrumentalist Jon Natchez to help achieve their sound on stage.

At that time, they announced that Jared Van Fleet and Zach Rose (who had been with the group since January 2013) were officially joining the band.

On November 7, 2014, Yellow Ostrich released a statement on their official Facebook page that they would be disbanding after their final performance, which occurred on December 8, 2014, at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn, New York.