posted Sep 15, 2008, 2:10 PM by Vu Nguyen
From Tell All Your Friends Things Happen Mighty Fast For The
Dead Trees... 
When it all started out, Matthew, Noah, Tad and
Michael weren’t really a ‘band’ exactly but the fruits
this “not band” ended up being the much loved
Fort Music EP earlier this year.
Last spring, The Dead Trees self released
Fort Music EP was widely supported through the
Coalition of Independent Music Stores and landed these friends from Boston
to supporting Albert Hammond, Jr. on a national tour. They just about
burned down the Metro in Chicago, abandoned a broken down van somewhere in
Iowa (which is heavily chronicled in Daytrotter.com) along the way playing
shows that LA’s The House Of Blues in LA and Webster Hall in NYC.
Check out Day trotter: Find out about The Dead Trees
AND the Van!
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/908/free-songs-dead-trees
Listen to
Shelter from King of Rosa!
The Dead Trees
found a home with Milan Records. King Of Rosa will be released November 11th
Quotes Quotes!
Albert
Hammond Jr.:
"The Dead Trees are a band you'll wish you'd found
sooner."
Stylus:
“Rough and shaggy, semi-stoned, the songs glide on by, casting
a bemused eye over typical suburban weirdness. The Dead Trees sound is
studied casualness, indie-folk so lackadaisical you can hear it shrug.
Think Pavement’s insouciant country without the archness. “
PopRock Candy Mountain:
If you are fortunate enough to have The Dead Trees Fort Music EP,
then you are holding one of those legendary “Indie rock”
artifacts that surface from time to time.....The Dead Trees, whose sound
could be described as “Wall of Sound-power pop,”–
reminiscent of The Beatles, Badfinger, Big Star and The Meat Puppets”
Busted Up Bulldozers:
“....garage band Americana with, maybe just a hint of British
invasion..”
Boston Music
Spotlight:
“The Dead Trees have a lot going for
them.”
Williamette
Week:
“Many of the band's tracks sound like the
Strokes getting high and tripping out on some serious Americana. Things are
restrained, just a bit hazy—but would you want it any other
way?”
Portland
Mercury:
“The Dead Trees are recent Portland
transplants who play charming, groovy rock 'n' roll with folksy twists,
wordless falsetto backing vocals, and durable melodies. It's a sound that's
either lost in time or perfectly of the now....”
Who Are The Dead Trees
Matthew, Noah, Tad and Michael
began work on what would become the Fort Music EP. They were longtime friends and had played
around Boston in various configurations for years. Michael and Noah has
recently played with local friends Drug Rug. When the boys gathered in Dec
’06 to record some new songs of Michael’s there were no grand
plans to see through or deadlines to meet. They had an engineer friend and
a couple hundred bucks and some notions about maybe making some back to
basics rock and roll. Luckily for everyone, that approach seemed to work
just fine, and after two weeks in an Allston, MA basement they had Fort Music all wrapped up and,
more importantly, were most definitely a band. Fort Music EP was
widely supported through the Coalition Of Independent Music Stores in
spring, 2008.
These modest beginnings play out in
the The Dead Trees’ music in the best way – there’s no
artifice here, not much “production” to speak of, just a bunch
of good musicians doing what comes naturally on a batch of deceptively
elegant songs. Two guitars, background vocals here and there, a manic drum
fill when necessary. It all feels easy and right. Says Michael: “We
don’t deprive any of our songs. They’re like our children, all
different and each as important as the next. We're just borrowing from our
heroes and trying to raise a family.”
Since those basement sessions things have happened pretty fast
– the band sent some CDs around, and next thing you know The Dead
Trees were supporting Albert Hammond, Jr. on a national tour, did The House
Of Blues in LA, Webster Hall in NYC, just about burned down the Metro in
Chicago, and abandoned a broken down van somewhere in Iowa. There were
showcases at Spaceland and Mercury Lounge and interest at labels was
piqued. Now being represented by the management duo of Bryna
Gootkind (Melissa Ferrick, Port O’Brien) and Ryan Gentles
(The Strokes, Albert Hammond, Jr.), they’ve relocated to
Portland, Oregon where they set to work on their debut LP, King Of Rosa. After signing a
Japan-only deal with Japan’s leading indie label Five Many Army, the
band was invited to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo and Osaka
in the summer of 2008 in support of the upcoming release.
The band plan on touring in support of King Of Rosa throughout the
fall/winter of 2008, and into 2009.
|
Matthew Borg -
guitar
Noah Rubin - drums/vocals
Tad Dahlhoff -
bass/vocals
Michael Ian Cummings -
vocals/guitar |
|
