Tree No Leaves- Blind Tiger
(Click the album artwork to stream the full album)
Now here is a band I am always anxious to update everyone on, Tree No Leaves. A band that always goes above and beyond what most national acts do, let alone local bands! A DIY band that always looks and sounds more professional than the garbage being pumped through the radio waves. Never afraid of changing their sound or looks, this band has put several years of hard work into their sound. I would know, I used to be a part of the Tree No Leaves camp several years back.
While most local bands' music sadly never sees the light of the day, this band makes a conscious effort of giving you both high quality audio and visuals available for your eyeballs' pleasure both live and in physical form. Whether they're releasing a jam album, live album, or full length record, you can always expect it to be a thought out and well presented piece of art.
The main vein for TNL is this guy, Dustin Galish. A very dear friend of mine. Dustin started the band back in 2007 with his now ex girlfriend, Sarah Smith. When I was first asked to collaborate, we were all a little nervous as to how it would turn out. At the time it was just piano and quiet guitar parts, and there was me behind a full kit I was used to beating the absolute shit out of. We had a very inspiring and challenging time finding a balance of dynamics at first, but it only took a few very exciting rehearsals to get the sound we were going for. In my opinion, from there the band evolved into the glistening and wonderful monster that it is today. Dustin broke out of his shy shell and his personalized lyrics and hand crafted performances exploded into the recordings and live shows almost instantly.
A big contribution to the TNL world has always been visual artwork. Most recently TNL have teamed up with the immensely talented Will Santino. Artwork that truly transcends the typical barriers of the typical human imagination. Artwork that's just weird enough to still be instantly appealing yet still has enough to it that you can see different things pop out each time you see it. An artist whose work proves how much hard work and talent goes behind the process, much like the band. A very tasteful touch to the vibrant sounds of the band.
Lastly, another concoction from these mad fucking scientists is this wonderful video for the song "Lesson Bringer" as pictured above. This is a perfect example of a band going beyond what most bands do with the ideas in their heads. I mean no offense to the hundreds of local musicians who have great ideas, but these guys are executing it flawlessly. An idea is just an invisible piece of absolutely nothing until you attempt at bringing it to life.
Don't miss your chance to see my band He-Chaw Frunk team up with these guys in BGSU in September! Rock n' Roll band meets psychedelic electronic band. See you there!
-Novak