Blowing Trees

Forget the Alamo, the River Walk, and all the other standard hallmarks of San Antonio, Texas. Take an alternative tour past the high school where Chris Maddin (lead singer) and Drew Pierce (drummer) played in numerous bands together; the spots where Edwin Jered Stephens (lead guitarist) and Chris skateboarded together and bonded over a shared appreciation of punk rock; the Washtub, a car wash where three members of the band worked; the house where in 2003, Roy Scavone (bassist) made a lasting impression at an impromptu jam session and secured himself a spot in the newly formed band, Blowing Trees. And, if you continue on, perhaps you’ll stumble upon the Melody Ranch Recording Studio where the Trees can be found— at all hours of the day and night—flexing their skills on their debut album.

With an artful name and a striking sound, Blowing Trees, have packed clubs in San Antonio, building up a legion of fans who come to see their intense live performances and listen to their music on MySpace. The band has a knack for blending their unique styles into a cohesive sound. Jered steers clear of power chords playing masterful solos throughout the course of a song; Chris provides the creative, organic sound to the band with poetic lyrics powered by an exceptional vocal range and an acoustic guitar; Scavone creates the movement in the music with his raw energy and wild stage presence; and Drew grounds the band with his solid and reliable backbeats. Their influences run from Bob Dylan to Radiohead to Pink Floyd to The Flaming Lips yet they avoid imitation and instead strike out on their own. They are stylistically fearless and the soundscapes they create are so textured that they transcend multiple genres.

After building up buzz, an early development deal brought them to other parts of Texas and to California to tour and soon thereafter the band was brought to the attention of Texas music veteran Chris Lieck, the CEO and founder of Tejas Records and TEG artists. In September 2006, the Trees entered the studio to finish work on their demo CD.

At this time, Diane Passage, A&R Executive for Glassnote Records, had a listen to the Trees’ demo and was hooked. In early 2007, the Glassnote team led by CEO and music industry veteran, Daniel Glass, flew down to Austin to see the Trees perform at the Red Gorilla Festival. On a rooftop on a stormy night with a shoddy sound system and an earlier line-up of mismatched bands, the Trees took to the stage and played an explosive set, riveting the audience to their seats and cementing them as a force to be reckoned with. Needless to say, Blowing Trees were signed to Glassnote Records.

A fortuitous encounter brought David Castell, who produced Blue October’s platinum disk, Foiled, onboard, and the Trees began recording their debut CD at Melody Ranch Recording Studio. The CD captures their kinetic stage presence and balances their no-holds-bar, eclectic style with a dynamic structure. “The Day the World Left Me” roars with relevancy and reverberates long after the song is over. “California Skies” is so visceral that you feel convinced you are driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. So come take a sonic Rock tour with Blowing Trees and prepare to go off the beaten path.