Rejoice!

This Friday (12/11) we'll be playing our final show for 2009 at Tess' Lark Tavern in Albany. Our good friend, the ever-present, Jared Funari will be joining us. Word is, he's been working on a new project called 'Jezebel's Encore' and plans to unveil some of that material this weekend. The collaboration fuzes the passionate and palpable vocal outpourings of Albany's Jah King with Funari's natural ability to evolve and layer music live through the use of looping.

Sadly, this will probably our last show for a few months. But don't fret! In fact, rejoice! We'll be using that time to get started on recording a new EP. And, we've enlisted the help of some real pros for this one! Our little hearts are fluttering.

Click Here for an interview I did awhile back with the good people at B3nson that spills a few details.

See you soon!

Halloween Freak-Out!, Update

So, this year, Sea of Trees is on top of their game. It's almost two weeks until Halloween and our costumes are just about complete. We had an epic costume making session yesterday and I realized that, though we're pretty good at music, we're REALLY good at arts and crafts. Get your hopes up, because it's gonna be awesome. And, if you can guess what we're gonna be from this picture, we'll give you anything you want. Anything at all. Hold us to it.

$5, Doors at 730, Costumes, Prizes, and musical performances by Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, Sea of Trees, and Beware! the Other Head of Science.

RSVP on Facebook if you please.

"There's Foam in Everything"

According to the sales rep at Albany Foam and Supply, there's foam in EVERYTHING! And, based on the size of this little-known treasure trove of foam right here in our backyards, I believe him.

We just made a pretty sizeable purchase ourselves. Halloween is coming down the pipe, and if it's anything like last year, the second annual Halloween Freak-Out is going to be a real extravaganza. That's all I'm allowed to say at this point. Well, it's on Halloween night at Valentine's with the beloved BEWARE! the Other Head of Science and Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned.

Last year, it looked like this...the audio's a little weird, but you get the point. SPOOOKY!

Franklin's Tower with We Are Jeneric, Matt Durfee

Consider this the Sea of Trees house warming party. We moved in a long time ago, but we’re just getting around to inviting all of our friends over for a party. Hope to see you there!

Here's some songs to get you in the mood.

• Littering By Accident
• Raccoon (with a Sword Paw)
• Lemonvines
• Breakfast in Deleware
• Pile Homes

Sea of Trees on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

Introducing...Alessandro Troiano!

If you were at our cd release party in April you saw Alex with us pounding a floor tom, building ridiculous cymbal swells, and blasting trumpet lines. Or, you might be familiar with Alex as the drummer for El Duke. Or maybe this is all totally new to you. Any which way, the good news is that Alex will be joining us as a bonafide 'sometimes-full-time' member. What will he play? Your guess is as good as mine, but you can be assured that it will be done with an unparalled flare.

We finally have some shows lined up too! There's some variety here so there should be a little something for everyone.

August 15 - Valentine's w/Todd is New Each Moment and Love for the Masses, 9PM

August 22 - Beat Shop. Browse the records while SOT plays every song they know and then some, 2-3 acoustic, 3:15-5 electric

September 12 - Franklin's Tower w/We Are Jeneric. SOT house warming party, 9pm

September 18 - Emack and Bolios (Uptown). Stop by for ice cream while SOT plays totally acoustic (no microphones), 7-10PM

And don't forget about the free live EP.

Congratulations to us...

and to all of the other great local bands and musicians who Metroland so graciously honored in their 'Best of 2009' issue.

We were named Best New Band and we couldn't be happier about it!

Here's what they had to say:

In Japan, it’s called Aokigahara and is said to be a site of supernatural curiosity, but around here, Sea of Trees are one of the most exciting indie rock bands to come along in some time. Only a couple months after the release of their debut Animal Sounds, the band already have become rather well-acquainted with local clubs and radio. Get used to the name; you’ll be seeing a lot of it.

Free Download!

On March 26, 2009 we played a live set at the Linda in Albany, NY. The show aired a few days later on WAMC Northeast Public Radio. We were so happy with the recordings (thanks to excellent house engineering by Kristin Gilbert and Ben Morgan and recording/mixing by Adam Clairmont) that we decided to make them available as a free download HERE.

We trimmed it down to what we thought were the best songs, including four from Animal Sounds and three previously unreleased tracks. Please enjoy!

Are you the neighbors?

Last week Dylan and I made the surprisingly short trip to The Copperworks in Pittsfield, MA. According to their website, “The Copperworks is the destination for an innovative do-it-yourself community focusing on new media arts, bicycle culture, and green technologies.” Just a little over a year ago, the old brick warehouse that once housed the Pittsfield Cornice Works, was in a state of disrepair. The hard work of a few local artists has transformed the space. In addition to vintage bicycle tinkering, cabaret art classes, and outdoor movie showings, Copperworks hosts some surprisingly big name bands (though really they’re still pretty small names) from the indie-folk to avant garde.

We went to check out the Seattle-based trio, The Dead Science who stopped on their way between New York and Montreal. Early this spring, Vetiver was touring in support of their latest album Tight Knit out on SubPop and made Copperworks their last stop in the US.

Despite the old timey admission ticket and custom drawn stamp that you receive at the door, the overall atmosphere is relaxed and informal. There’s a small stage in the corner. The exposed brick walls are adorned sparsely with found art. And, of course, there are bikes.

On the drive home we decided that there ought to be more places like this. We agreed that, inevitably, there would be, especially as the price of gas rises and people continue to return to the more enriching living arrangements that small walkable cities provide.

Speaking of which, a similar type of venue popped up closer to home in the city of Troy within the last year. Located at 51 3rd Street, and known by the same, this mixed-use art/music/performance space is also home to the Troy Bike Rescue.

This Thursday, Albany’s own The Rain in Spain (if you haven’t checked them out already, what are you waiting for?) will be playing host to two Denver bands on their way through the Area.

51 3rd says:
Denver's The Kissing Party, perhaps the best damn jangle pop outfit west of Chicago, promise to snap, crackle, and pop along with precise songsmithing and bouncy melodies. Combining cleverness with emotion, the Kissing Party make the perfect songs to put on mixtapes to woo that cute boy or girl at school. Back when kids used to do those sorts of things.

Touring with the Kissing Party are Denver's The Jim Jims. Angular guitars, pounding drums, and desperate vocals create a red hot post-punk explosion.

Garage Bands in The Garage

The Albany Public Library is hosting some great local music this summer at the Garage Bands in the Garage concert series. The kickoff is this Friday and we're sharing the bill with Ben Karis-Nix, Ashley Pond Band (who just released their first record as a trio), and Mysteios.

The free after-hours, all ages rock shows take place on the third Friday of each month this summer from 6 to 8 p.m. in the garage at the Main Library’s back entrance on Elk Street. You can hear some great local bands, get a library card and check out books from the Bookmobile, and buy used CDs (just $1 each, or $1 for a grab bag of 5 mystery CDs without cases) retired from the library’s collection at the Garage Bands Garage Sale.

Grab a lawn chair, pack a picnic dinner, and enjoy some great music at the Main Library this summer at the Garage Bands in the Garage concerts.

The rest of the summer looks like this:

July 17: We Are Jeneric, Space Lounge

August 21: Tern Rounders, the Black Fuel

September 18: Red Haired Strangers, Rattling Baddlies

Sea of Trees Weekend Retreat

In pursuit of data, information, and, ultimately, KNOWLEDGE, we'll be retreating to a secret location in the nature for the weekend. Hopefully some fun recordings will result.

Sunday Night, upon our return, we'll be playing a very pleasant evening of music at Red Square with our friends Cats Don't Have Souls and guests Finding Fiction.

If we weren't going to be away, we'd be at Valentine's Saturday night for Ashley Ponds CD Release. SHUCKS!

The guiro is often called "The Fish"

The güiro is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a wooden stick ("pua") along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role in the typical cumbia rhythm section.

The Sea of Tree's fish will played with some serious flare tomorrow night (May 12) at Savannah's. Starts at 8:30 and it's totally free.

In other news...you can now pick up Animal Sounds at Last Vestige in Albany for 5 bucks!

Spring Happenings

Hello! We have some exiting new things to share!

First, our next Albany show is in two weeks, on May 12, over at Savannah's. It'll be the first since our cd release, which already seems like it was forever ago. Even though it really wasn't. Thanks one more time to everyone who came out, braved the Easter hangover, and made it such a fun show!

After that, in June, we'll be having what will be the first of many Yellow Polka Dot Tours, where we make little three or four night jaunts around the northeast. There's another one in the works for August! Details are over at our myspace page. www.myspace.com/seaoftreesalbany

Later in June, we'll be making our first appearance in the collar city. Love it over there. Nathan Meltz, who provided the artwork for 'Animal Sounds' that we get so many nice comments about, sets up shows in a little space at 51 3rd Street and we're really happy to be participating in one.

Listen! There is a new old song up on our myspace. Raccoon (with a Sword Paw).

Finally, we're in the process of getting the Crumbs Night Out show that we did at the Linda back in March up on our page as a free download. So keep checking back!

Questions? Concerns? Odd Requests?

Just ask!

WRPI, the Linda, and a CD Release Show!

Hi Everyone.

We have some really exciting stuff coming up that we want to share with you all:

-Tonight (3/24), at 8PM, we're playing two full sets live on the air over at WPRI in Troy. You came stream in online at http://www.wrpi.org/. It's going to be totally live, with no delay. They even gave us the 7 words you can't say on the radio speech. So who knows WHAT will happen.

-Later this week...Thursday (3/26) - Crumbs Nite Out at the Linda Norris Auditorium in Albany. Doors are at 6PM and we'll start shortly thereafter. We're playing 45 minutes of music and being interviewed by Howard Glassman from Valentines/WAMC between sets. There will be a panel discussion on songwriter royalties after the show. The folks over at Crumbs.net have been hosting these monthly events for a year or so now and they seem to be going over pretty well!

-Finally...and this is the big one...Our CD RELEASE show will be Saturday, April 11 at Valentine's. Doors are at 7:30. There's a $7 cover that includes a free copy of our debut full-length 'Animal Sounds.' Very very special guests Matthew Loiacono, Severe Severe, and The Rain in Spain will rounding out the bill. And, members of some of those bands will be joining us on stage for a few of our songs. So, it's going to be a real hootenanny!

Hope to see you soon!

Camp SOT

Photos, Animal Sounds info, and Sea of Trees news for the New Year

Hello everyone! Hope your holidays went well and that you had a good new years eve and a decent morning after. We over at the Sea of Trees camp have been busy the last few weeks.

- We have some new pictures up on the Myspace (and further down in this post) taken during the recent snowstorm. Somewhere out there is a video of Mitch and Ian doing some amazing ice-sliding ninja moves. If I find it I will let everyone know ASAP.

- We are gearing up for the release our first full-length album, Animal Sounds. We spent the majority of 2008 writing, recording, and mixing this album, and it is finally complete. There will be a digital release of the album very soon available at all major online retailers, with a CD release later this year. We are very excited to share this album with you and want you to be able to have it in your ears as soon as possible! We will let you know as soon as the album is available online.

- We will also be updating the songs on our Myspace to coincide with the digital release of the album.

- We are in the process of setting up some shows for early this year, and are working with some awesome Albany bands, so get ready to see Sea of Trees out performing again soon!

- Albany favorite Matthew Loiacono gave Sea of Trees a shout-out in a recent crumbs.net podcast. Matthew Loiacono is not only a great musical presence in the capital region but also a right-on guy. Listen to the podcast here.

- We are also looking for publications, 'zines, music blogs, and other journalistic entities to review Animal Sounds. If you or someone you know is interested, send us a message through myspace or contact us at seaoftrees@live.com

Thanks for reading through this lengthy update. We're really hitting 2009 running, and there will be much more Sea of Trees coming your way.

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