"If These Trees Could Talk" Interview

March 10, 2012 by Mark Muehling // #ifthesetreescouldtalk #ittct #interview #redforest #barrenlandsofthemoderndinosaur

If These Trees Could Talk is an instrumental post-rock band from Akron, OH. To me, ITTCT is one of the most talented and clutch post-rock bands EVER. The guitars form the melodic and spiritual sounds that ITTCT achieves so well. The 3 amazingly written guitars are followed and matched by the bass lines, and the drums are a perfect mix between technicality and simplism which lets the music as a whole shine and speak to your soul as it was meant to.

If These Trees Could Talk is definitely one of my favorite bands of all time. I just fell in love with the tone and formation of the songs. It is therapy for me to listen to and the whole world should listen to this band and give them a shot. ITTCT just recorded a new album titled Red Forest which is being released on March 20, 2012 and performing an album release concert in their home town of Akron, OH on March 16th.

I've had the privelage to catch up with the band via email and ask them a few questions about their history and recent news about the the band and the new cd. Hope you guys enjoy the interview as much as I did. Thanks for reading and check out the first song released from the new album which is available for purchasing on March 20, 2012. This song is called "Barren Lands of the Modern Dinosaur", great tune.

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Tell us a little about If These Trees Could Talk and how you formed

We are a 5 piece from Akron, OH. We’ve 3 got guitarists (Cody, Jeff and Mike), a bassist (Tom) and a drummer (Zack). We play instrumental rock.

We officially formed around 2004-05 but we’ve all been friends and jamming together in some form or another for much longer. Most of us were either done with or finishing up our formal educations when we started working on what ended up being our first album. Zack contacted each of us to listen to some demos he had been working on and we all thought it sounded pretty good. We worked on some of those songs and came up with some new ones and decided to try playing it out live. We all liked the direction so we recorded and released our first album in 2006. Since then we’ve just been working on progressing our sound and trying to get out on the road when we can.

How did the name "If These Trees Could Talk" come about?

Zack said his Grandfather used to say it. I think most of us are into camping and nature so it seems to fit. Not that we are tree-huggers or anything but we just enjoy the outdoors. It can be a little cumbersome, so we usually end up referring to ourselves as just trees or the trees.

Who are some of your musical influences?

We’re all over the place when it comes to what each of us listens to and is influenced by. Jazz, Funk, Blues, Psychedelic, Rock, Metal, the list goes on and on. As far as a few bands or artists that we all kind of agree have influenced our band I would say Tool, Mogwai, Pink Floyd, The Mars Volta, Deftones; mostly rock music with some melodic or trippy overtones.

What can we expect from the new album "Red Forest", and how does it differ from other previous releases?

We recorded the EP ourselves and really enjoyed the experience. Not having the pressure and time constraints of going to a big studio allowed us to experiment with different sounds, amps and riffs. Starting out, we had a good skeleton for each song and because of the flexibility we had, we were able to meticulously refine them and achieve a certain mood that we wouldn't have had with a studio. We also had the help of the right people to achieve the quality sound we were going for.

Is there any chance for a tour through the states in the near future?

I think we’re all excited to do some more touring within the states, but as of today I don’t have any dates for you. We’re planning to get through Europe after the release of Red Forest and then get something on the books. We’d all certainly love to get out and play as much as we can.

Did you intend on being an instrumental band from the start, or did you guys ever search for a vocalist?

We intended it to be instrumental from the beginning. We’ve been in bands with singers but for this project we decided to leave vocals out. If any, we thought vocals would be used more as complimentary sounds to the instrumentation but not the focal point. I guess that is an area we still may explore, but we’re pretty happy with the little pocket we’ve fallen into.

Where are some of your places to play shows after touring?

We’ll get back to you after Europe.

Is there anything else that I didnt touch on that you want your fans to know?

We do really want to thank all the people that have supported us and instrumental music as a whole. I know it’s not mainstream so it can be hard to get a good fan base built up. There are a ton of talented instrumental bands out there and if you’ve never been to a show, I’d say check one out. A live experience can be totally different than just listening to an mp3 or CD. We always get a kick out of meeting people that happen to see us on a whim or don’t even realize who we are and then come talk to us afterwards and compliment us on what we’re doing. We’re happy that folks like what do. It means a lot to connect with people that way.

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