MUSIC

Members of the psychedelic screamo band Treebeard — Dylan Rucker, Jordan Parks, Alex Kelly, Matt Cole and Nick Berthold — took their band’s name from a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Although they’re fans of the series, the name was a way of standing out, not an homage to Ents. Screamo band Treebeard Scream on releases its inner nerd THREE GUITAR STRUMS and then a a mixture of emo and hardcore rock, screamo joined up in August 2006 for the now defunct Today, the band plays venues around flurry of chords repeats over and over in often pairs rock instruments with two PPFB and added Cole, Nick Berthold and Columbia but is ready to meet its fans from an octave below dog whistle. Add in an vocalists. One does the screaming, and the Dylan Rucker in 2010 for their new project. across the United States. A tour is in the edgy back beat and a deep, angsty bass other provides softer melodies. The music is Kelly gathers inspiration from video works for July, but it’s coming along slowly, line. Treebeard’s vocals arrive 45 seconds usually aggressive, but the lyrics are often game soundtracks. Parks cites the band says. later — screaming lyrics that are somehow personal and introspective. Legend of Zelda and Final “We’re pretty laid-back and are intelligible. A second vocalist, soothing Treebeard isn’t like other screamo bands. Fantasy as influences, and trying not to stress out about compared to the first, belts in a lofty falsetto. It’s not super heavy, as vocalist Matt Cole Kelly also gets ideas touring,” Kelly says. “We want This unearthly composition is “On puts it. Drummer Jordan Parks describes from anime and movies Treebeard to just let things happen.” WHERE: The Bridge Distant Shores,” the new single from the sound as cohesive with every instrument such as Melancholia. For now the band is Treebeard’s upcoming album, Stars Over playing an important role in each song. “All of us have WHEN: lapping up the local Somber Skies. With its psychedelic, far- He adds that Treebeard doesn’t focus on been closet nerds all Saturday, 10 p.m. scene. Its Saturday show at $5 away sound, the band finds its niche grandstands, breakdowns or other cookie- our lives,” Parks says. COST: The Bridge with Sick of the 442-9627 within screamo. cutter aspects of the genre. “We will sit here and CALL: Day will draw in both bands’ thebridge “If I were to tell a grandma, I would say Instead, Treebeard’s members play listen to video games ONLINE: fanbases, which, according it’s like post-hardcore, screamo, emo. Help songs they’d listen to themselves, which are or original soundtracks columbia.com to SOTD guitarist and me out here, guys,” vocalist Alex Kelly says. penned by Kelly and Cole. This means cool, because we just enjoy the vocalist Nikolas Wood, are very The rest of the band is squashed together on ambient soundscapes, spacey guitar riffs and way they sound.” different. Treebeard has a core, music- PHOTO the same couch. Everyone laughs. emotional lyrics. Somewhere along the way, the music loving following, Wood says, but SOTD

Screamo, which surfaced in the early Kelly, who has been playing in bands of the bandmates’ everyday lives turned into is more likely to charm the teenage girl COURTESY OF TREEBEARD 1990s and gained popularity 10 years since he was 11, founded Treebeard in 2010. a backdrop for screaming vocals. Treebeard demographic. “I’m excited to see how the later, is an ambiguous term for a variety of Previously, he and Parks played together in is now the creative expression of the two fanbases will come together,” he says. alternative rock offshoots. Best described as a band called Plays Pretty for Baby. The two members’ shared history. + CLAIRE LANDSBAUM

8 VOXMAGAZINE.COM • 03.21.13