Treephort

I first heard about Treephort through Mp3.com. I thought the name was a little crazy, but I liked their music. I sent an e-mail to find out more about the band and got to talk with Lee thru AOL Instant Messenger. We talked for a short time and one led to another and before I knew it I had an interview.

How long has the band been together?

3 years.

How did it start?

It started out as a joke band. This kid was bragging about how great his band was, so I told him my band was better than his and he asked me what my band was. I said the first name that came to my head, which was Treephort. We soon got a gig with this kids band, we totally sucked, we just dressed up in costumes and made a bunch of noise. Basically we were pulling a Dead Milkmen and pissing everyone off, it was the greatest though.

Have you recorded anything?

Yes, we have released 3 independent CD's. We also recorded some tracks that were exclusively released on mp3.com/treephort and just recently we recorded a christmas song which appeared on 99x's (the biggest radio station in GA) Christmas CD.

When did you record the first cd and what's it called?

The first cd is called, "the Bunny Chronicles 1976-1987", we recorded in November 1999.

And the other two?

"Carpel Tunnel Syndrome" Jan 2000
and "Touched by an Uncle" Feb 2001 

Tell us about the first cd...

The first cd is for sure a fan favorite. Pretty tight musically, except the horns really suck in my opinion. Most the songs are pretty to the point and excercise a witty banter about them. A hightlight of the bunny cd is the sound clips we made between the songs if you keep the cd running. Also at the end of the CD there is a lengthy spoken word bit where various band members rant about squirrels, ham sandwitches, drugs, alcohol, and other strange topics.

The second...

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome was a total change for us, instead of doing all the stereotypical punk and ska stuff, we decided to experiment, slow things down and speed some stuff up. It is a very interesting and musical album to listen to. Every song is so different from the previous ones. Many fan favorites have emerged from this album: Why do fat kids like metallica, I wanna wack off to your yearbook picture, I'd rather be gay than go out with you again, You can slob my knob, Al gore is a communist and eat blazing electric death bitch.

What about the third?

Touched by an uncle has been a long waited release, it was actually finished back in March, but it won't be out till February. Fans are already singing the songs from Touched by an Uncle at the live shows. It's a really fast paced punk rock album. It somewhat resembles an ALL/Descendents record on some levels. We leave the indie style of Carpal and go for an even more eclectic/musical, yet straight foward punk rock sound. Standout songs are "teenage makeout garage" and "end nerd persecution".

Did you guys just finish a tour? Where did you tour?

We just went on tour of the northeast. Mainly just played all the hot spots where we have some type of underground fan base, NYC, CT, PA, and NJ mainly.

Have you guys toured before and where else have you played?

Yes, we've been on smaller tours before. Mainly we've played just about every state in the Southeast and Northeast. We haven't been out west, but we plan to be out there this summer sometime.

What's your favorite place to do you shows?

we play all sorts of places, but our favorite places are D.I.Y. (do it yourself) type venues. You know like house shows and rental halls, shows ran by the scene kids for the scene kids. I just hate clubbies and security guards with passion! D.I.Y. is the way for me.

Have you guys had any line up changes?

Oh totally, we are band that has horns, bands with horns always have lineup changes. Basically the band has stayed the same except for the horn players. Aside from that, we just added a second guitar player, but he was our roadie before all that, so he's not going anywhere.

You mentioned you have some songs that are exclusive to mp3.com, tell us about them..

They are just christmas songs. One we did for the 99x christmas cd, its a cover of the theme song from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special cartoon. The other songs are original christmas songs we made up, plastic manger scene is about stealing plastic jesus's and holding them for ransom.

What bands have you guys played with?

We have played with some bigger bands...lets see. Aquabats, Hippos, MU330, Link 80, Johnny sScko, 88 Fingers Louie, Ann Beretta, Mr. T Experience, Big D and the Kids Table, Lawrence Arms, Pain, King Django, Independents, Against All Authority, River City Rebels, the Gadgits, the Business, and probably others that i just cant remember.

Which is your favorite?

I like MU330, and Mr. T Experience the best out of all we've played with of the more known bands.

What's the Atlanta scene like?

Boring, there really isn't a scene. It's split up into factions and it's pretty lame. We have sorta built our own scene and i love it. Theres no bullshit, just good times, no worries, no elites, no fashion victims either. Just nerds, punks, losers, all going crazy and having a good time with each other.

What is the future of treephort?

I've always wanted our band to be like the Wild Stallions were on the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey movies. That would rock out.

How can people contact you guys?

It's very easily actually. Treephort@aol.com, thats my address, I can direct you to whatever you may need. Also our website is www.treephort.com, there's all sorts of stuff there.