On The Verge

The Giving Tree Band (OTV Revisited)

This weekend The Giving Tree Band will be at Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival. Here’s a look back nearly two years to our On The Verge profile of the group.

Chicago, Ill.
From the Pages of Shel Silverstein
www.thegivingtreeband.com

The Giving Tree Band took its name from Shel Silverstein’s heart-wrenching tale of a symbiotic relationship between a boy and a tree. The tree shares everything it has—branches, apples, even shade—with the boy and the boy returns the favor by becoming the tree’s companion. The seven-piece bluegrass-y folk band shares everything with each other, too—even a home—making its music all the more personal and affecting. “Every member of The Giving Tree Band is here because they’re completely committed to their own personal growth, so being in this community helps facilitate that process for everybody,” says Todd Fink, banjoist/vocalist and one of the band’s songwriters. “Everybody is supportive of everybody else trying to become a better person, a healthier person, a happier person, and we’re all committed to making the best music we possibly can.” On the band’s third album, The Joke, The Threat & The Obvious, its esprit de corps shines through. From uptempo jigs (“Red Leaves,” “Caged Lion,” “Eventually”) to slower ballads (“Which One,” “Circles,” “Sometimes Things Must Fall”), the folksy bliss is the sound of a group playing as one.