The Giving Tree Band isn’t your average family affair.
Formed in 2004 by brothers Todd and Eric “E” Fink, the Giving Tree Band has made a name for itself in the bluegrass, folk and jam scenes the old-fashioned way: word of mouth, a high-energy live show and the kind of songs to back up the hype. The group is seven in total – the Fink brothers plus violinist Phil Roach, slide guitarist Woody Woods, keyboardist Norm Norman, bassist Charlie Karls and drummer Zach Oostema, and each is relatively virtuosic in their own right.
The group’s background story has no shortage of talking points that have been rehashed time and again in various features – yes, all the band members live and record together in a house in Yorkville, Ill. Yes, they’re vegan. Yes, they’re very committed to environmentalism. All of this is certainly cool, but what often gets lost in the shuffle is that these seven bearded Illinois folkies are making some damn good music, and have been for a while. With the release of the band’s fourth studio album, Vacilador, it’s going to be hard to forget.
Fink & Fink & Co. explore a new, harder sound since 2008’s The Joke, The Threat & The Obvious on Vacilador, partly due to the addition of Oostema and Karls. The two form a formidable rhythm section, and create a more rock ‘n’ roll sound than fans of the band might not be used to. Also on both Vacilador and in live performances is the more widespread use of electric guitar by Roach.
“Some of the guys are such multi-talented instrumentalists,” Todd said. “To not use that felt like we weren’t tapping into something special.”
Every member of the band besides the rhythm section is listed as a multi-instrumentalist (though there’s no doubt they’re skilled at many other instruments besides drum and bass) and Roach and Norman truly shine.
Switching between violin and electric guitar, Roach adds a twangy fluidity to an already string-dominated band without every overpowering the sound. Norman has a more wide-ranging sound, alternating between smooth piano lines and incomprehensibly prairie-fire fast mandolin solos.
The new sound on Vacilador seems laid back and natural, even for a band that has been predominately acoustic for so long. However, the recording process wasn’t so easy. The group had to deal with various setbacks, including lost tracks, retakes and even a mixing board fire.
“It was a bit of a battle,” Todd said. “It wasn’t the easiest recording experience, but it was a great recording experience. It took a lot of twists and turns.”
Todd said he was still thrilled with how Vacilador turned out.
“I really feel like this is the best music we’ve ever made, and I don’t always feel that way.”
Since The Joke, The Threat & The Obvious, the Giving Tree Band have been the proverbial road warriors, touring extensively across the country and playing festivals like Summer Camp in Chillicothe, Ill. and Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Fest in Arkansas.
“The live show is something we’ve focused exclusively on over the last year,” Todd said. “We wanted to make sure we were putting on the best show.”
The results are obvious. At a recent show at the Double Door in Chicago, the Giving Tree Band fired up a crowd that braved subzero temperatures to cram into the small Wicker Park club. Flying rapid-fire through a mix of originals and covers (their version of The Band’s “I Shall Be Released” is too sublime to be put into words) the crowd reciprocates the love.
It’s not unreasonable to imagine that part of the Giving Tree Band’s success is tied into the current taste of popular rock music. In a day when bluegrass acts like Punch Brothers, Trampled By Turtles and the aforementioned Yonder Mountain String Band are playing big-time stages in big-time time slots at big-time festivals, it’s no wonder that the genre is getting, well, bigger.
Todd thinks the swoon in attention to the genre is due to a trickle down effect, so to speak.
“We’re seeing acoustic instrumentation coming up in pop music now,” he said, specifically citing the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons. “Popularity pushes people to go deeper into that sound.”
On Vacliador, the Giving Tree Band has found its deepest sound yet. Recording the album was an arduous process, and the results are certainly a worthy prize. To Todd and the rest of the band though, the experience itself might be more worthwhile than the music it created. “Vacilador” is a Spanish word that Eric first read in the John Steinbeck travelogue Travels with Charley: In Search of America. The word doesn’t have a direct English translation, but essentially means this: A “vacilador” is an adventurer who goes looking for something he cannot find, and then journey ends up becoming more valuable than what he would have found anyway.
“It applies to our experience as a band and our experience making the record,” Todd said. “Where we’ve ended up is a pretty good place and where we’re going is a pretty good direction.”
With a new sound, new members and new album, The Giving Tree Band finds itself at a crossroads so to speak. If Vacilador is any indication, the only direction they’ll be going is up.
