The
Shady Trees Biography
"I've sung about the birds and bees, the daffydown dillies
and the Shady Trees…"
-Bing Crosby
from There's Nothing That I Haven't Sung About (Duddy, Bresier)
Just one listen to The Shady Trees'
preview EP will prove
that there's nothing they won't sing about. From smashing
the concept of fantasy love in "Close Enough" to
the uncomfortable but all too real side of friendships in
"Driveways," to the frank display of murder in a
small town bar in "Turn out the Lights." The Trees
branch out into all sorts of heretofore untouched subjects.
The Shady Trees consist
of three singer songwriters who are solo artists in their
own right: Leslie Claussen
released her debut CD "Sketchbook"
on Canto Veritas Records last year. Her rock-steady
rhythm guitar is the solid foundation that The
Shady Trees music is rooted on. Steve
Wagner, a veteran of the Los Angeles country and
rock scene, supplies the snappy yet subtle lead and slide
guitars throughout. On bass is Bill
Berry, who brings the energy and R&B stylings
from his adopted home of New Orleans. All three members sing,
providing an interesting mix to the lead vocals of the band.
All the “Trees”
write the songs and collectively do the arrangements.
As solo artists, Leslie Claussen,
Steve Wagner and Bill
Berry have played for audiences around the world.
The three met during their days as artists signed to producer
Nik Venet's (Beach Boys, Don McLean, John Stewart)
Evening Star Records, writing together and woodshedding under
the tutelage of the music industry legend. "Nik was a
godsend to songwriters," explains Berry. "He was
no saint but he knew what buttons to push to get the best
out of you." After a few years of toiling in the rock
and folk scenes of Los Angeles, the three performers found
that working together brought back the magic that they had
felt during their years with Venet. "Getting together
with Leslie and Steve brought back a feeling of purpose in
songwriting that I had missed," says Berry. The collaboration
has proved fruitful. With harmonies reminiscent of the Eagles
and vocal groups of the late sixties and an instrumental line-up
(two acoustic guitars, bass) that recall the sounds of the
string bands of the early twentieth century, the trio found
that it had hit upon something both classic and new. "It's
really all in the songs," relates Claussen. "Steve
and Bill are two of my favorite writers in the world and by
working together like this, we can really push each other
further than we had gone before."
While the sound of The Shady Trees
is an exciting addition to folk music in the new millenium,
what sets the band apart is their songwriter's workshops.
The trio spent three years teaching the art of songwriting
with the Grammy in the Schools program, a NARAS (National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences)-sponsored workshop
that performed and taught at Southern California high schools
and colleges. "There is nothing like the feeling of seeing
a young person 'get it', that is, understand the difference
between simply rhyming some clever words together and really
creating emotion in song," says Berry, also a co-coordinator
for the NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International)
New Orleans chapter workshops. The
Shady Trees bring so much to the table that you
will be hard pressed to find a group of writer/musicians to
better serve our schools.
Listen to the music. Read the lyrics. You can't find another
group whose song subjects are so true to life as we know it.
Personal songwriting, razor sharp harmonies and a loping groove
make the music that the “Trees”
produce unlike any other group.
And I wish we could go walking
By the river, by The Shady Trees
-Van Morrison from Hymns to the Silence
Once you've heard the sound of The
Shady Trees, you'll want to go there
too.
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