As a band Treelines has its roots firmly in Kelowna, with the entire band born and raised there.
Guitarist Matt Kelly explained lead vocalist Matt Lockhart started the band, which plays at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer in Yorkton March 17, when he moved back to Kelowna in 2008 after graduating from UVIC, explaining he "got some friends together to play music for fun, and after cycling through several lineup changes, recorded the first self titled Treelines full length."
Like any band Kelly said each member, he and Lockhart are joined by bassist Steve Lockhart, has their own musical likes, but they do collectively have some common interests which helped them come together as a unit.
"Our influences are obviously varied among the four of us, but common musical influences we draw from would be Sloan, The Weakerthans, Attack In Black, Joel Plaskett to name a few," he said.
On their Myspace page the band's sound is explained by the statement, "if the Weakerthans had a love child with the Gaslight Anthem, and Joel Plaskett raised that child, you would have something close to Treelines. Their music can be described as an unassuming brand of indie rock, often painting a lyrical picture of anything from the old west, to wintry northern landscapes. There's a quality about this band that can only seem to be described as sounding nostalgic and 'unintentionally Canadian'; something you can't really pinpoint."
The first recording was really a vehicle for Lockhart's material, but follow up recordings have become more a band effort.
"The follow-up EP is a collaborative effort as a result of having a consistent lineup throughout the writing process. The EP was written over the course of about six-months," said Kelly.
The CD was recorded with Adam Potter at Alkaline studios in Kelowna.
"It was a really nice relaxed process," said Kelly, adding it is different being in a recording studio from the usual effort of performing live on stage. "Recording and performing are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum in a lot of ways, but we've always loved both."Kelly said the latest disk is showing growth for Treelines as a band.
"Yeah we're really proud of how it turned out," he said. "It's definitely more of a rock record than the previous release, which I think was inevitable after a transition from a one-man writing process to a collaborative band approach."
From there base in their hometown, Treelines has also taken their music on the road.
"We've been fortunate enough to play all around Western Canada with many great artists," said Kelly, adding "highlights have been: Rifflandia music fest in Victoria, Break Out West music fest in Kelowna, and this month we're touring out across Canada and will get to play at Canadian Music Fest in Toronto."
