 "Photo: Photo Courtesy of Robert Scheuerman")
Remember when (or if) you had a Myspace account, and random bands you've never heard of added you as a friend? You'd click on their page, give it a once-over, and accept or deny based on that? Yeah, I used to do that, too. I've realized that in my time on Myspace (yes, I still have one) that I've "friended" quite a few bands without actually listening to them. So while I was looking through my ever-growing list, I stumbled across the band Trees Above Mandalay.
While looking at their page, I noticed that they're from Rockaway, N.J. I thought to myself, "Half of Loyola is from New Jersey, why not tell them about this band?" And BAM! This article was born.
Trees Above Mandalay was born in November 2006, when the other bands that the boys had been in disbanded. The first four original members were: Brett, Dave, Sean, and Tim. Later, Mike and Ronnie joined the four, creating the final roster. Dave wails the vocals, Mike and Brett jam on guitars, Sean beats the drums, Ronnie rocks the bass, and Tim owns the keyboards.
Once I got into contact with the guys, I had a few questions for them. One thing I wanted to know was how does one pronounce Mandalay?
Brett clarified this for me, telling me you say it MAN-DUH-LAY. Brett also told me that the name of the band came from Sean, although the original name for the band was Trees Above the Mandalay. Not much of a difference, but still enough.
While looking at their Myspace, I saw that they're soon coming out with a new EP, sometime in Sept. or Oct. and Sean confirmed this information. I asked them what the title will be, and Brett replied again, "The name of the new EP is Palace, which is loosely a metaphor for your own personal paradise or space or where you really feel the most comfortable," he said. I asked them about the things that inspired them for their songs. "Song inspirations come from a lot of things," said Brett. "But a lot of songs on the new EP were written about the struggles of being in a band, actually." I also asked him who writes the songs for the band, and apparently, everyone does. "We all have a substantial hand in writing our songs, so it's really a team effort," he said. What's his favorite song? "My favorite song is off our new EP called I Hate Living 20 Minutes From Home, but I really do like playing all of them."
Technical aspects of an album are always difficult, and I wondered who does theirs. "Probably me and Sean, for the most part," Brett said. I wonder if Dave, Ronnie, Mike and Tim agree with this bit of information… Anyone reading this know of a billiards hall in Burlington, N.J.? Apparently that's the weirdest venue the boys have ever played at. "…Kids just basically played pool and didn't watch us play," said Brett. "It was kind of awkward."
Even though they're all in a band, the boys still go to school. Sean is going to Montclair University this semester, Mike and Ronnie go to the County College of Morris, and Brett just graduated from Hofstra University. (After receiving this information from Brett, I realized that I was not given any information about Dave. Feel free to ask the boys yourself!) After asking who their biggest supporters are, I got a simple answer back: each other. "It's very easy to get discouraged by doing this, and we all pull each other together," Brett explained. Anyone else? "And, of course, our parents," he said.
Even though I mostly only talked to Brett, it seems as if these guys have a lot to offer to the music business and to anyone who listens to them. I definitely recommend checking our their page at http://www.myspace.com/treesabovemandalay, or http://www.purevolume.com/treesabovemandalay. Don't forget to look out for their new EP, Palace, coming soon! Have a band that's on Myspace (or Purevolume or something else) that you think I should write about? Feel free to email me at: mehole@loyola.edu (yes, I know my email is funny), or contact me on Facebook or Myspace!
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