Belting out classic rock tunes, from Creedence to Wings, local rock group Magic Trees is back in town rocking the socks off of pub patrons.
The foursome performed last weekend at the Prince Albert Brewing Company, where an enthusiastic crowd met them.
Though the heart of the show was the band’s original songs, the mainstay that kept the crowd jumping were their covers of classic rock songs.
“You’ve got to balance it out,” the band’s lead singer and guitar player Jason Moon said.
“We try to do some songs off the albums for the people that have bought it or heard it, and also to promote it to new people who might buy a copy, but then we also throw in a lot of dance music that people can jump up and rock out to.”
Though their show was more about pumping up the pub’s energy levels than to think, those who took time to listen to their lyrics received a dose of introspection.
Their latest album, Another Way to Exist, draws from their experience touring Europe two summers ago — a tour they repeated this year.
“When we were there we had to live sort of hand to mouth, and it occurred to us that not many people have that kind of experience, where they set out to do a project and actually have to live a different way for five months or whatever it is,” Moon said.
“That certainly, we derived the title from, and we found that a unique way to live one’s life … to live as a vagrant and live in a country you’re not familiar with.”
We try to do some songs off the albums for the people that have bought it or heard it, and also to promote it to new people who might buy a copy, but then we also throw in a lot of dance music that people can jump up and rock out to. - Jason Moon, Magic Trees guitar player and singer
The album is both a lyrical and musical departure from their first album, Everything is a Song, with their first album sharing a more optimistic vibe.
“It’s from that perspective of peace and love not really working out — not really solving your problems, yet you still know them to be true, and you know we are all one … but it doesn’t really solve anything.”
Magic Trees is comprised of two Prince Albert couples, which include Jason and Colleen Moon and Ian and Jaime Dickson.
The four met while performing in Prince Albert’s Shakespeare in the Park about 10 years ago.
“We thought maybe, instead of being actors we should be musicians instead,” Moon said, adding that the group’s love of travel attracted them to the idea.
“If the four of us are out there touring the world, not only are we going to be able to see the sights and tour around, but we can also make music.”
Magic Trees’ upcoming performances are posted online, at www.magictreesband.com , with this weekend finding them in White Fox, Friday and Saturday nights. Though no more local area shows have been scheduled at this point, Moon said that more are to come.
For more photographs of Magic Trees' Prince Albert Brewing Company performance, see Wednesday's print edition of the Daily Herald.
