Matthew, Noah, Tad and Michael weren't really a 'band', exactly, when they began work on what would become the Fort Music EP. They were longtime friends and had played around Boston in various configurations for years, but when they gathered in Dec '06 to record some new songs of Michael's there were no grand plans to see through or deadlines to meet. They had an engineer friend and a couple hundred bucks and some notions about maybe making some back to basics rock and roll. As Michael puts it, "these days, the only way forward is backward." Luckily for everyone, that approach seemed to work just fine, and after two weeks in an Allston, MA basement they had Fort Music all wrapped up and, more importantly, were most definitely a band.

These modest beginnings play out in the The Dead Trees' music in the best way – there's no artifice here, not much "production" to speak of, just a bunch of good musicians doing what comes naturally on a batch of deceptively elegant songs. Two guitars, background vocals here and there, a manic drum fill when necessary. It all feels easy and right. Says Michael: "We don't deprive any of our songs. They're like our children, all different and each as important as the next. We're just borrowing from our heroes and trying to raise a family."