JAYPLAY
February 15,2001
entertainment news
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Shaking Tree's Tom Waddington plays electric violin to a packed crowd at the Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St. Friday night the band played for their home crowd for the first time in two months. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
whole lotta SHAKIN goin ON By Robert Pazell jayplay writer
Local band stirs it up on local, national scale
Band history:
Shaking Tree's members, who are all former University of Kansas students, hall from the Kansas City area.
The band's recordings include Shaking Tree (1997), Sound of Rain (1998) and Matter of Choice (2000).
Shaking Tree has appeared on The Jenny Jones Show.
Songs from Sound of Rain have been licensed to MTV's Road Rules and Real World, Disney's Z Games and the Discovery Channel's Outward Bound.
The band has endorsements from Corona and verity.com.
Dain Estes remembers the days when the band Shaking Tree was getting started. It was four years ago, and he had just recorded an album in his basement with two other people from Turquoise Sol, his former band. Shaking Tree then spent years in the trenches performing live shows and shifting line-ups.
But after all this hard work, the band, which is a local, delicate mix of world music and alternative rock, found itself riding a huge success wave. With three albums, a national endorsement from Corona and a touring schedule that includes nearly 200 shows nationwide each year. Shaking Tree's notoriety is growing.
So when they returned to Lawrence Feb. 9 for a show at the Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., lead singer/songwriter Dain Estes felt right at home.
"The Jazzzaus is my favorite place to play," said Estes, who gives the band's interviews.
"The first time (the
Jazzhaus) gave us a show, they gave us a great night, and we packed the place out. We continue to do great things there."
Estes is backed by Tom Waddington on violin and mandolin; Ian Burns on bass; and Aaron Hetherington on drums. All members hail from the Kansas City area and attended the University of Kansas.
"No one actually graduated," Estes joked.
"At least. I don't think."
He spent two years as a music major at the University, which had a big influence on his songwriting style.
"I had a Latin American music history class, and we talked a lot about folk music." Estes said. Bands such as Counting Crows and Talking Heads were his pop favorites, he said. "I was influenced by different aspects of this music. For example, I use samba beat and make it more accessible to popular music."
"I think they are a lot of fun and easy to dance to," Guthrie said. "They attract a lot of college kids."
Pat Guthrie, manager of the Jazzhaus, described their sound as being in an genre similar to Dave Mathews Band.
He said Shaking Tree shows usually sold out at the Jazzhaus.
Dain Estes, singer for Shaking Tree and a former University of Kansas student, plays to his home crowd at the Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St. The band will be in the Kansas City area Saturday, March 10 at the Grand Emporium. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
"They are one of the bands that started out during the week as a local attraction, and they ended up blowing our doors off." Guthrie said. "And now they are a touring act that always comes back and plays here."
Estes said they had been on a pretty fixed touring schedule for the past two-and-a-half years, hitting venues across the country.
"We were on this rotation where we'd be on the road for two weeks to two months, then return to Kansas," he said. "For weeks we'd hit places like Lawrence, Chicago and Nebraska, then we'd do it again."
Shaking Tree's three albums are Shaking Tree (1997), Sound of Rain (1998), and their latest release, Matter of Choice (2000). Their single, "Memory of Me," has been added to more than 300 college, community and commercial radio stations. In addition, songs from Sound of Rain have been licensed to MTV's Road Rules and Real World. Estes said after recording their album on independent label Knot Known Records last May, the band's goal was to sign with a larger label.
winning the contest, Shaking Tree was chosen to record tracks from Master of Choice for use in the Corona Beer Sound Waves Tour 2000.
Shaking Tree will hit the road this spring performing a slew of shows in Missouri, Oklahoma and in Kansas City's Grand Emporium before heading east in March. But Estes said they would come home for a local show in April.
"Recording the album for Knot Known Records was cool because we were able to get nationwide distribution," he said. "With that, we are shopping for a bigger label."
Estes said winning this type of national contest looked good on the band's stat sheet.
In addition to gaining local support from fans, Shaking Tree has gained credentials by winning the Corona National Talent Search, where more than 800 bands competed. By
"A sponsorship makes everything more valid," he said.
"It's like credentials on a resume. When we send our press kit to clubs, it says we've accomplished something."
— Edited by Jacob Baddy
Edited by Jacob Roddy
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Perspectives of history
Spencer Museum of Art showcases art by African-American women.
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Jayplay content available online:
■ KJHK's movie program, "Reel Talk," will discuss the new release Sweet November as well as the upcoming Kansas Silent Film Festival at 6 p.m. Wednesday on 90.7 FM.
■ KJHK Top 10
■ Jayplay's weekly health column,
written by KU Fit trainer Julie Taylor.
■ Advice from columnist Chantel Keys in "Ask shel."
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