Band With Albany Ties Plays Tonight at Starry Plough

[Editor's note: This article contains one instance of profanity.]

Big Tree has just wrapped up a show at Amnesia, a small bar in San Francisco's Mission district. The clock is pushing 2 a.m., a wee bit later than when the indie pop band thought it would end its performance. (The opening act inexplicably decided to extend its set by a good 25 minutes.)

Colin Fahrner, the band's drummer and an Albany native, is ready to go back home. During the day he works at Chez Panisse, so he has to get up early; chef extraordinaire Alice Waters will be giving a tour of the kitchen to her staff.

After packing up the band's vegetable oil-fueled van, Fahrner climbs behind the wheel, where he waits for two more members of the group to get inside.

With his hands gripping the steering wheel, he watches as one of Amnesia's patrons starts juggling clubs. Soon enough, other people exiting the bar are cheering on the juggler as he exchanges the clubs for a set of knives. If you turned your back for a second, you probably missed the juggler climbing onto his unicycle to add a degree of difficulty to his act.

Fahrner is not, by any measure, a fan of the show. He remarks, rather angrily, "F***ing carnies. They should all go back to the circus."

There's a bit of irony embedded in Fahrner's comment. For all intents and purposes, Fahrner and the rest of Big Tree are a group of carnies who are very much part of a circus. For a group of kids just out of college who are attempting to transition to full-time musicians, the traveling circus is a way of life.

In addition to Fahrner, Big Tree includes Kaila McIntyre-Bader (vocals/piano), Luke Bace (bass/vocals), Dan Pirello (guitar/vocals) and Laura Schwecherl (vocals).

Big Tree has been around since 2008. The band started out at Sarah Lawrence College as a music project to support McIntyre-Bader before it morphed into something bigger.

"We called ourselves Kaila and the Family Band, but then we realized we wanted to be an actual band together and not a solo project," says Fahrner. "So then we came up with our name, Big Tree, and started recording during the summer (of 2008)."

Big Tree has been playing gigs around the East Coast since then, and gained a devoted following at school.

The following, however, was not nearly big enough to garner a record deal. So, when several band members graduated from Sarah Lawrence, Big Tree decided to move to the Bay Area. Members thought it would be easier to break into the music scene out west than make a name for themselves in New York.

"It's such an intense scene that it's kind of hard to break into it," says Fahrner. "It's hard to get people to come out because there’s so much good music every night."

To make the journey to the Bay Area, the group needed a vehicle to transport it. Using money from relatives, friends and fans, Big Tree bought a van and converted it to run on vegetable oil.

"When we're running on vegetable oil, the fumes smell like French fries or whatever else was cooked in it," says Fahrner. "The vegetable oil saves a lot of money."

The band members packed up, set out and eventually arrived in the Bay Area. On the way, they made stops to play at smaller venues across the country.

They've been practicing ever since they got here and have played several gigs in California. They also recorded a new album, which features Madeleine Miller-Bottome, another Albany resident. Miller-Bottome, who was the band's second vocalist, is now studying in London.

Fahrner is hopeful that the band will be able to attract interest from a record label. Right now the indie pop scene is filled with plenty of up-and-coming acts, each with its own refreshing sound. But Big Tree hopes its music stands out.

"It's pop music, but then we'll do different stuff with it," says Fahrner. "It can be pretty dynamic. Sometimes we'll play in odd time signatures, which is not really that common, I guess."

Fahrner also cited the harmonies from Big Tree's vocalists, and effects the band's guitar players get using pedals, as features that set the group apart.

Big Tree is going to be on the move again soon. This month the group plans on jumping in the van to return to the East Coast. Along the way, a month's worth of gigs stretch ahead, from Santa Barbara to Atlanta. Later this spring the band hopes to play shows at colleges along the East Coast.

The group will perform at its alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, on April 22.

It's likely not their last stop. 

If you asked the knife-juggling carnie what he thought after seeing Big Tree at Amnesia, he'd tell you the group has a bright future ahead.

"I was crying a little at the end," he said. "One of their songs brought me to tears. It just reminded me a lot of stuff that I've been through."

Hear Big Tree on their website and check out its schedule on Facebook.  Catch the group's final Bay Area show at The Starry Plough Pub and Nightclub in Berkeley on March 3 at 9 p.m.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a call at 510-459-8325 or shoot her an e-mail at emilier@patch.com.

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