Hanging Tree
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
Contents |
History
Hanging Tree was a band formed in 1989 with the core of Jeff, Aaron and John. This trio had a melodic sound influenced by Jeff's guitar work. When Claire and Matt joined after a few months the band changed to incorporate the new instrumentation. Claire began singing several songs and brought with him a guitar sound heavily influenced by Lou Reed. Jeff played rhythm guitar and brought eclectic influences into the band. He was listening to The Feelies, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Lee Hooker at that time. Aaron played the drums hard and had heavy metal and punk influences. John was likely the most cerebral musician in the bunch. His bass playing would be best described as influenced by Jaco Pastorius- he also played classical violin. Matt had diverse influences and was listening to David Bowie, Velvet Underground and Devo at that time.
In the first two months the band was prolific in their songwriting coming up with around 15 original songs to play a show. Jeff and Claire often shared the songwriting and singing with Aaron on backup. Shows were played in Cedar Falls, Iowa City and Ames. They typically ended their sets with the cover of Devo's "Mongoloid".
Many of the band members lived in the same home on Franklin St. named by a friend Matt Hundley as the House of Kitty Hell. The band practiced in the basement of this home as well as hosting several outrageous parties. Additionally, several of the bands songs were named for cats residing at the House of Kitty Hell- "Saskia", "Nico" and "Jasmine-otherwise known as Wuzza Wuzza". The band eventually broke up and most of the members went on to form other bands.
Band Members
1989-1990
- Jeff Eastman- Guitar/vocals
- Clair Clarke- Guitar/vocals
- Aaron Curtis- Drums/vocals
- John Fetter- Bass/violin
- Matt Tandy- Saxophone/percussion
Discography
- One song released on Iowa Compilation #3.
Live Shows
- First gig was at The Boathouse.
- Several shows at Steb's
- Played for parties at House of Kitty Hell where they also practiced in the basement (Thanks Sally)
Lore
It is quite possible this band broke up due to an unfortunate incident invovling a stuffed animal and lighter fluid.
