Jump to content

Treepeople

From Alfawiki
Treepeople
Company typeBand
IndustryMusic
Founded1988
Defunct1994 (initially), reunited 2018–2023
Headquarters
Boise, Idaho; later Seattle, Washington
,
United States
ProductsMusic albums and singles

Treepeople was an alternative rock group originating from Boise, Idaho, with its members later residing in Seattle, Washington. The founding roster included vocalist and guitarist Scott Schmaljohn, drummer Wayne Flower, guitarist and vocalist Doug Martsch, and bassist Pat Brown, who was Schmaljohn's elder brother. After producing six albums and undergoing multiple personnel shifts, the band dissolved in 1994. They reunited in 2018 without Brown—who passed away in 1999—and wrapped up their final tour in 2023.

History

Before forming Treepeople, Brown, Flower, and Schmaljohn were part of the Boise punk outfit State of Confusion. They teamed up with Martsch in 1988 to create Treepeople, drawing musical inspiration from acts such as Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, Sonic Youth, and Pixies.

Their debut release, No Mouth Pipetting, was self-issued in 1989 by the original members. After moving to Seattle, they put out the Time Whore EP in 1990. The 1991 album Guilt Regret Embarrassment came out through Toxic Shock Records and K Records. When Flower left that year, Tony Reed took over on drums. This configuration recorded the Something Vicious for Tomorrow EP for C/Z Records, which combined the earlier Time Whore EP to form a full-length album.

Prior to their subsequent album, Brown departed and Reed switched to bass; Eric Akre joined as the new drummer. This lineup released Just Kidding in 1993. Later that year, Schmaljohn revamped the band by bringing in John Polle on guitar and Eric Carnell on bass while Akre continued on drums. Martsch exited to concentrate on Built to Spill. Their last album, Actual Re-Enactment (1994), suffered from minimal promotion due to financial troubles at C/Z Records related to a Sony distribution agreement. The group disbanded later that year amid lineup changes and other obligations.

Following the breakup, Schmaljohn performed with Stuntman, The Hand, and The Treatment and contributed to Built to Spill's 2009 release There Is No Enemy, which paid tribute to Brown, who died by suicide in 1999. Before his death, Brown had led the band Hive. Flower became involved with Violent Green and The Halo Benders alongside Martsch and Calvin Johnson of K Records.

Treepeople reunited in 2018 with Troy Wright on bass as Brown’s replacement. Wright had also been the final drummer for State of Confusion. The band played at the 2018 Treefort Festival and toured extensively through cities such as Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and Denver. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they completed their concluding tour in August 2023 with performances in Boise, Portland, Seattle, and Bellingham.

Final members

  • Scott Schmaljohn – vocals, guitar (1988–1994, 2018–2023)
  • Doug Martsch – guitar, vocals (1988–1993, 2018–2023)
  • Wayne Flower – drums (1988–1991, 2018–2023)
  • Troy Wright – bass (2018–2023)

Former members

  • Pat Brown – bass (1988–1992); died 1999
  • Tony Reed – drums (1991–1992), bass (1992–1993)
  • Eric Akre – drums (1992–1994)
  • John Polle – guitar (1993–1994)
  • Eric Carnell – bass (1993–1994)

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:03/10/1988 till:07/24/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors = 

 id:Vocals  value:red       legend:Vocals
 id:Guitar  value:green     legend:Guitars
 id:Bass    value:blue      legend:Bass
 id:Drums   value:orange    legend:Drums
 id:album   value:black     legend:Album
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:3 start:1989 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1989

LineData = 

layer:back
color:album
width:2
 at:11/10/1989
 at:06/03/1990
 at:10/20/1991
 at:06/29/1992
 at:03/15/1993
 at:04/13/1994

BarData = 

 bar:Schmaljohn text:"Scott Schmaljohn"
 bar:Martsch text:"Doug Martsch"
 bar:Polle text:"John Polle"
 bar:Brown text:"Pat Brown"
 bar:Carnell text:"Eric Carnell"
 bar:Wright text:"Troy Wright"
 bar:Flower text:"Wayne Flower"
 bar:Reed text:"Tony Reed"
 bar:Akre text:"Eric Akre"

PlotData= 

 width:11 textcolor:green align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Schmaljohn     from:start  till:10/01/1994  color:Vocals
 bar:Schmaljohn     from:start  till:10/01/1994  color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Schmaljohn     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Vocals
 bar:Schmaljohn     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Martsch     from:start  till:12/01/1993  color:Guitar
 bar:Martsch     from:start  till:12/01/1993  color:Vocals width:3
 bar:Martsch     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Guitar
 bar:Martsch     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Vocals width:3
 bar:Polle     from:12/01/1993  till:10/01/1994  color:Guitar
 bar:Brown     from:start  till:09/30/1992  color:Bass
 bar:Carnell     from:12/01/1993  till:10/01/1994 color:Bass
 bar:Wright     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Bass
 bar:Flower     from:start  till:12/20/1991  color:Drums
 bar:Flower     from:03/01/2018  till:end  color:Drums
 bar:Reed     from:12/20/1991  till:09/30/1992  color:Drums
 bar:Reed     from:09/30/1992  till:12/01/1993  color:Bass
 bar:Akre     from:09/30/1992  till:10/01/1994  color:Drums

</timeline>

Studio albums

  • No Mouth Pipetting (1989) (Silence Records)
  • Time Whore EP (1990) (Silence Records)
  • Guilt Regret Embarrassment (1991) (Toxic Shock Records / K Records)
  • Something Vicious for Tomorrow EP (1992) (C/Z Records)
  • Just Kidding (1993) (C/Z Records)
  • Actual Re-Enactment (1994) (C/Z Records)

Singles

  • Important Things – 7" (1988) (Silence Records)
  • Makin' The D – 7" (1990) (Battery Records)
  • Mistake – 7" (1991) (Sonic Bubblegum Records)
  • Split with House of Large Sizes – 7" (1991) (Toxic Shock Records)
  • Outside In – 7" (1992) (C/Z Records)
  • Hide and Find Out – 7" (1993) (Soil Records)
  • Split with Archers Of Loaf – 2x7" (1994) (Sonic Bubblegum Records)

Compilations

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Treepeople&oldid=81870"