Burning Tree Project

Behind the artsy hair, torn up tight jeans and artistic ts lies a story much more transparent than people may at first notice about the band Burning Tree Project. And then there's the bullet hole scar on Enik's (lead vocals/ryhthm guitarist) leg strongly suggesting that, quite possibly, the 6 members of this band have been through something much more than rockin out on stage on a heated summers night.

So lets turn back the time to when Enik was immersed in his old gang life and infatuated with the love of drugs and money, whilst, Andre (keys) spent most of his life searching for a sense of love and care where ever he could find it. And who can forget PRD (bass guitar, bgvs) stuck in the city of riverside where it is said that theres nothing to do but do drugs, and so he did. Then something happened that would change their lives forever and its written all over their songs and lyrics.

So its more than a story of anger, being empty, having nothing, feeling hurt, bleeding dry, and swimming in the void. Its a story of a new hope because everyone is searching for a hero but few are lucky enough to find one.

In a world where people are shot and killed on freeways for no apparent reason, where kids choose to escape or deal with reality through needles, pills, and bottles, the most solitary of people still need something or someone to identify with. We know because weve been there. And throughout our deepest of struggles, though we may not have identified with a father figure or teacher, we identified with our music. I consider it a blessing that through everything that Ive been through, Im still alive enough to get in front of that mic and sing songs that people can relate with. Because thats what its all about relativity. - Enik

Check out Burning Tree Project's latest release "Time and Color EP" due out January 22, 2008!

New EP's coming out Jan 22, 2008. Tell me a little bit about it.
ENIK (vocals/guitar): Our fans have been waiting for this our entire career. hahah. Way to put on the pressure. This is actually our first legit release. Everything we originally came out with was just demo's for this EP. We originally wanted to put out an LP. We literally had tons of songs but not enough money to do everything, at least at the level that we wanted too. So we decided to just be safe and record the most amazing EP that we possibly could. We sent James some demo's and he immediately called us back. It was pretty intense getting a call back from "THE WIZ" himself. haha. So a little more about the EP. We decided to name the album "Time and Color". Everyone in the band has their own interpretation of the name but all in all, it just sat well with the band. It's all in the lines of music and art, the art within music, the attitude(color) of each note and word, the timing and structure of each song, etc.

James Paul Wisner has worked with some pretty big names. (ie. Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory, Underoath, Paramore) Did you feel a little intimidated going in to work with him?
Absolutely, the minute we walked into his house, He had gold records all over his wall. And everything in his house is so neat. haha. I think we automatically assumed that we were in for a beating but he has to be the most ingenious, patient and kind man that we've ever met. We've heard about some horror stories working with big name producers so when went to work with James, we expected the worse. I remember talking to him on the phone before we went to Florida, I was like "go ahead and yell at us, and tell us what to do, we won't argue back." Haha. It was nothing like that. He brought out the best in us. I came back a better musician.

The recording process can be pretty tedious at times. How was it for your guys?
Tedious describes it perfectly. We actually had a lot of technical difficulties during our recording process. While we were in the middle of keyboard/programming tracks, James was moving his Protools card into another computer when he broke it. Yeah, those things are like 10 grand a piece. We were on a tight schedule so I remember we all started to panic. He ended up borrowing another computer to record but then his iLok(a usb device that protools uses to activate all the effect plugins) broke. He had to re-install his operating system, and we ended up experimenting with a bunch of different things that actually ended up having some amazing results. Stuff like that kept happening but I love how better opportunities and results came out of it. James pulled a major favor and got us hooked up at a major high end studio to mix our album when we originally didn't have the budget for it.

BTP has been around for a while now, how do you feel the bands evolved over the years? Musically and as people?
It's been enjoyable but long and straining. We've been through a lot of stuff that most bands won't see in there lifetime. In the process we've lost many of our original band members. We never had drama within our band but the situations that we were in, really tested the faithfulness, purpose and dedication of our members. So in the end, we ended up with an amazing strong and dedicated unit which I am very proud of. Musically, it has become night and day. Man, if you listened to some of our first demo's like 6 years ago, hahha limp bizkit move over...

Any plans on touring after the album comes out?
We start touring in April. Our first tour is with our good friends Holyfield(ex-tysen) from Seattle. I'm really not looking forward to life on the road. =)

I dug your In The Beginning episode. Would you consider going on a Sunday School tour?
hahahhaa. coming to a Sunday school class near you.

You guys are pretty open about where you came from. What do you say to someone who's struggling to escape their own demons?
That you CAN find a way out. There is help out there, there are people that care but you have to WANT to change and want help. Not because we're just saying it but because WE HAVE gone through some pretty crazy stuff. We run an outreach for troubled teens that people can check out. www.stepoffministry.com.

Are there any stories that have changed the view on your life personally that maybe a fan shared or you witnessed?
You know, I got this letter from a girl a few months back. She said that she had been depressed for years and that she was going to commit suicide one day when she ran into our music. She said it moved her and gave her hope. That's all God man. I'm still in awe about that.

Any moments that stand out as a band? Accomplishments, crazy moments, etc.
You wanting to even do this interview with our little band is a moment that stands out. Thankyou.

Any last words to the fans?
We love you. God Bless

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For more info, show updates and music
check out Burning Tree Project on Myspace.com
www.myspace.com/burningtreeproject