Blue Tree

Blue Tree is led by Seattle-based singer/songwriter Lawson Hancock. Lawson's enigmatic persona is imprinted on the music which ranges from acoustic ballads to rock/pop. It's an eclectic blend of sounds from a group of accomplished musicians who share a wide range of musical backgrounds and are grounded by Lawson's rich vocal textures. The other founding member is David Desimone (drums and percussion) who along with Peter Fernandez (keyboards, bass) make up the rest of this indie pop/rock trio. The band was formed in Boston, MA in 2001 and released their first album ?Reflections? in 2002.

Their Britpop influences surfaced on their most recent album "Beautiful Shadow", with songs that range from ethereal ballads to rock. When asked about the making of the new record Lawson said, ?I began writing for this project back in the summer of 2002. We had just finished the first record and it had been a year since my father's death. I felt a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and then I met the person who would be the catalyst for many of these songs. Our romance lasted only a month before she moved west. She was a ?beautiful shadow' that passed through my life. A chance meeting that changed my life and my music. Life is a series of moments and often we can miss them if we aren't paying attention.? The result is a collection of the band's strongest material to date. The album also has many layers that reveal themselves during subsequent listening experiences.

The album was recorded from December, 2002 ? August, 2003 in an apartment in Somerville, MA. ?Recording in our engineer's apartment allowed us to experiment in ways we hadn't before as a band.? The final overdubs and mixing sessions were done with producer/engineer Brian Brown (Juliana Hatfield, Tanya Donelly) in September and October at The Moontower in Cambridge, MA.



Looking back, the journey of Blue Tree began in the spring of 2000 when Lawson moved from his native Florida to Boston, MA. In September of that year he released his demo CD "After the Fall" under the name The Blue Tree Project. "I recorded 'After the Fall' at my friend Armond Blackwater's studio in Tampa before moving to Boston."

After releasing the demo, Lawson began performing as a duo with guitarist Mike Leavey (Splendid Nobodies). In the spring of 2001 Lawson debuted the full band under the name Blue Tree with which now included drummer Dave Desimone and bassist Josh Tobin.

The following summer marked a number of significant changes for Blue Tree. "We were doing pre-production for the first record when Josh left the group. We decided then to push on as trio. Right after that my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died a short time later. I went home to Florida to spend time with my family. Even though we weren't able to rehearse, I was able to use the time to continue to work on new material in my mom's attic where I setup a practice space. I came back to Boston for a couple of months in the fall to record 3 of the songs at Fort Apache.?

After Lawson returned to Boston in the new year, the recording of "Reflections" began in earnest at Fort Apache. Brian Brown, who had recorded the 3 song demo the previous fall, was once again behind the glass. The band wrapped up recording in April and mixed the record in May and June at Fort Apache and Q Division. It was released in October 2002. "Obviously some of the songs deal with my father's death, but a lot of the record also represents my move to Boston to focus on music and all the trials associated with being in a new space in my life."

In 2003 the band continued to evolve. Mike Leavey left to focus on other projects and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Peter Fernandez. This has resulted in a much more layered sound that is showcased in the new record "Beautiful Shadow" which was officially released in August 2004. Since its release "Beautiful Shadow" has received airplay on college and AAA radio stations around the US as well as very positive reviews from critics and most importantly the fans who have heard it.

At the beginning of 2006 Lawson relocated to Seattle where the band had been recording their 3rd album "Fault Lines." The band worked once again with producer/engineer Brian Brown and the new album was released summer 2007. The new album features a more organic sound while still maintaining the sonic and songwriting depth of their previous work.