Album Notes

The Giving Tree Band is Chicago's premier eco-folk quartet with a sound described as "all natural progressive acoustic earth music." Using songwriting and performing as a vehicle for community service, the band's mission is to spread education on natural, healthy, and simple living and inspire a culture of sustainability and peace through music. The economically and ecologically sound decisions of The Giving Tree Band include playing some instruments built from naturally fallen trees and recycled woods, performing unplugged around one microphone to conserve energy, using eco-friendly music gear such as vegan hemp guitar straps, and selling T-shirts made only from organic cotton. The band's concerts have supported a variety of charities and non-profit organizations including Hand In Hand USA, World Vision, The One Campaign, Action Without Borders, Literacy Works, Illinois Renewable Energy Association, and Illinois Environmental Council. The Giving Tree Band performed at the 2007 Chicago Green Festival, the world's largest environmental expo and have been recently featured on Chicago's top radio stations including Chicago Public Radio and 93WXRT.

The musicians have backgrounds in jazz, folk, rock & roll, bluegrass, and classical music. They have all studied at the university level at schools such as North Central College, College of Dupage, Berklee College of Music, and Georgetown University and are music instructors themselves. They are also no strangers to the stage and have performed in cities throughout the United States. They have been featured at many of Chicago's most esteemed venues such as The House of Blues, The Hard Rock Cafe, and McCormick Place. They have been on the play bill with some of the very best local, regional, and national talent including Willy Porter, Shri Patrick Marks, Pine Leaf Boys, Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Head of Femur, Cornmeal, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Old School Freight Train, and Jim Donovan (of Rusted Root) as well as with non-musical guests such as three-time Nobel Prize nominee and bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates, actor and radio host Harry Shearer, US Senator Dick Durbin, and US Congressman Dennis Kucinich.