World Tree is John (composition, guitars, keyboards and virtual instruments) & Gretchen (voice, lyrics and melodies) and our talented musical friends who join with us to make up the “World Tree Music Ensemble”. Our music is a fusion of folk-rock, blues and classical with Celtic and pagan overtones. We chose the World Tree as a symbol for its depth of meaning shared across the myriad cultures of the world. This is a reflection of the music we are writing - fusing instruments and styles of the globe.
Gretchen comes from a family that is musically inclined as well as artistic. She has enjoyed treading the boards in musical comedy and theatre through out her life. As a teenager, she was on the stage together with her Mother and owned a community theatre later in life in Mukilteo, Washington, USA. Her other passion which is historically based clothing. She designs historic and themed (including Mediaevil, Celtic and fantasy) Wedding Gowns (http://goldswan.net).
John's musical interests began early. His Grandmother Nellie used to play for the silent movies at the local cinema and would put him on her lap at the piano at home. At 8 years old he began teaching himself pieces by Beethoven by ear but never stuck with classical training. He has played in various bands and musical enterprises. In the 70s, he had his own band "Voyage" and at the same time worked with other musicians such as Phil Collins 'holiday', fun band "Zox and the Radar Boys" and for many years with his good friend Adrian Wagner (Synthonic Composer – http://www.mediaquest.co.uk).
Our music is in the genre of bands and musicians such as Loreena McKennitt, Clannad, Sarah McLachlan, Caravan, Pink Floyd, Terry Riley, Moody Blues, Sandy Denny, The Eagles, Jefferson Airplane, Eva Cassidy, Enya. It has many influences falling under the heading of the eclectic folk, rock poetry, story telling and world music scene. Bands, musicians and writers such as Quintessence, Caravan, Gong, Kevin Ayers, Neil Young, K. D. Laing, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Terry Riley, Moody Blues, Tchaikovski, Cole Porter, Pet Shop Boys, our good friend Adrian Wagner (Yes, and his great great Grandad!), Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Afro-Celts, Mannheim Steamroller, Black, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Peter Gabriel, Aimee Mann, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Loreena McKennitt, Byron, e.e. cummings, Noam Chomsky, First War Poets, to name but a few!!! Following the iconic examples of Mohands Ghandi, John Lennon, Martin Luther King, Jimi Hendrix, The Dalai Lama, Bono, Bob Geldoff and many others, we are committed to raising our voices and doing what we can about the de-humanisation of our species through conflict and about global and globalisation issues.
We love working with other musicians and have some wonderful guitar work with Andy Young (http://www.myspace.com/rhythmofblues). We are also working with and on the lookout for violinist/viola/cello, flute/oboe, French or English horns and pipes, keyboards and lots more drums and percussion to make up the “World Tree Music Ensemble”.
We enjoy, experiment and explore with our music and we hope that you will enjoy it, too!
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