10 Questions with Mini Trees

Mini Trees: It's still pretty surreal, to be honest! Before last year we had never headlined outside of our own hometown, and when you're opening for other bands you can't always tell if anyone came to see you or if they'd come back to see you. So it really feels like such an honor that enough people want to see us play in different cities across the country that we can even do a big US headline tour like this.

MT: Even though the album has been out for almost a year, I feel like I've still been sitting with it because we've spent the first half of this year putting together an extended edition that involves a lot of incredible artists reimagining the songs. So now it's almost like I forgot what the original songs sound like, and they're starting to come back to me as we rehearse them for tour. This will be the first time playing all of 'Slow It Down', and I know there were a handful of songs that people had asked us to play when we were out last year that we hadn't added to the setlist yet. So I'm just excited to see what people think and which songs stand out in the live format.

MT: I don't think I would have ever actually been able to give up music since it's such an integral part of me, my identity, and my upbringing, but yeah, I did question if pursuing it in this way, as a "business," was for me and if I was cut out for this industry. I think I just needed some time away from the hustle for a little bit, and it didn't take long for me to remember what drew me to want to create and share music in the first place. It helps to have such close friends involved in the project who not only believe in it but continue to want to be a part of it, so I think it was just returning to the basics of it all that helped me find joy and fulfillment in it again.

MT: Touring is definitely hard for all of the reasons you'd probably expect: late nights, long drives, poor sleep, and eating weird food at weird hours. But I think with the right people, that's also part of what makes it so fun. It's also really energizing to get to play shows for people who are excited to hear these songs. That really keeps us going when it gets exhausting out there.

As far as rituals go, coffee has been a big one for me and most of the band. We can usually find a good local coffee shop in every city we pass through, and we always make it a point to stop before we drive out to get a good cup. Sometimes I'll also travel with my AeroPress, scale, and hand grinder so I can make myself a cup anywhere I am, which feels like a nice little slice of home on the road.

MT: I think we've always been pretty hands-on with planning our own tours, so it doesn't feel too different to be independent, and we have a really amazing team supporting us on the booking and management side. Things are growing for sure, but it's still very scrappy and DIY in a lot of ways.

MT: I think "Spinning" has been a fun song to figure out the live arrangement for because it kind of sounds like a straightforward bubbly indie pop song, but there are a few elements that made it tricky to recreate, like the whammy guitar line or all of the layered parts that are individually simple but challenging to play as just a four-piece band. I've also been pleasantly surprised by how much energy comes through with that song live and how much people seem to get into it.

MT: We're doing a couple of things to incorporate the acoustic versions into the tour. For example, we added a secret pop-up acoustic show in LA and may look to do more of that on the road. I think "Sludge" hits really differently in acoustic form since it's such a heavy song lyrically but kind of hides behind the overdriven guitars and loud drums on the record version. So it's kind of this belty anthem, but at its core it's actually really melancholic.

MT: Since my dad passed away when I was 5 and my mom had retired from music before I was born, I didn't get much time to really observe them in their craft or careers, but I definitely think they're the reason that music is such a part of who I am. Even though I was a young child, it was demonstrated to me that this could be a career, or at least an art form, and we were surrounded by music and musicians growing up, so it was always very encouraged.

MT: My personal listening is all over the place, but a few up-and-coming artists I've been listening to nonstop lately are Wishy, Baileyrp, Quiet Light, and Dexter in the Newsagent. Would be absolutely thrilled to play shows with any of them!

MT: We'll be announcing more tour dates around Holiday Hootenanny soon, but in the downtime around that I'll be continuing to write more music. I've been writing here and there as it's been a quiet year so far, but now with tour I'm shifting into tour mode, so it'll feel nice to get back to songwriting again once we're home. I've always found that hitting the road is one of the best ways to start gathering inspiration for new songs again.

MT: Thank you!