The Dreaming Tree formed in early 2000 from the remains of Wolverhampton band Soulblind, and have been steadily widening their base ever since.
Original Soulblind members Neil Ablard and Adam Dunn, along with new Soulblind bassist Iain Hodges recruited keyboardist Steve Barratt to add a more rounded sound to their fledgling compositions, whilst the search for a suitable vocalist to complement the sound went ahead.
Shortly before that search ended, Hodges left the band to begin a university course, almost coinciding exactly with the arrival of Chris Buckler, a singer who had seen an advert for the vocal position in the band pinned to a wall in a pub! The now vacant bassist position was filled by ex-Soulblind bassist Jim Peterson, who had returned from a brief move to London. After a brief spell as the Manhattan Project, the band changed it’s name and became The Dreaming Tree.
The first forays onto the live circuit saw the band performing a mixture of some original material and cover songs, mostly in smaller venues as they adapted to the new line up. The gigs got better and the original material stronger, until in January 2002 the first demo CD was recorded. Shortly after this, guitarist Adam Dunn left the band to go to university. He was replaced with Dan Jones, who had met the band on a college course.
The arrival of Jones on guitar saw the band make the decision to become an original act and shelve the covers. More songs were written, a new EP recorded and the style of the band continued to evolve, morphing through elements of rock, funk, jazz and metal, with each song sounding different from the last. This is the style that is currently serving the band well on the live circuit and beyond.
Critics have already commented that “They have a knack for penning great melodies and lyrics” and that the band are something special with left-field songs and a strong improvisational streak to the music
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