Curbside with Broken Trees

Broken Trees songwriter Liz Boyd’s throaty voice and quirky lyrics are in the tradition of Regina Spektor, but the heart of her sound goes further back, to the matriach of folk, Joni Mitchell. Coupling upright bass with electronic keys and live percussion, Broken Trees sound is a flutter of emotion—from humor to despair—the general gamut one experiences when falling in love, growing up, and you know, surviving in this crazy world.

What’s your band’s creation story (i.e. how’d ya get together)

Broken Trees essentially started when I was in high school with the expansion of my solo singer-songwriter work to a piano and drum set duo. The drummer and I both went on to to study music in college, he, at Berklee in Boston, and I, at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Geographically, it became difficult to continue to write and play together. The band has since gone through a lot of personnel changes, but exists most consistently as an electric piano, upright bass, and drum set trio, featuring Adam Ravtiz on bass, and Joe Baldacci on drums, with an occasional rotation of drummers, percussionists, and other auxiliary instrumentalists. Everyone that is or has been involved with the band at this point are musicians that I was lucky enough to meet at UArts.

Name Origin? (the etymology of “Broken Trees”)

The name “Broken Trees” is a shortened lyric taken from one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs, “Judgement of the Moon and Stars.” The full lyric is “Condemned to wires and hammers, strike every chord that you feel – that broken trees and elephant ivories conceal.” I chose the phrase “Broken Trees” for the band name as a reference to the instruments that we choose to speak through and the organic nature of that process. Though it’s a vague reference to Joni Mitchell’s work, I also wanted our name to quote her in some way because her music has influenced mine significantly.

Can you describe your sound for those who have never heard it before?

It’s always so tricky to effectively communicate what any music sounds like, but when I’ve been put on the spot about ours in the past, I’ve claimed it to be folk-inspired songwriting that ranges from catchy piano-pop to moody introspection, shaped by occasional brass, woodwinds, and orchestral percussion. Hopefully that’s somewhere near what it actually sounds like.

Choose a song, or a lyric, that encapsulates the vibe of your band—why?

I think the song “Take it Back” fits the bill, lyrically and musically. Like most of my songs, it’s about introspection and interpersonal relationships. The opening lyric, “How much of this are you going to take seriously?” applies to my relationships with both specific people in my life and with the listener. Musically it’s upbeat and quirky, which is generally the aesthetic that we strive for. The song combines my passion for both songwriting and orchestral arranging and features a handful of great brass and woodwind players from Philly.

You recently played in the Ba-Rock Brooklyn Festival. With a big election on our horizon, how does your music fit into the political landscape of our environment?

Our music is certainly not politically charged, though we were really excited to be a part of the benefit concert in Greenpoint last month. The country’s social and political climates have gotten increasingly more volatile over the past seven years, and people are restless for change. Artists and musicians are especially well equipped to be at the forefront of a sociopolitical change, and the Ba-Rock Brooklyn benefit is the perfect example.

Who are some of the artists that inspire you—on a large scale and on a small scale?

Joni Mitchell, across the board. Her catalogue of music is so vast and diverse as she has evolved as a musician and continued writing over the past four decades. Her lyrics are profound and remain socially relevant, while her music is unique melodically, harmonically, and orchestrally in many cases. Additionally, Adam, Joe and I all spent our undergrad careers studying Jazz disciplines, techniques, and principles. Though I think it’s safe to say that the majority of our musical interests lie elsewhere, it creeps in from time to time.

You started your music career in Philly. Can you compare the scene to Brooklyn?

It’s an inherently difficult task to drum up a crowd the first times you leave home to play elsewhere. Luckily we’ve had a fairly warm reception our past few shows in Brooklyn, the Ba-Rock Brooklyn benefit especially. I think the biggest difference is in size, with Philly existing on the cosier end of the spectrum and Brooklyn being more spacious, though both have a wealth of emerging talent. The two scenes seem to feed each other to a certain extent as well.

What, besides musicians and music, inspires your songs?

I don’t think I’ve ever written a song that wasn’t a reaction to a personal relationship (romantic, platonic, or familial) or a significant event in one. I usually need to be fired up about something before the wheels start turning.