Liberation: An Interview With Brooklyn’s The Trees

By Staff | January 17, 2026

The Trees – three cute nerds who write strange-yet-catchy rock songs about decolonization and late-stage capitalism – strive to convey the urgency of their message while also supporting their human siblings in not just surviving but thriving. Inspired by nature and other creative weirdos, The Trees enjoy playing with the line between uncomfortable and too much while still also entertaining our fans. Despite our inclination to push boundaries, experiment with sounds and song structure, and sing brazen lyrics, the heart of our message is to spread joy and foster intentional connection based around celebrating the planet, queerness, and creativity.

Your name, The Trees, suggests something grounded, interconnected, and ancient. How does that organic imagery square with your self-described identity as "three cute nerds" navigating a digital, late-stage capitalist world? 

Bex: Growing up as a closeted queerdo in United Baptism in Kentucky, I found solace in trees; a favorite activity of mine was reading in the top branches of a big oak over at Granny's. When I'm in a tree – or the ocean – I make sense to myself. I find peace. Spending time in these natural spaces away from our society and all of its technology helps me process and reset. Nature also inspires me. I do my best songwriting in the woods.

You embrace being nerds. In what ways does your specific brand of nerdiness—perhaps a love for data, history, or niche subcultures—inform the way you deconstruct complex systems like US imperialism in your lyrics?

Dave: Nerdiness can be seen, besides fashionably wearing glasses, as a true love of learning. In that way, we are all three nerds. While Dave is more into ancient history, Daniel into production technology, and Bex into literature, what sparks us, as a group, is when we bring our passions to each other to learn, play, and create together. The fascists and capitalists are trying to control our minds and bodies for their own profit, at the expense not only of our futures, but of life as we know it. Did we learn this from Living Colour’s Time’s Up? Did we learn this from Miguel Leon-Portilla’s Broken Spears? Or from Our Bodies Ourselves? More importantly, what did we unlearn in order to reveal the most basic fact? None of us are free until all of us are free. 

Bex: I grew up in a culture where being curious and asking questions was not celebrated but instead chastised and ostracized. Nerd was one of the lighter insults I received. Claiming this word as a grown-up is a way to practice self-love, to let go of shame about who I am, to instead be grateful that I get to be me, and to find joy in the process of exploring and learning. There is SO MUCH information available to us so easily in this modern age! The more I learn about the complex systems we live in, the more I understand about how to dismantle them. I don't want to be the kind of activist who just repeats shit; I want to know. And there's also something inside me that feels compelled to share this knowledge. Education is power. Writing lyrics allows me to play with language and music while also spreading important information and hopefully inspiring others to take action.

You've mentioned that time is running out. How do you balance the existential weight of the climate crisis and systemic violence with the need to keep a rock show entertaining and joyful?

Bex/Dave: For all three of us, the future is as much about joy and celebration as it is about rejecting current systems. "Liberation for all" is a truly joyful message. Together, we can create other ways of being that revolve around mutual aid, creative expression, collaboration, and love. A rock show is an opportunity to not only spread the message of urgency to take action on behalf of the Earth, but to also have fun together. Adults need to play more often! 

As a band, we're very intentional about finding this balance between seriousness and playfulness, through our song selection for each set, our between-song banter, the language and imagery we use to promote our shows, and the venues we play in. We also do genuinely love playing these songs together, and we hope that people have a good time hearing them.

Giving the land back is a central pillar of your message. Beyond the lyrics, how do The Trees attempt to practice decolonial values within the New York music scene or your own internal band dynamics?

Bex/Dave: Within our band, we reject the hierarchical, competitive, and individualistic values of the colonizers and instead work collaboratively with a shared mission of writing songs that spread ideals like antiracism, anticapitalism, land back, inclusion, liberation, and more. All of us identify as queer in some way, and the songwriting process has helped us each further understand our identities and more deeply love ourselves. Band practice is a safe space where we express, heal, and create as equals, together.

In our daily lives, we work to live by the words we preach: we provide mutual aid for one another, we volunteer for mutual-aid organizations in NYC, and we make donations to various organizations that support Indigenous communities. We purchase gifts directly from Indigenous businesses, amplify social-media content of BIPOC artists and activists, buy and share music made by Indigenous people in NYC and around the world, and join political actions like protests, petitions, and boycotts. As parents, Dave and Bex also teach their kids about the true history of the U.S.A. and about the Lenape people of NYC. It's important that white-bodied people like us do not speak on behalf of Indigenous communities nor appropriate their culture, but that we acknowledge their reality, support the work they're doing, and work toward a future where the land is returned to them and our society transitions to one led by Indigenous values and practices.

You enjoy playing with the line between uncomfortable and too much. Can you describe a specific moment during a live set or a recording where you felt you successfully pushed the audience right to that edge?

Dave: A friend of mine came to see us perform. He stayed for the whole performance. Afterwards, he approached me to say that he loved the music but felt like we were being critical of his ideals and expressions. He could sometimes be sexist, and so I told him he was right. If I had brought this up in a regular conversation, he might not have even realized I was being serious. While this remained a friendly interaction, they don’t always stay that way. By putting our ideals on display in public, often at no-cover shows in smaller venues, we are inviting conversations with people who don’t always want to talk.

Bex: Someone walked out on my very first performance. I was like, "Well, I can cross that one off the list." I suppose I pushed that person too far, but 20 other people stayed in the room, so perhaps pushing an audience to the edge requires pushing some individuals too far.

What’s the strangest sound or non-traditional song structure you’ve used to convey a political point?

Bex: Haha, that is an unfair question! We started long ago, with a slightly different lineup, as a free music/spoken word combination with minimal song structure, improvised sax solos, and edgy poetry, so there's a lot to choose from for this answer. "Two Deer Stake Out My Tree" is a holdover from that era, combining two different real-life situations with two different freely expressed musical ideas. The unpredictability of the drum line – mixed with the stylized spoken-word delivery about violence, humanity and survival – is probably the strangest, most non-traditional song we play. 

There is a long history of strange-yet-catchy protest music. Who are the creative weirdos (musical or otherwise) that gave you the permission to be both brazen and melodic?

Dave: The list is long! Vernon Reid, Lou Reed, and Kim Deal make me feel more like an Earthling, and less like I come from away. I feel honored to walk this earth at the same time as them. RIP Lou. I have learned the most about my place in history from Living Colour and Midnight Oil.

Bex: My mom had a record player and introduced me to Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, The Clash, and Bob Marley; during this time, bands like The Fugees, TLC, and A Tribe Called Quest were also on the radio. As I uncovered more hip-hop, punk, and electronic music, artists like The Lifesavas, Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Thievery Corporation really captured me; I loved their models of how to blend experimental sounsd with clear, political messages.I still listen to all of these artists! Right now I'm also especially hooked on Honeychild Coleman, a local activist and punk rocker who leaves no crumbs, and Greentea Peng, an amazing example of how to combine urgent lyrics about the state of the world with entertaining music and imagery.

Right now I'm especially hooked on Honeychild Coleman, a local activist and punk rocker who leaves no crumbs; Indigenous rappers The Neighborhood Kids, two talented emcees with sharp political commentary; and Greentea Peng, an amazing example of how to combine urgent lyrics about the state of the world with entertaining music and imagery.

How does your celebration of queerness act as a direct challenge to the ruling class systems you’re critiquing?

Bex/Dave: Genderqueerness, pansexuality, and polyamory shake the very foundation of the American Empire. Attempting to control our sexual desires and expressions is really an attempt to keep us afraid and toeing the line. Free your mind and free your body. 

After a set, when the feedback loop between the band and the fans is at its peak, what is the one thing you hope a listener feels in their gut as they walk out the door?

Bex/Dave: We hope our listeners leave feeling turned on, tuned it, and ready to act.

If The Trees were tasked with soundtracking the first day of a post-capitalist, remade society, what would the vibe of that first song be?

Dave: "The Way Is Already" is our soundtrack for being in that revolution. I don’t think it’s enough of a party to be on the soundtrack for the post-work economy, though. Once we get there, you can bet there will be much more of The Trees to listen to, likely a more relaxed, freer expression. Come lie down with the trees. The air is good down here.

Bex: I think we'd still be loud, though.

Official website: https://thetreesband.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetreesbandny

Bandcamp: https://thetreesband.bandcamp.com