Plumtree (band)

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Plumtree (1993-2000) was an all-girl indie pop band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They formed in 1993 after meeting through music teachers. The original members included Lynette Gillis (14) on drums, Carla Gillis (17) on guitar and vocals, Amanda Braden (15) on guitar and vocals and Nina Martin (16) on bass and occasional vocals.

When Carla and Lynette were 10 or 11 years old they discovered heavy metal music and asked their parents to buy them musical instruments. Carla got a guitar and Lynette a set of drums. They took lessons and played at home until 1993 when they decided to find others to form a band. Their first band played their Junior High talent show with a setlist made up mostly of Jimi Hendrix and Iron Maiden covers. The band subsequently broke up because they never played any shows. Amanda and Nina joined the band and they quickly developed a highly collaborative songwriting method which combined catchy melodies, a serious approach to writing music and solid instrumentation. Plumtree played their first show at Halifax's all-ages Cafe Ole in June 1993.

Plumtree established themselves as one of the more original young bands in Canada after releasing a song, "Follow You," on the No Class cassette, a compilation featuring Nova Scotia high school bands. This earned them opening slots for Jale, Thrush Hermit, Velocity Girl and the Spinanes. Cinnamon Toast Records released Plumtree's first seven-inch, Green Mittens, in 1994. It featured the songs "Dog Gone Crazy" and "Have a Banana," plus two songs from Prince Edward Island's Strawberry on the other side. Shorty after, Plumtree released a six-song cassette entitled Flutterboard.

In 1995, Plumtree recorded its first full-length CD, Mass Teen Fainting, at Sound of One Hand Studios in Ottawa with Paul Hogan. The CD was a college radio hit and, along with extensive touring and a tobogganing video for the song, "Tropical," gained Plumtree a dedicated Canadian fanbase. Nina Martin left the band in September 1995 to pursue undergraduate work at McGill University. She was replaced by Ottawa native Catriona Sturton in 1996.

In 1996, Plumtree was awarded Best Canadian Band Under Twenty at the YTV Achievement Awards. They performed "Tropical" during the nationally-broadcast show.

Plumtree's second CD, Predicts the Future, was recorded in 1997 with Laurence Currie at Idea of East in Halifax. Released in 1998, the CD propelled Plumtree onto the covers of weekly magazines, including Canada's music monthly, Exclaim! and to the #1 spot on the national college radio chart, Earshot. Videos for the singles "Scott Pilgrim," "Go," and "You Just Don't Exist" received regular airplay on MuchMusic. "Scott Pilgrim" went on to inspire the popular graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim, by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Predicts the Future was nominated for an East Coast Music Award in the Alternative Rock category. It lost to Superfriendz' Slide Show.

During these early years, Plumtree released numerous songs on vinyl and CD compilations, including Water Had Leaked into My Suit (Cinnamon Toast), You're a Superlady (Corduroy), Secret Songs (Korova Cafe) and Syrup and Gasoline (Grenadine). An earlier version of "Scott Pilgrim" can also be found on a split seven-inch Plumtree released with The Inbreds on the PF label.

Plumtree toured extensively throughout its seven-year career, hitting the road with Montreal's The Local Rabbits, Halifax bands Thrush Hermit, The Inbreds and Superfriendz, Moncton's Julie Doiron (formerly of Eric's Trip) and Winnipeg's The Weakerthans and Duotang. Plumtree could only tour during the summer months as they attended university during the school months.

In 1999, Plumtree spent the summer in Toronto recording This Day Won't Last at All with Justin Deneau at Electromagnetic Studios. It was released in 2000 by Winnipeg-based Endearing Records. A Cindy Sherman-inspired video for the song, "Regret," received airplay on MuchMusic.

In spring 2000, they toured across Canada and down the West Coast States with Vancouver's Salteens. But graduate degrees beckoned and Plumtree decided to end their seven-year run in July 2000. Plumtree's final show took place on July 31 at the Marquee Club in Halifax.

Lynette and Carla Gillis currently live in Vancouver, where they perform in the trio, Bontempi, with Geoff Miller. Carla also writes under her solo moniker, Carla Gillis. Amanda Braden is pursuing a PhD in Boston. Catriona Sturton, lives in Ottawa, teaches harmonica, and studies education in Kingston, Ontario. Nina Martin works and studies in Chicago.

All three Plumtree CDs are currently available through Zunior.com.