Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with St. Louis’s Orangetree. Together we discussed their band name, how #SkaTwitter help reunited them, their thoughts on the current ska scene, and so much more! Check it out below!
1. Hello! Mustard thanks you for joining them. They are grateful. How are you doing? No, No… we are grateful that you care enough to ask! We are terrific, how are you?
2. Before you were “Orangetree” and “Orange Tree” you were the “The Orange Tree Band.” Can you share more about the journey your band name went through?
The legend of our name has evolved over the years, but the gist is that the original iteration of Orangetree played together in an early 90’s glam rock band called Wild and Ready (this is true). Around 1993 we began hearing local acts like the Urge/Mu330/Secret Cajun Band etc… and felt like the transition from glam rock to ska punk made so much sense because we were obsessed with it. The name came about like this: member 1: what should we call this blend of ska/punk/grunge/glam rock? Member 2: it’s something new! Member 3: right, like, not blue grass… but Orange Tree. The rest, as they say, is history, no idea how it moved between the three different existences… too drunk!
3. It was #Skatwitter that helped reunite Orangetree. Was there a particular moment or tweet that inspired Orangetree to join forces again? Would Orangetree like to collaborate or work with anyone from #SkaTwitter?
I wouldn’t say there was a particular moment or Tweet. #Skatwitter is just this amazing place on the internet that we had to be part of, it reminds me a lot of the Saint Louis Ska scene in the 90’s. Everyone knows everyone and we are all working toward this greater good. There’s a lot of bands that we would love to work with, oddly enough we were just talking about how we can get Catbite back to Saint Louis to do a show together. We are big fans of theirs. We would also like to do a show with the Working Class Stiffs, we are both on the same label and it only makes sense for us to do a tour together or at least we do a show there and they do a show here.
4. With #Skatwitter and the millions of dollars being offered to you, can fans expect new music in the future?
First things first, with our millions of dollars we plan to fill up a silo and dive into the money -Scrooge McDuck style. Next is our label, wanting to re-release our self-titled album on vinyl and then yes, we will be releasing new music, we already have some new songs written, well our butlers wrote some new songs for us.
5. What are your thoughts on the current ska scene?
It’s amazing. The ska scene now seems bigger than it was when we split up. There’s a lot of great indie ska labels out there too. 20+ years ago you basically only had Moon, Jump Up, Asian Man. Moon records is gone, but now you have Ska Punk International, Toxic Toast, Bad Times, and our friend Tim’s label Ninguid Records which happens to be the label we are on.
6. Mustard loves your song “Pretzels” off Fixing Stupid. Does Orangetree have a favorite pretzel place? What does Orangetree dip their pretzels in?
If you listen to the lyrics in the pretzels tune, it could lead you to believe we are completely turned off to ever eating a pretzel again after watching a grown man stick one down his pants… but listen, this humble guitarist is still a sucker for just about any large soft pretzel with jalapeño cheese.
7. Humans love to be intimate and romantic. Is your song “Makin’ out” a good guide or song to listen too while doing this human deed?
This song is about young lovers watching Star Wars and making out on a basement floor on a Friday night… to answer your question: YES!
8. Could you describe a typical Orangetree songwriting session?
I have no idea what it was 20 years ago, but today the songs generally come to the band in a demo form, from the member who wrote it, and everyone takes their respective parts and expands to polish them up.
9. What’s next for Orangetree?
We have a show on August 21st with The Kuhlies, Boomtown United, and The Toasters at the Red Flag here in Saint Louis. After that Some great show announcements on the horizon, they are booked and just waiting to hit that sweet time frame to start promoting. After 2022, hopefully some more consistent shows, new music and some regional shows. Nothing crazy, we’re not the strapping lads we once were!
10. Where can readers listen to your music?
We are on all the streaming services, and you can buy our 12” re-release of Fixing Stupid at Ninguidrecords.com For show information you can go to orangetreerocks.com
Music Shelf With Mustard 