Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Neon Trees, an alternative rock band from Provo, Utah.
All the members of this band belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But don’t let their religious leanings fool you because they definitely know how to rock your ear buds. In July, they’re headlining the NYLON Summer Music Tour, during which they’ll be going all over the U.S., as well as Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Their new album, Picture Show, was released on April 17, 2012.
Origins: Provo, Utah
Name Meaning: “Neon Trees” comes from the lit trees on the In-N-Out Burger signs, which inspired Tyler Glenn. Oddly enough, Branden Campbell’s father designed those lights.
Band members: Tyler Glenn (vocals, keyboard), Chris Allen (guitar, vocals), Branden, Campbell (bass guitar, vocals), Elaine Bradley (drums, percussion, vocals), David Charles (touring guitarist)
Known for: Neon Trees are known for making teen angst sound cool.
Used in a sentence: “Neon Trees are like the band you wish you and your friends were awesome enough to form.”
Download now: “Everybody Talks”
File next to: The Killers, Marianas Trench
Fun facts: Their song “Animal” was performed on the second season of Glee (episode 15) and was remixed by Kaskade. Despite being an alternative rock band, they covered Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” in 2010.
Career highlights: After The Killers bassist Ronnie Vannucci Jr. watched Neon Trees play at a small club in Las Vegas, they were chosen to open for The Killers on their 2008 North American Tour. Vannucci also helped the band get signed with Mercury Records in late 2008.
In 2010, the band released their debut album, Habits. They performed the lead single, “Animal” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Lopez Tonight, Live with Regis & Kelly, and Conan. That same year they opened for 30 Seconds to Mars tour, performed at Lollapalooza and headlined the Summer 2010 Bang The Gong Tour.
Notable lyrics: Neon Trees sing about people’s opinions getting in the way of love on their single, “Everybody Talks.”
“Hey baby won’t you look my way/ I can be your new addiction/ Hey baby what you gotta say?/ All you’re giving me is fiction/ I’m a sorry sucker and this happens all the time/ I found out that everybody talks/ everybody talks/ everybody talks”
