Kate Neckel and Eric Lilavois have the same endearing habit when discussing their music; just a little mannerism that reflects their perceptible synergy as new indie art rock band The Copper Trees. They’re always giving each other a chance to say more, punctuating most of their thoughts that way – “Eric, do you want to answer?” “Go for it, Kate! You take it.” This balanced way they exchanged ideas on the phone not only shed more light on their dynamic; it made our call blossom into a fascinating conversation about their creative process and forthcoming first album (due for release later this year). “It’s something I’ve been obsessed with for years now,” Kate Neckel told P&W. “It’s one of these things that’s been in my mind. I’ve been wanting to do this so badly and I didn’t know how it was going to happen. It’s just a feeling I have: there are albums to be made and there are songs to be made. And I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know about the recording process or anything about any of this. So it’s mind-blowing how quickly Eric and I have birthed these ten songs. I think there are ten of them now; we’ll have one or two more. It feels like the most complete expression from me as an artist. I feel like there’s this whole other side of me – part of me that can share with the world beyond just painting. It’s like an evolution. I’m so grateful that we found each other and that we trusted each other to do this.”
The Copper Trees
“We did two Infinite Color & Sound performances at Winston Wächter, and Eric was there the second night,” recalled Neckel. “During my time with that project, I was constantly thinking about getting into the recording studio and really had the drive to create songs. I was writing songs, but I wanted to find a producer and somebody to help me bring these songs to life. I had met with a few people and it wasn’t clicking. It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears; just searching for my person. I remembered that Eric had attended the show. I remembered his hat, and it just kept popping up in my head: ‘I need to track this guy down.’ I sent him a text like, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you remember, but I remember you. And this is what I’m thinking of doing: I want to play in the music studio like I do in the art studio. Would you be interested in meeting with me?’ We met at London Bridge [the historic studio Lilavois owns] and almost immediately, it became evident that it was a deeper collaboration – and that this connection was happening between the two of us. And it went from him producing my record to ‘Let’s start a band. Let’s do this together.’” Eric Lilavois added, “Well, going to that show, initially, was a burst of inspiration. Just walking in the door and seeing Kate & Mike McCready duct-taped to a wall was like – this is artistic energy that really resonates with me. Watching Kate’s performance and the way the art was intertwined with the music, it encapsulates how I feel about the way that I approach music too. It’s beyond chords and lyrics, you know? It’s this deep sort of artistic energy, and I saw it in Kate, and I felt it.”
The Copper Trees
“So when she approached me about producing her record, I was excited to explore that with her. But once we got in the studio, we’d say one or two words to each other and it would just unleash a whole song or unleash our crazy artistic energy. It was undeniable energy. It didn’t make sense to ignore it.” We tend to picture Kate Neckel carrying art supplies with her everywhere, so we wondered if she had prompted any painting or drawing in their first meeting together. “Ironically, no, which is wild,” Lilavois laughed. “We have since, but I think that’s what was really beautiful about all of it: Kate’s a force, musically. And she’s brought out, in me, so many tendencies that I had, like painting and drawing. We both just resonate on that level of artistic expression, and that can manifest in many different ways. We are extracting things from each other and reminding each other that we both have a lot to give and express, when we play together. I was an artist before and would do my own merch paintings and sell things at shows, but that just kind of went by the wayside, and then Kate came along and said, ‘Uh, excuse me, dude. You can still do this. You’ve got a lot to give, and we’ve got a lot to give. Let’s go. Let’s get to work.’”
The Copper Trees
“We have a really great collaborator in Ryan Cory, who did the video [and these photos], and we want to think about that kind of stuff too,” said Lilavois. “It’s just continuing the philosophy and the idea that we both share, which is: come create, come play. So I can imagine that it won’t just be Kate and I scratching something out. I can imagine that we’ll bring other collaborators into the fold to help express and amplify the art as well.” Similarly, Neckel described how working with others has helped her learn quickly as a musician. “I feel like my time with Infinite Color & Sound and Mike [McCready] and Josh [Klinghoffer] was almost like getting a master’s degree. It was this very intense learning process, having exposure to this world. I had never performed on a stage before. I had never gone on a tour before. I just dove in and the learning curve was really high. I think that had something to do with my growth. Also, Mike would always tell me, ‘Don’t think about it too much. Don’t look at YouTube videos.’ We talked about that before – take your head off and feel your way through.” In the same vein, the large painting created by The Copper Trees in their emotive “Eyes” video was their first piece of artwork together – and also came with special permission. “We had never painted together before that video,” explained Neckel. “I had brought paint with me that day, and a canvas, because we wanted to paint together for the first time. And then Derek Klein, the guy who owns Olympic Studios said, ‘You can just paint on the floor,’ and I was like, ‘This is my dream come true.’
The Copper Trees
“So we put the camera up and shot from above. That was the first time we ever painted together and it was like – tada!” As The Copper Trees confirmed, they did not plan what they would paint or even converse as they did so. “They had the song pumping over the speakers while we were doing it,” recalled Lilavois. “We just took a couple seconds to look each other in the eyes and then we went for it. And that was it. There was no discussion about it whatsoever.” Seeking a peek into their process, we then talked about how “Eyes” was written. “What happened is, I brought this song in to show it to Eric. It was maybe the third song we were playing with all day and I was like, ‘Ah I don’t know. I’m not feeling this.’ I was just playing it on my acoustic guitar, and Eric said, ‘That’s cool. Let’s take a break,’ and then, ‘What if we tried it on piano?’ So he started playing it on piano. He made this little remark about how people don’t look each other in the eye anymore, especially at this time. And then I went home that night and that phrase just stuck with me: ‘Look me in the eye…look me in the eye.’ So I twittered on some lyrics, brought it back to him, and Eric…” she trailed off to nudge him to finish the story. “The intimacy that you’re sensing there [comes from] the way we recorded it,” commented Lilavois. “When Kate brought the lyrics in and we fleshed it out on piano, I said, ‘We should literally stand across from each other. Let’s sing this together and we’ll look each other in the eyes. That’s how we recorded that track. That’s like one take of lyrics done with me and Kate standing across from each other recording that song.”
Given that “Eyes” is about the lack of eye contact these days, we wanted to know if their record might also touch on current events. “Without a doubt, all of the elements of what we’re experiencing probably have worked their way into our songs,” said Neckel. Lilavois agreed, “Definitely. I think that, so often, we take our connections for granted. And it has really resonated between Kate and I how special our connection is. Like I was saying before, you can’t ignore it. You’ve got to put the paint on the wall and you’ve got to put the lyrics on the page. So I definitely think there’s a lot on there that has to do with the basic, beautiful human connection that we ignore. ‘Eyes’ is kind of the perfect launching pad for that and there’s a lot more of that same sentiment on the record.” When asked about the origin of their band name, The Copper Trees, the duo laughed with a tone that seemed to say, we knew this question was coming. “In terms of Kate revitalizing some art energy in me…” noted Lilavois, “I was sitting there and we were on the phone. I have this ‘love’ thing that I made out of copper. And there’s a little poem that I wrote along with it that talks about the strength of copper, and the properties of copper, and stuff like that. We were right in the middle of sketching out band names. And my view, right outside my window, happens to be a treeline. So I put The Copper Trees together and sent it over to Kate and she said yes.” “Even with viruses, it repels,” added Neckel. “It has all these magical properties. And I’m like, ‘I will take any of that.’”
The Copper Trees
The Copper Trees went on to explain what it was like to start a band right when a pandemic was starting as well. “At first, it was really frustrating,” said Neckel, “because we started working together in very early March. I remember being so excited. I wanted to be locked in the studio and just create nonstop. But the quarantine lifestyle has allowed us to grow our roots deeper, in a way. You know, we did a lot of Zooms. I’d wake up with a phrase or something and I’d pass it to him. There was a lot of exchange and a lot of conversation and a lot of playing guitar to each other. And when we did get back in the studio, we really were very productive and just finished up the album.” Like they always do, Neckel smoothly passed the question to her bandmate like a news anchor switching over to the weather: “Eric, take over.” When he did, he said, “I’ll use my mom’s words: ‘There’s a blessing in disguise.’ In a weird way, it actually brought Kate and I intensely closer together. We talk every day. We’re on the phone every day. We knew, initially, that there was something really special there. It’s frustrating to no end that some other thing was getting in the way of allowing us to be together in the studio in that time period. But we wandered our garden, so to speak. We made sure to continue to work from afar through Covid stuff. And then the second that we were able to get back into the studio, it was just like, ‘Wow, okay – the song is there.’ We had already done our homework. We’re already talking about record number two.”
The Copper Trees
Pondering what she’s learned from Lilavois, she said thoughtfully, “He’s so patient with me. He can see things in me that I can’t. He’ll just look at me and he’ll play the chords over and over and he knows that I have this thing in me, and it’s like a spool. He just gently knows how to pull it out of me and it’s so beautiful that he can see things in me that I can’t see in myself. And he knows, not only how to see them, but how to unravel them in the most loving way. He’s helping me to see myself and my possibilities as a singer and musician and all these things. Maybe it’s all because of the producer in him. He can unravel me and unwind me in ways.” Her bandmate then detailed a similar feeling. When Neckel urges him, “You’ve got something here and you have something to share and you have something special,” Lilavois feels this encouragement directly affects his actions. “In that same sort of extraction that she’s talking about, every brush stroke gets a little more intentional. Every guitar chord gets a little more intentional. Every lyric gets a little more intentional. So she’s sort of pulled that out of me – like, ‘You have this. Slow down, and pay attention to it, and utilize it to the fullest.’ And we get to do that together, which is a bonus because of our connection. So it’s really cool the way that we’re both just bringing out the best in each other.”
The Copper Trees
“I’m always taking in and trying to learn,” said Kate. “I’m always writing down lyrics or sharing things. It’s a love – I love it so much. It doesn’t feel like work or learning or anything; it’s like pure joy. It’s just a part of me that’s been in me that’s now becoming fully realized.” Memorably, Lilavois commented, “There’s something deeper there in the thread of artistic expression that isn’t beholden to knowing the best way to play a D chord.” Revealing something intriguing about The Copper Trees’ upcoming record, as well as her own songwriting, Neckel shared, “I just listened in the studio a couple of nights ago. I feel like the truth and the spirit and the feeling is captured in the most simple and pure way. I’m like ‘there you are’ – it’s this recognition. If I don’t feel that it almost breaks my heart, then I don’t want to hear it. I want each song to almost make me feel like I’m going to cry. I want that spirit to be in the songs. And I’m proud that I feel that when I look back on all these songs. They each pull on my heartstrings in a very specific way, and that has stayed alive.”
Article: Olivia Isenhart
Photos: Ryan Cory, taken at Easy Street Records in Seattle
