Birds in the Woods, a featured band on Plattsburgh Pipeline Radio, is based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Their music falls into the alternative / adult contemporary genres. The sounds of Birds in the Woods draws on the improvisation and performance practice of jam bands like Phish.  They mix elements reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band with lyricism comparable to that of Joni Mitchell in their Jazz-influenced harmonies.

The band is composed of George Woods on Guitar, Sue Buzzard on Violin, Tyreek Jackson on Electric Bass and Massimo Buonanno on Drums. All attend the Berklee School of Music, in Boston, Mass. When asked how the name Birds in the Woods came to be, George replied, "It came about in a panicked decision at our first gig when the band was a duet between George Woods (guitar) and Sue Buzzard (violin). Birds in the Woods is a word play on each of our last names. But it's something that I just spewed out when the announcer asked us what our name was in a fit of panic. And it stuck." 
 
Some of the bands major influences are composer / performers like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Their many lyrical influences include Ani Difranco, Bob Dylan, and Parliament Funkadelic.

I asked George what has inspired him to make music. He replied, "I grew up with a very musical father so I was taught the language from a very early age and it's just an easier way of talking at this point. Currently my friends and life philosophies inspire me to write songs. Also, the interaction between musicians is something truly incredible." 
 
I asked George what the band's biggest challenge has been and how they overcame it. He said that bands face many challenges, but a major one is finding and keeping the right members. Birds in the Woods found themselves switching out drummers. Finally, they have found a drummer who doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. George states, "we love our drummer right now!" and adds, "Massimo is an incredible musician with marvelous opinions on songs and arrangement and production." George says that another challenge has been the overwhelming task to be successful musicians in today's market. "It ain't easy!" 
 
I asked about recurring themes in Birds in the Woods songs and George replied, "Bird in the Woods first album deals largely with songs about life changing and the lessons learned while growing up. Accepting the good and the bad and striving through it. Because the themes of many of the songs are attached to changing we are trying to theme many of them after Autumn. There are references to Fall or falling leaves in a number of the songs on there but also there are a lot of love themes, like in any good piece of music."

“What are the ingredients of a good song?” I asked. George says, "Ideally the first thing you hear should catch your attention and then the rest should keep your attention and make you feel like that singer is speaking directly to you as a listener."

I asked if he thinks that these topics will change over time. George replied, "Yes, in fact we have a plan to model our next albums after the different seasons. For example, the next album we are planning will be intended to reflect Spring and have a lot of love themes. A couple of the songs are already written and are being refined."

“What do you want the listener to get out of your music?” I asked. George says, "Ultimately I want to share my experiences with people in such a way that they feel like I understand them. In actuality I'll be telling my stories and they will be understanding me. Inherent in that perception is the power of music. Music allows people to feel deeply what other people feel and in that way it makes people more intimately connected and that is a beautiful thing. If music is treated like that it will bring the whole world together. Every note that you play and every experience you have will just help to strengthen the bonds between people. And to me that is truly beautiful."

This year Birds in the Woods hopes to release their first album, "Some Thing New." George added, “we want to really expand on our image and our area of performance. We plan on having a tour through the mid-south in late summer and to continue to build a following through the Tri-state region, and to make more music and make the second album even better than the first!"

Birds in the Woods recently played at the Monopole Restaurant in Plattsburgh and received a warm welcome. If you happen to be in the NYC area on April 2^nd, be sure to catch Birds in the Woods at the Underscore.  They are playing at Bills Bar in Boston, Massachusetts on April 8^th.

Find out more about Birds in the Woods at www.birdsinthewoods.com. Also check them out and other great bands by visiting www.plattsburghpipeline.com/band. For booking information contact: birdsinthewoods@gmail.com.