The Vinyl Trees

about

The Vinyl Trees' story started with Mark Smith at the age of 16 when he decided to pick up a guitar. Heavily inspired by his favorite bands, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Doors, he began writing songs of his own. He lived in Lethbridge, Canada, at the time and played hockey for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He started his first group, The Epic Latitudes, with his older brother Derek. After years of practicing both hockey and music and bouncing around several minor league teams, Mark finally made his childhood dreams become reality. He was drafted by The San Jose Sharks. After years of progression both as a player and teammate, came a hockey player's worst nightmare: a lockout. With no hockey to play, Mark submerged himself in his other passion--music. He started his own record label, Lunar Records, with hopes of giving some great unknown bands some recognition. One night he was out with friend Greg Lauck, when mark persuaded him to go into a seedy bar with live music called Johnny V's, one of Smiths favorites. To Mark's surprise, upstairs he found the first band he wanted to sign to his label. The band was called The Invasion. The Invasion recorded a couple of demo tracks before disbanding later that fall. The lockout was finally resolved and Smitty went back to the ice. During the season he was introduced to Larry Brooks, a local drummer and friend of Greg Lauck. Instantly a musical chemistry began between the two. Larry was accustom to playing a regular drum kit un

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