Tree Fort Angst

Washington, D.C. indiepop outfit Tree Fort Angst began as the solo acoustic project of singer/songwriter Terry Banks, a former member of Sarah Records act St. Christopher as well as the Pam Berry-led glo-worm. Influenced chiefly by the early-1980s Postcard label sound defined by Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, TFA self-released its debut cassette Fifteen Songs of Vim and Vigor in 1991, followed a year later by "You Should've Seen the One That Got Away" (a contribution to the noted SpinArt label compilation One Last Kiss) and the Six Songs EP, issued on the German label A Turntable Friend. Also in 1992, Banks recruited bassist John Gotschalk and drummer Hunter Duke; the trio's first recordings comprised the Velodrome EP Buzzing with Beauty and Wonder. While the song "Trampoline" appeared on no fewer than three 1993 compilations, Tree Fort Angst also issued a French flexidisc, "Parting Kiss," and contributed to the split EP Calling at Duke Street; the following year, TFA released a pair of EPs, Tilting at Windmills and Hope. The band dissolved in the summer of 1994; Banks later resurfaced in the Saturday People, while Gotschalk signed on with the Red Hot Lava Men. In 1996, the Bus Stop label compiled the retrospective Knee Deep in the Rococo Excess of Tree Fort Angst; in 2002, Foxyboy reissued the compilation under the title Last Page in the Book of Love, adding ten extra tracks. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide