First things first, Teargas Recording Tree is NOT, nor has ever been, a record label.

The Teargas Recording Tree collective was started in 2001-2002 by a bunch of Saskatoon musicians who were frustrated by the abundance of creativity in the local music scene that was not being documented and therefore not appreciated by anyone who was not in that scene. Bands tended to compete with each other for the same small audiences and there wasn’t enough sharing of musicians, gear, shows, etc., that are evident in a healthy music scene. The Teargas Recording Tree served as an umbrella that we could all work within, signifying that we are not only a part of the same scene, but are actively collaborating with each other and generally going in the same creative direction. The Robot Homestead studio was set up to record as many bands as possible and we released a 3-CD compilation (with fun fur packaging) called “For A Long Drive Under Living Skies” shortly afterward. The studio still exists today and has recorded some very key local albums over the past few years, including Ride Til Dawn, Blood Music, Dumb Angel, and Carbon Dating Service, among many others. Many of the bands listed on the site are still active and there is also a directory for bands that have broken up, as well as show posters for every show organized by collective members over the years. By 2003, the collective had also branched out to Winnipeg and Edmonton and we were cross-promoting shows within the greater “prairie music scene”.

It’s obvious from looking at news updates that the website has become less and less of a networking hub in recent years. This is in large part due to the advent of Myspace as it became possible for users to upload their own content and make any changes they wanted when they wanted (instead emailing us changes to be updated manually). Since it is now so easy to communicate with any other band, the networking aspect of this site became obsolete - not that it didn’t do a lot of good before this gradual change. The collective still exists as the tree logo appears on many new Saskatoon releases and many of the members’ music is still available for sale through this site. The music scene in Saskatoon right now is the healthiest that it has ever been. Local bands are touring like never before and many are getting national exposure. The Band Swap is still going strong and new bands are being formed all the time.

This site now serves as a record of notable events in Saskatoon’s local scene from 2002-2007 and many of the artists’ pages have links to their own Myspace pages so you can see what’s current. The lack of news updates on this site is not a reflection of a lack of activity in the music scene. We started this site from the frustration of seeing great Saskatoon bands rise and fall with no fossil of their existence and even if this site remains unchanged for the next 5 years, we’re glad that those fossils can still easily be found.

Jim Ginther

PS - In recent news, the third Carbon Dating Service release, Reliquiae, is now available for free download on their artist page and vinyl will be available in May.