Staff Writer

DeKALB | When talking with musicians about their favorite things to do in DeKalb, you never expect them to mention playing impromptu shows in their pajamas, but that is exactly what Todd Fink of The Giving Tree Band said when discussing his favorite DeKalb venue, the House Café.

“We feel at home there,” Fink said. “Sometimes, we come in our pajamas and just play.”

If these PJ-clad jam sessions sound a tad unconventional, then you’re on the right track to understanding Fink, his bandmates and their music.

In a society where overly Auto-Tuned music and consumer wastefulness prevails, The Giving Tree Band’s combination of bluegrass-infused folk-rock and promotion of environmental awareness is a breath of fresh air. Add this to the band’s unusually easy-going disposition, and you’ve got a band poised to make their permanent mark on the music scene.

The past few years have been busy for the men of The Giving Tree Band. From 2007 to 2010, the band released three full-length albums and caught the attention of major music magazines and listeners alike. The steady work output doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon. When asked about upcoming plans, Fink revealed that the band’s fourth album should be expected to release early next year. First though, the band will embark on a multi-month, environmentally conscious tour, on which Middlewest Fest is one of the stops.

When not handling the day-to-day tasks of touring, the band tries to agree on road music.

“We try to find common ground,” Fink said. “We can all agree on Bob Dylan or The Grateful Dead; we don’t listen to too much current stuff. Dylan’s catalogue is so huge- there just is enough stuff that you never get tired of it.”

A large part of the group’s eco-friendly agenda stems from the vegan diet adhered to by all seven members of the band. Knowing that “people naturally become defensive when asked to change,” Fink said being a living example of his beliefs and environmental morals is the best way to inspire people to evaluate their habits.

He said that those who do adhere to a certain diet should be aware of the tendency to alienate others.

“People feel like it is something they can’t be part of,” Fink said. “Really, it is just a diet.”

This fall, the band will appear on Home on the Range, a compilation album of vegan and vegetarian artists put together by the Compassionate Farming Education Initiative in order to help fund farm animal rescue sanctuaries.

“What’s unique about it is that it brings together vegetarian and vegan artists without too much consideration of the type of music,” Fink said. “We normally wouldn’t get to work with say, Matisyahu. This is a unique opportunity to be united because of our diet.”

The Giving Tree Band will make its first Middlewest Fest appearance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Van Buer Plaza stage.