he Albany-founded band Sea of Trees is known for its imaginative and dynamic style, along with the members’ use of dance, costume and theater during performances, but in 2011, Sea of Trees members took a break from their usual style with the creation of a children’s book and album, “Fletcher and the Hendersons.”
“I had been interested in children’s books for a while,” said Dylan Palazzo, the band’s singer and songwriter. “And I always liked albums that have cohesion and a consistent theme.”
In the fall of 2008, Sea of Trees had its first performance at Valentine’s Music Hall for a Halloween show. Since then, the indie rock band of five has made appearances at venues from the Capital District to New York City, gaining recognition for its debut album “Animal Sounds,” which earned the group the title of Best New Band of 2009.
In 2011, three of the band’s members, Palazzo, Mitch Masterson and Ian White, created the album “Fletcher and the Hendersons,” along with its accompanying book, in 28 days for the RPM Challenge, an annual challenge that invites musicians to create an original record from scratch solely in the month of February.
“Fletcher and the Hendersons” offers parents and children an imaginative and interactive way to read along with the book. The book and CD tell of the early life of Florence Henderson, a young girl who has lost her father. With the help of a ghost named Fletcher, Florence goes through helicopter school and finds out the truth behind the helicopter crash she had believed took her father’s life. The book is filled with colorful illustrations, which are accompanied by an album with lyrics that tell Florence’s story. The book also comes with instructions on how it interacts with the CD, giving readers and listeners clear directions when to turn the page.
Although Palazzo said he is unsure of where the inspiration for Florence’s story came from, he said that the music for the CD came from his experiments with a Lowrey organ. The organ was a prominent feature in the project’s music, and even allowed the band to evoke the sounds of a helicopter readying for launch. From there, he realized “that the music was part of a bigger story.”
“I wanted to have darker elements to it,” Palazzo said. “A more surreal kind of feel.”
Nancy Palazzo, Dylan’s mother, did the illustrations for the book. Now retired, she was a freelance designer and artist for 35 years in the world of infant and children’s bedding and clothing. She first collaborated with the band members in 2010 when she provided the art for their self-titled extended play “Sea of Trees.” However, “Fletcher and the Hendersons” was Palazzo’s first time illustrating a children’s book.
She found the project fun and easy, saying that her son gave her clear directions about what he wanted and how to approach illustrating the lyrics of the CD, while also giving her artistic liberty. The lyrics, she said, gave her a picture of how to illustrate the story.
“The worst thing was that since this was for my son, I wanted the illustrations to be perfect, and they never were,” Palazzo said. “He thought they were great, but I still don’t think they are perfect enough.”
As a child, Palazzo said her son was an avid reader and was reading to himself as soon as he was able. Together, Nancy and Dylan read books by Maurice Sendak and stories of Winnie the Pooh.
Lately, Palazzo is working on a series of other projects with his band and has said that their next album will be more straightforward, but he is interested in doing a sequel to “Fletcher and the Hendersons,” in which he plans to focus more on the Hendersons’ side of the story.
“‘Fletcher and the Hendersons’ was a real learning experience,” said Palazzo. “I’m really pleased with how it came out.”
More information about Sea of Trees can be found on the website, seaoftrees.com. “Fletcher and the Hendersons” is available to purchase on the website for $12, as well as in bookstores throughout the Capital District, including Market Block Books, The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Last Vestige Music Shop and the River Street Beat Shop.