ABOUT — Bottle Tree

Dear reader,

It all started in 2008 when Claude got his ass and heart busted up and broken down on Bourbon Street. The ensuing chaos produced a slurry of stories and imagery and in the heart of that hurricane, a rock and roll band was born.

Bottle Tree Productions is Turn Back Now, The Denim Thieves, Steady Girl Records, Wanderlust Comics Group, Pink Trailer Media, and any other way we can get this story into your hands and eyes and ears and brain.

What and when and who and how have all done some changing in the past decade, but still we march on; desperate and hungry to tell you this story. By any means necessary.

Welcome to Free America,

Claude, Justin, Nate, Meg, Colby, and Alex

Claude Culotta

Maybe it’s the gentle smell of smoking meat wafting off his work shirt. Maybe it’s the way that he manages to be both fat and handsome. Maybe it’s the fact he’s been here the longest. Whatever it is, Claude is the man with most of the words. Lyrical and narrative words. (Probably too many words) He also fronts Turn Back Now from behind a microphone and a cheap beer, and sometimes sunglasses to hide the fact that there’s sweat in his eyes.

Claude's Twitter

Justin Johnson

Justin is like a wave that is about to break but never does. Threatening perilously to spill your drink all over the dance floor with his funky fluid ass musical stylings. He’s a hell of a gentleman, a gentle hellion, and he won’t say much, unless provoked. Responds to turkey gobbles, Whitney Houston impressions (specifically pertaining to Bobby Brown) and anything that might trigger his ASMR. Don’t test though, cause this soldier’s got spine and he’s gonna backbone the hell outta this joint.

Nate Shroud

Is that a bolt that needs tightening? Or the sound of distant Nordic lightening? Listen to that man’s guitar. Don’t ask him to fix your car. It may take some time to form his word-thoughts. He has no time for treason plots.He is the counsel in the storm. And his hugs are broad and warm.The man, myth, and legend, a million times Nate. Robots.

Meg Culotta

We should all listen to Meg more, because she has rational, reasonable goals that could help us further our careers. She’s also a rad storyteller, hilarious at parties, and makes sure everybody eats something delicious. She draws them in at shows cause she shines so bright. And she doesn’t tolerate bullshit, but she’s nice about it. She also makes all our colors brighter and cleaner.

Colby

Staged an unsuccessful coup, and decided to join the band instead. A man of action and alchemy, he turns imagery into images and back again. He came out swinging for the fences, and he’s never backed down. Fronts The Denim Thieves with a deft hand, a heavy sigh, a sad song, a lump in his throat and a smile on his lips; and keeps this raft running the right way down the river.

Alex

He was just supposed to be a drummer. And we’ve had a few of those. Alex is the first one to actually acknowledge that he was a chaos demon. What we didn’t know is that he plays guitar like a cowboy with a hangover who just had a talk with Robert Johnson at some crossroads. You ever meet someone who is just distracting as shit and makes it impossible to get shit done, and then all of the sudden you realize they’ve been completing it around you the whole time? Hanging out with Alex is like that.