Feed The Tree”
Misheard lyrics, a Pixies tour and a studio “taskmaster” contribute to the genesis of an early-’90s indie-pop gem
by Belly
BY the time Tanya Donelly scored an unexpected hit with “Feed The Tree”, she was already on her third great band. She had left Throwing Muses – who she formed with her stepsister Kristin Hersh – to perform more of her own songs, teaming with Kim Deal to form The Breeders. But when Deal put The Breeders on hiatus to tour with the Pixies, Donnelly found herself with a bunch of great songs and nobody to play them with. Belly, then, came together almost as an expediency, assembled by Donelly in her home state of Rhode Island with former Muses bassist Fred Abong and brothers Chris and Tom Gorman, who played in local punk band Verbal Assault.
“Feed The Tree” was in the band’s setlist from almost their first show. Originally written for a planned second Breeders record, Belly quickly made it their own. The song developed further during pre-production sessions for their debut album Star, drilling down into Donelly’s insistent jangling guitar playing and soaring vocals. The success of “Feed The Tree” amplified Donelly’s songwriting gifts and helped make Star an indie-rock classic of 1993. If anyone had perhaps mistaken Donelly for the junior partner in her previous bands, here was ample evidence that she had her own formidable arsenal of quality alt.pop hooks at her disposal. With “Feed The Tree” high in the charts in both the UK and America, Star sold more than 800,000 copies. Belly soon found themselves doing the rounds from The Big Breakfast with Dannii Minogue to The Late Show With David Letterman.
1993 was a good year for an American band to set out its stall, especially one with such a storied history as Belly. “The Pixies were the big breakthrough,” says Donelly. “When they took off, we began to wonder if there was room for more of us. Then Nirvana really kicked in the doors. It felt like they’d stay open forever, but then those doors slammed shut again. But it was a lot of fun while it lasted.”