The Roots of "Rufus Tree"
This is how we came up with the name "Rufus Tree".
Caleb
Lead Vocals, Harmonica, and Piano
It would be needless to say, I’ve known my brother Peter a very long time. Peter and I have known our cousin Aaron for some time too, this also, is no amazing coincidence. Yeah, as you’ve probably guessed, we’ve done our share of hanging out and causing trouble together long before we knew we’d be in a band together. But as our band evolved, and Aaron eventually moved on, we found our missing links as members Justin Lueders, Kevin Hicks, and Jed Harrison climbed aboard the Rufus Tree-fort...
Kevin
Bass
I met these guys in the spring of ’02 in Waukegan, IL while competing in a battle of the bands competition with my former band (The Flippin' Pterodactyls). I met Peter before the show while he was tuning a hammer dulcimer. I was interested to see him play the odd looking thing and waited for them to go on stage. I was very impressed with the sound of the band and with their message. I knew that they had potential to make an impact in the indie music scene. Aaron Graunke (former lead singer) was playing bass, but I could tell that he was actually a guitar player incognito...
Pete
Guitar and Hammer Dulcimer
Hey, my name is Peter Kruse (aka Pedro) and I play guitar and hammer dulcimer for Rufus Tree. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen. My oldest brother, David, came home one night with a hot pink Lotus electric guitar. He hated it so much that he gave it to me. Soon I started jamming in my bedroom through his fifty-watt amp. My friend James Gowler brought over some tin cans and we knew we had something going. A few years later James and I started a band with Kevin Lipinski called ‘Greet Rufus,’ which has since "grown" into Rufus Tree...
Andy
Guitar
I met Kevin back in 2002 at my sister-in-laws wedding rehearsal dinner. We got into talking about music both saying that we play. I was back in town from living in Ohio to start a band, Life After Ten. In the back of my mind I thought, “I should remember him in case Ohio didn’t work out...but, he is 5 years older than me and probably wouldn’t even think of starting something with a punk kid like me...” We kept running into each other once I moved back to Wisconsin but I started a new project pretty much immediately...but just recently had a try-out with “the Tree” and here I am on the website!
Ashley
Percussion
Hi everyone! I’m Ashley… no, seriously. It’s a little different but it’s actually a guys name… or at least that’s what my parents want me to believe.
