by Brian McKay

One great aspect of Treefort is the chance for emerging bands to showcase their talents in one of the many venues. One such band is Illicit Nature. This Boise band is more fun than my SoCal Punk station on Apple Music. That’s because they are punk rock in its purest form.

Listening to Illicit Nature harkens back to some of my favorites growing up. Dead Kennedys come to mind right off the bat. Black Flag and the Descendants are a few others. Their song I Swear Mom It’s Not a Phase is so aptly named for the rebellion inherent in the bands music.

I was fortunate to catch David Adkins, Sid Martinez, Ethan Taylor and Parker Brown after their recent Treefort show and have a chat with them.

While band leans heavily toward punk and counts the Descendants and Ramones as influences, they are also heavily influenced on the personal side by metal and much of the current new wave. Sid happens to love a lot of Slayer and Metallica.

The band has mostly written songs individually in the past but their second album is expected to be a more collaborative effort. Their main goal is often just to be “loud and fast”, according to Ethan. One thing frequently mentioned by the band is their love of the local scene.

What types of venues do you all prefer the most?

Sid – “All ages do really well for us. Bars are kind of hit and miss. Our crowd sizes are getting bigger.”

So what’s your favorite thing about Boise?

Ethan – “The music scene.”

Sid – “A lot of bands. A lot of like older people that still play music and help us out.”

David – “Everyone is really supportive. It’s not competitive. It’s like everyone is on the same team here.”

Are you touring anywhere soon?

Ethan – “Yes. We’re going to tour in May.”

Parker – “We’re going to go up through Moscow and Seattle and down to California.”

Ethan – “12 dates in total. We did 14 last year.”

Boise has some amazing bands for a city this size. What’s your favorite other band in town?

David – “That’s almost too hard to answer.”

Sid – “Ingrown. It’s up there for sure.”

Ethan – “I really like Commonwealth.”

Parker – “Commonwealth is rad.”

Sid – “That was the first time I saw them last night.”

David – “They’re a lot like King and Queen of the Losers. Those guys are so rad.”

What do you think about Treefort?

Parker – “Treefort’s fucking awesome!”

David – “Amazing.”

Sid – “How many bands are there?’

David – “Four hundred and twenty or something.”

Ethan – “And so many cool local bands too.”

David – “Treefort is for everyone and even if you can’t afford it you can go to like the individual venues or there is always something going on for free.”

So are you guys going to send me your next CD?

Band – “Oh hell ya.”

Illicit Nature will be performing next on April 20th at Liquid and April 27th at The Hive (all ages).

Keep up with the band on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/illicitnatureoffcial/

Look for their 2nd album in May.