Trio hoping 'True Story' will be success

When describing his band's method of writing new music, junior Zach "Teddy" Jones said they just "noodle" with it.\nJones, a saxophonist, is part of the trio True Story, along with guitarist and vocalist Owen Stevenson, a junior, and drummer Eric Mannweiler, a sophomore.\n"Noodling" has done the group well. The trio has played in two shows in Bloomington this week alone and will be heading 45 minutes west for the first annual Linton Holiday Music Fest this Saturday.\nTrue Story began with Stevenson in his hometown of Silver Spring, Md. The high school group was composed of Stevenson and bassist Andrew Webb, a student at Towson University. Stevenson continued his songwriting after coming to IU but didn't look to restart True Story until his sophomore year when he met Mannweiler, the drummer for Singing Hoosiers. The two met on the choir's trip to Florida last spring, where they had humble beginnings.\n"We made a lot of noise banging on a trash can that tour," Stevenson said. "We actually went to Wal-Mart and bought a trash can."\nThe makeshift duo wasn't much of a fiscal success in Florida; Mannweiler recalls making only enough money to buy a banana and a cup of pudding. However, it did get the ball rolling.\nSince the trio got together last spring, it has played at numerous events around campus, including Readfest, Teter 500, Relay for Life and, most recently, at Uncle Fester's and Baked.\nThey describe their music as a combination of pop, funk and jazz, classifying it in the genre of "esque-ish." For their show at Uncle Fester's last Sunday, the "esque-ish" recipe called for six original songs, all written mostly by Stevenson, as well as two covers: Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music." The covers featured senior Corey Frye, a member of the a cappella group Straight No Chaser\nThe trio's original songs are influenced by music from across the spectrum. \nStevenson is an avid listener of Elton John, Marc Broussard, Gavin DeGraw and Jason Mraz. He claims, though, that "none of the songs (he) writes sound like them."\nJones and Mannweiler have perhaps found Dave Matthews Band to be most helpful. Jones said he often tries to throw in saxophone parts similar to those played by DMB's Leroi Moore, while Mannweiler said he gets a lot of ideas from drummer Carter Beauford.\nFor the True Story boys, the satisfaction of being in a band comes with simply playing music.\n"It's having a lot of satisfaction with the crowds," Mannweiler said. "You look out and see a lot of people that are your friends and to hear one of them come up to you after and say, 'Hey, I really liked your stuff,' that's it."\nMannweiler is the only one of the three not pursuing a major through the Jacobs School of Music, though he does hope to go into band management. For all three, becoming successful musicians is first on the agenda, though they each have different definitions of success.\n"If we could play music for the rest of our lives, we would be content," Stevenson added. "I want to write music, play live and have the audience sing along."\nJones said his ultimate goal is to be able to fill any venue for a concert. \n"I'm the most alive on stage," he said.\nPerhaps Mannweiler has the simplest expectations. \n"I just want to be a musician and not be homeless," he said.\nBehind the scenes, the Jacobs School of Music has been crucial in getting the group together, both with logistics, like practice space and networking, as well as moral support, the band said.\n"Singing Hoosiers has been priceless," Stevenson said about the choir that brought him and Mannweiler together. "Through them, we're guaranteed friends that'll come out to a gig automatically."\nLike many beginning bands, True Story's success seems to be hinging on getting the word out and making the public aware of its music. The group has a number of original songs which can all be sampled at www.owenstevenson.com. Despite the challenges, they will not be easily discouraged.\n"This happened because it was supposed to," Jones said. "I'll do what it takes to keep going."\nRemaining optimistic might be the most useful thing for the band members.\n"It's set that if we had some kind of success or opportunities, we would go for it," Mannweiler said. "It could happen"