Truly Interview

Truly likes to leave a unique impression on their listeners. “We want to give them something different, [something] that they can’t get from any other band,” vocalist Robert Roth said. For the Salt Lake audience at DV8 on October 3, they may have left a lasting impression. 

After only a few minutes into their set, members of the crowd voiced their opinion on Truly’s music and yelled “you suck.” Roth, seemingly dissatisfied with the crowd’s lack of respect, spit on and mouthed obscenities to the people in the front. 

Roth seemed to be joking around with the crowd’s lack of interest. But the crowd down front, which was largely the straight-edge type, took his insults very personally. Truly left the stage after only five or six songs with Roth provoking a fight for their finale. But all in all, they played well for the conditions they played under.

Most of their set consisted of songs from their most recent album, Fast Stories… From Kid Coma, including the songs “Blue Flame Ford” and “Leslie’s Coughing Up Blood.” Since Truly has been around since 1989, they’ve previously recorded two, four-song EPs released on Sub Pop records. 

“We started playing these demo tapes to Jonathan Poneman, who is the co-owner of Sub Pop records,” drummer Mark Pickerel said. “Jonathan was really interested in signing some sort of contract with Robert or a band, so we started getting serious.” Before playing in Truly, Pickerel played drums for Screaming Trees. He also owns an independent record store in Seattle. Their bassist, Hiro Yamamoto, formerly played in Soundgarden. “Since Hiro and I had both left bands previous to Truly, I cautioned him that it wouldn’t be a serious,” Pickerel said. Truly is currently on tour, playing shows almost every day. But it hasn’t always been that way. 

“Now it’s more full-time,” Roth said. “For a long time, Hiro was going to school and Mark was getting his store off the ground.” Their schedule is also quite sporadic. “We go in spurts where we’ll play almost every day together and then have months off,” Roth said. The inspiration for Truly’s music comes from a wide variety of sources. 

“Everything from our lives to movies to music,” Pickerel said. “It’s a little hard for us to answer as a band. We’ve all been inspired at different times; we all bring in something individually to the group.” 

Each of the band members’ individuality also contributes to the unity and strength of the music. “It’s the chemistry,” Roth said. “It’s natural and we all have a distinct voice.” Truly thinks that their music, which they describe as “SpaceCore,” lends a lot to the interpretation of the listener. “Our songs aren’t straight out love songs or songs about sex, they’re more three-dimensional than that,” Pickerel said. “[Listening to] our record is like viewing a piece of art. The listener has to use their imagination to pull together the meaning of the song.” 

“As a songwriter, my message is transcendence,” Roth added. 

Truly won’t be discouraged despite the fact that they did not get a positive response from Salt Lake. “There’s something nice about being able to apply your talent to an actual purpose and be successful at it,” Pickerel said. —Andrea Jordan 

Read more from the SLUG Archives:
Gang Of Four
Eve’s Plum: November 1995