Is there really anything more to music than sex, drugs and rock 'n roll? It is refreshing to think so, and when we see a band with the self-proclaimed aspiration to "cause people to view life through a different lens, one of honesty, hope, redemption, and change," we sometimes find ourselves a bit surprised. Even more surprised are we to find its music to make strides toward this goal.
Tim Be Told will appear at University's Springfest Saturday. Considering it played together publicly for the first time last August, the Charlottesville band has quickly developed a strong musical style that is constantly evolving.
Tim Be Told front man and songwriter, University alumnus Tim Ouyang said, "the [songwriting] process has really been a changing one. We are such a new band that when we first started it was easy to have someone with a base group of songs. As we learn how to be a band more, there's been more and more collaboration. Basically, I'll come in with a song that I've written, and the band contributes a lot to it. I'll come in with an idea of how I want it to sound, and when they start playing it'll change."
Tim Be Told came together during September 2006 when a mutual friend put Ouyang in contact with Andrew Chae, an electric guitarist looking to start a band. Chae quickly moved from California to Charlottesville, and they soon recruited fourth-year Luan Nguyen to sing backup vocals and play acoustic guitar. University alumnus Jim Barredo (drums) and Parker Stanley (bass) joined the band 11 months later.
They began recording their debut album, Getting By, in April 2007 before the band even played its first show, opening for fellow Charlottesville band Sparky's Flaw in August. Since then, Tim Be Told has played concerts all over the East Coast and recently won the University's Battle of the Bands in February, a mere five months after its first show.
During the last few months Tim Be Told's musical style has evolved, which is not surprising considering its various musical inspirations, which range from Michael Buble to Whitney Houston. For the most part, though, its inspiration comes from within.
"I tend to be one of those songwriters who only writes when he's upset about something, so usually when I'm angry or really sad or emotional ... Actually, I'm a pretty moody person -- it's conducive to songwriting," Ouyang said. "I think as a songwriter it's about trying to find the balance too and I'm starting to branch out of that emo, 'my life sucks' thing -- lots of teenage angst -- and more writing about things that are outside of myself and outside of my own struggles. I think that's just a byproduct of maturing as a songwriter. You start seeing things through different lenses," Ouyang said.
There has always been immense pressure for a band at this stage to get signed to a record label, but because of the way the industry is changing, Tim Be Told isn't sweating it.
"I think there's a reason why the big music industry right now is kind of falling apart; I think [the music industry] is the most fair it's ever been ... there are a lot of artists out there who wouldn't have been given the time of day for any of the major labels," Ouyang said. "Now they have the opportunity to say, 'Yeah. Here's my music,' and they can actually draw a fan base. Now it's actually possible for artists to make a decent living. It's not this 'all or nothing' thing where you're a billionaire with a major label or you're on the streets singing for pennies. And I think music has a lot more power because it's been given back to us and not to big corporations."
Though the group has not yet had extensive experience dealing with fanatical fans (so far there has only been one request for an on-stage striptease), its members are slowing learning how to deal with the advantages of life as professional musicians -- and the disadvantages. After playing a set at a Charlottesville local music showcase, a girl approached Ouyang.
"She came up to me and said, 'Why is the band called Tim Be Told? Why did you name it after yourself? Isn't that kind of arrogant? Isn't that kind of self-absorbed?'" Ouyang said. "I had nothing to say to her. I just shook her hand and said, 'Nice to meet you.'" 3
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