biography
Somewhere, someone has footage from the first concert It's True played. The band has come a long way from that show at the Foundry, when someone pulled out a cell phone and captured video of the group performing “Take This From Me.” Adam Hawkins singer, guitarist and principal songwriter said the band had to clarify its identity. “Now we've figured out what we're trying to do.” The band started as Hawkins performing solo with an acoustic guitar. He had just moved to town from Ames, Iowa, to get a fresh start. His solo shows impressed local folks so much that Kyle Harvey and Karl Houfek now both members of It's True approached Hawkins separately to talk about making music with him. Hawkins was receptive to the idea. He had been recording demos, which were basically home recordings that ended up on It's True's double EP released last year. But they weren't complete. There were places for people to come in and add their own ideas, Hawkins said, sipping beers with the rest of the band (minus guitarist Andrew Bailie) in Houfek's backyard before heading to Lincoln for a show. With the additions of Harvey on bass, Houfek on keyboards, Bailie on guitar and Matt Arbeiter on drums, the songs took on a new life. “Having five people with their own ideas definitely makes it more complete,” Hawkins said. “Some points are soft and minimal, and then it crescendos,” Harvey said. “The peaks and valleys seem more intense because of the volume and intensity of the notes. The sense of dynamics within the songs enhances the moments where it's more (flat)-out rock.” With the intention of fleshing out those songs, It's True headed to local studios ARC and Enamel with A.J. Mogis as a sound engineer and Hawkins serving as producer. The process was pretty straightforward. The band planned everything in advance to save on studio time and, therefore, costs. But there were a few unexpected moments, Arbeiter said, including the addition of a string section on the song “Nothing Like You.” The self-titled record, being released with a concert Friday at the Waiting Room Lounge, has a layered, full sound that many local fans have come to enjoy at the band's live shows. Some of the tunes are fraught with hopelessness, so that you want to give Hawkins a hug and tell him it's all going to be OK. Songs such as “As Long as We're Together” and “What Have I Done?” showcase Hawkins' raw emotionality as a songwriter and singer. All of the subjects, hopeless as well as hopeful, come from personal experiences, he said. “Sometimes there's a lot of hope there and sometimes there's a lot of heartbreak and desperation. (‘As Long as We're Together') is cataloging going through emotions and getting over a relationship. “They're all from actual things. I sometimes wish I could write better fiction. Then I wouldn't feel like I needed to create material,” Hawkins said with a grin. After mixing the album in November, the group shopped the record around but never found a label to pick it up. While that could be devastating to some bands, It's True has taken it in stride. “It's almost better in the long run. I feel like there's nobody that has a say but us,” Harvey said. “I don't know what a label offers anymore. They're a bank, really. But any more, it doesn't seem that necessary.” “Labels offer credibility,” Houfek added. “And unfortunately, some people need that filter to tell them what to listen to.” Band members cited groups including TV on the Radio that have done well without record label support. It's True has dozens of concerts planned for the Midwest in May and the West Coast in June, pretty extensive tours for a local band. They also hope to release a new EP by the end of the year. And while the band feels like it's made major strides since that first performance, members say they're not all the way there yet. “The progress we've made as a band is astronomical. We've made leaps and bounds,” Hawkins said. “(But) I'm still not satisfied. There's a lot we can do much better elements that are still missing. Our identity is clarified, but I still don't think it's clear. “I don't think we've arrived or anything. We need to remember that the songs are first and we are all second to the songs.” Kevin Coffey, owh.com
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