Truly (band)
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Truly is an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in the wake of the
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
era. It featured singer-guitarist Robert Roth, bassist
Hiro Yamamoto Hiro D. Yamamoto (born April 13, 1961) is a Japanese-American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell, in 1984. He left the band in 1989; two years later, Yamamoto started the indepen ...
, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Yamamoto and Pickerel were founding members respectively of
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
and Screaming Trees. While not a commercially successful group like some of their Seattle contemporaries, the band lasted a decade with two
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s to their name.


History


Background, formation, and ''Heart and Lungs'' (1990–1992)

Following the demise of his previous band The Storybook Krooks, Robert Roth auditioned to play guitar for
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
but they ultimately decided to continue as a trio.Prato, Greg. ''Grunge is Dead:The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music'', p. 298. April 2009. A month later, Roth says he met up with Pickerel as he (Roth) was beginning to write new songs for what would become his signature venture: :"At that point, I was just going to go in and record a solo record, and Mark ended up quitting the Screaming Trees that week. The guy who was playing bass at the time, Chris Quinn, quit his band that day. So once we got to the studio, we realized, 'Oh "we're a band".' I already had a song called "Truly." Chris said, 'How about calling the band Truly?' Mark was at work, and Jonathan Poneman said, 'Why don't you call your band Truly?' Two different people came up with the same name – I figured that was fate." After Pickerel joined, Roth claims that Quinn (who was initially the guitarist in SGM) insisted on switching to guitar, which led to an opening for a bass player. Pickerel then contacted Yamamoto, who reflects: :"I was out of music for a while – I just didn't want to play. I was pretty tired of it. Mark called me, and said, 'I'm playing with this guy, and we're looking for a bass player.' I was like, 'OK, I'll give it a shot.' I hadn't played for a couple of years. I listened to their stuff, and was like, 'This is kinda cool.'" Truly released their debut EP, '' Heart and Lungs'', through
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
in 1991. This is the only recording that the band did as a quartet as Chris Quinn left shortly thereafter. Roth later commented that he and Quinn did not get along that well, saying, "I'm more of an intuitive type, he's more a studied type." Truly also played on the side stage at
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
in 1992.


''Fast Stories...from Kid Coma'' and ''Feeling You Up'' (1993–2000)

In 1993, Truly signed on to
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
and two years later released their critically acclaimed album '' Fast Stories...from Kid Coma''. Steve Kurutz of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave the album four and a half stars, calling it "a loosely based concept album filled with overdriven guitar and the soothing yet slightly menacing voice of singer Robert Roth." The track "Hot Summer 1991" is also featured on the compilation album ''Subject to Change: Artists for a Hate-Free America. Robert Roth has deemed ''Fast Stories…from Kid Coma'' his favorite, saying: :"I really feel it's ''an album'', in the sense that we weren't just putting together a collection of songs. In our heads, it was like a movie we were making. By the time we made that record, they said things like, 'Push the envelope – do what you want to do,' and 'Don't worry about singles, don't worry about hits until the third or fourth record. We want you to be an album band like
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
or
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155â ...
. We're like, Are you sure''?'" Prato, Greg. ''Grunge is Dead:The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music.'' p. 443. April 2009. Hiro Yamamoto commented on the album: :"Some of the songs and lyrics n Fast Storiesstill put a chill down my spine when I hear them. Certain parts of songs just have this feel, and to me, that's the reason why I always played music – to make that kind of sound."Prato, Greg. ''Grunge is Dead:The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music.'' p. 444. April 2009. Roth claims he later edited a single version of the album's opening track "Blue Flame Ford" so that Stories would get more exposure but instead the band was sent back to the studio to begin working on their next album, '' Feeling You Up''. At this point, the band became fed up by the lack of support they were getting from Capitol Records. They switched to a smaller, independent label called Thick Records and released ''Feeling You Up'' in 1997. Greg Prato of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave ''Feeling You Up'' four stars, calling it "an incredibly solid album, which easily could have fit into
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and rock radio play lists at the time, if both outlets weren't so obsessed with
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...
and Everclear." The band toured briefly in support of Feeling You Up in the U.S. but had to cancel halfway through as Roth said Pickerel had some personal issues to take care of and the band broke up shortly afterward.


''Twilight Curtains'' and post-Truly (2000-present)

The band's final release, '' Twilight Curtains '', a mixture of new and unreleased songs and demos, was released in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 2000 through the independent label, Cargo/Headhunter UK "While it's expectedly not on par with their woefully overlooked 1995 masterpiece, Fast Stories from Kid Coma," writes Greg Prato, "Twilight Curtains is still highly recommended to longtime fans." In 2004, Robert Roth released his solo album '' Someone Somewhere...''. In 2008, the band began touring and were said to be working on another album. In October 2013, the band premiered their new single titled "Wheels on Fire". In 2014, '' Fast Stories...from Kid Coma'' came in at #3 on a "Top 10 Underrated 90s Alternative Rock Albums" list at the Alternative Nation website.


Discography

;Studio albums and EPs ;Singles ;Other appearances


References


External links


Truly on FacebookTruly on InstagramTruly on MySpaceTruly on discogs.com
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Musical groups from Seattle American psychedelic rock music groups American grunge groups American neo-psychedelia groups