A new UA band storms the local music scene with its blend of genres and unique style.
by oliviamiltner, ‘13
The crowd of high school students and adults alike waited in anticipation as juniors Matt Bruckelmeyer, Alex Harris, Joey Hoey and senior Maggie Lynch brought their guitars, keyboard, and drumset to the stage. All of a sudden, the lights dimmed as the band opened with a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Deep Blue”.
Truth Between Lies has recently come into the local music scene, playing their second performance at The Basement on Feb. 4. The band, which was formed two years ago, has developed into a group that integrates several different genres of music to create a unique sound.
Bruckelmeyer and Hoey decided to start a group their freshman year, when the two students realized that they had a similar interest in music.
“Joey and I…had the same incredible passion,” Bruckelmeyer said. “We both really wanted to be in a band and we wanted to write because we had a lot of different inspirations.”
Although initially interested in different genres, Hoey and Bruckelmeyer merged their distinctive tastes to form a distinct style.
“We both had a lot of different inspirations musically, and we were into different genres of music, but when we started playing together we kind of fused genres,” Bruckelmeyer said. “We’re like a mix of Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate.”
In other words, the band is blend a of multiple musical styles and genres.
“There’s a little bit of piano rock punk. We’re not really defined, I would say, and I think definition as musicians can be kind of a bad thing,” Hoey said.
But while Hoey covered piano and vocals, and Bruckelmeyer played guitar, they still needed to find other musicians to complete the group.
“We went through a bunch of line-up changes to try to find the right drummer and bassist and everything,” Hoey said.
“Clearly we have the two best,” Bruckelmeyer said. “We had this demo that Joey and I made and we started passing it out and found [Alex and Maggie].”
With the new members in place, the band was able to start practicing not only the music Bruckelmeyer and Hoey wrote, but also new material from Harris and Lynch.
“All the music we have now was written by me and Joey, before Maggie and Alex were in the band, [but] we have a lot of new stuff that we are going to include Maggie and Alex in for sure,” Bruckelmeyer said.
Lynch, formerly in the band Wonk, also helped the group’s publicity.
“[Maggie] got us shows; she’s got connections, and now we’re just rolling,” Bruckelmeyer said.
Although new to the performing scene, for Bruckelmeyer, shows have become a favorite part of participating in a band.
“We’ve only done [two shows], but I think my favorite part is seeing everyone in the crowd so engaged in what you’re doing and enjoying so much what you enjoy to do,” Bruckelmeyer said.
Since then, they have performed two other times, and are on their way to reaching their objective.
“Our goal as a band is just to become locally known and have people enjoy listening to our music,” Bruckelmeyer said. “If anything further happens then, we’ll just go with it.”
However, concerts are not the most important aspect of being a band member. While it is a large part of the experience, they enjoy every component of creating and performing their music.
“Playing music is… a passion, and I like every part of it,” Hoey said
Bruckelmeyer agreed, and added that who a person is shown through their music.
“If you really pay attention, I think you can get to know somebody by their music. It’s kind of cool,” Bruckelmeyer said.
Bruckelmeyer said he views music as a very important part of their lives, and hopes that it continues in their future.
“I can’t see myself being anything other than a musician,” Bruckelmeyer said. “It just wouldn’t feel right.”