Revamped band In Truth Be Valor stays honest

In Truth Be Valor is, from left, Khristian Pickett (bass), Brian Stansberry (drums), John Gardner (guitar) and Nic Tidler (vocals).

KNOXVILLE — After a three-year hiatus, In Truth Be Valor has returned with a matured vision and sound. The group, now reduced to a four-piece, has reflected on its previous iteration with a sense of humor, and now emphasizes creating more genuine music that comes from the heart.

During its first run, the band was composed of mere teenagers, and since then its lineup has utilized the time away to begin families and demanding careers. All grown up with music to match, In Truth Be Valor has no delusions of grandeur or aspirations of rock stardom but will continue to write and perform for its own enjoyment and creative fulfillment.

ITBV laughs at the sight of its old work and openly talks of being featured on Metalsucks.com, but amidst the abundant self-criticism, the group's live show earned it an impressive Knox Scene Coalition Battle of the Bands championship, displaying some merit considering its competition.

The band explains that much of its music was once contrived and influenced by the trends of the time, an affliction ITBV seems to have left behind upon regrouping.

"Everything back in the day when we were playing shows was kind of stealing riffs, and once we got rid of that, it still presented a problem when people would tell Nic he should scream 60 percent of the time," bassist Khristian Pickett admits. "It's definitely got more feeling to it and more heart now."

"We had three years to listen to it and see where we went wrong," says vocalist Nic Tidler. "There were things that we liked back then — as you get older, your palate changes, and that's what happened with us. We're going for more actual music and not just 'chug, chug.' Back then, we were doing it for other people instead of for ourselves, so we were always letting the people around us influence what we put out. Nowadays it's more what we like."

In the six months the band has been practicing, it has not only written new material, but reworked selections of its old catalog. Out of appreciation for its old following, In Truth Be Valor intends to present the best of its previous work for fans who remember the material while adapting to fit its current age. Acknowledging the change of climate for the all-ages scene, ITBV hopes to contribute to reclaiming an audience it asserts has veered toward dubstep and other dominant emerging music forms.

"A lot of people came out and supported us," Tidler recalls. "I don't like that Knoxville's scene has dropped way off the map. We started this band during a time when a lot of kids were coming out to shows. A lot of those same people are willing to come out and see us now, even though we've grown up as a band. Our music is a little different, maybe more mature, but we're trying to recapture that interest.

"When you play in Knoxville, you have a lot of 14- and 15-year-olds at the shows. Those younger people grow up and go to college and get into new music. And a lot of bands dropped off in Knoxville at the same time. Everyone just simultaneously quit. That's obviously going to change something. We've definitely matured along with that following, and we cringe when we listen to some of our old music. Some people get calloused about it, thinking we're going to sound like we used to."

nMeat and greet: The influential and legendary Meat Puppets perform at Barley's Taproom at 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. The Weeks will open the show. Admission is only $5.

nAstral playing: Pilot Light hosts Johnny Astro and the Big Bang Saturday, Sept. 24. Caleb also performs. The show is slated for 10 p.m. and costs $5.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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