Tim Easton is a songwriter, guitarist and performer with a distinctive and experienced style. While The Truth About Us delivers a modem rock take on the folk music of the past, Tim's songs are so genuine they make him sound like he could've been one of the pioneers of the genre. Tim's original idea for this record was a collision of traditional and contemporary; not to over-think things but to put disparate elements together and fashion them into something timeless. He achieved that with the inspired pairing of producer/engineer Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, U2, Bangles) and the band Wilco. Joe had been a fan of Tim's former band, The Haynes Boys. Tim in turn had great respect for Joe through his production of American Music Club's San Francisco album. Joe suggested the possibility of cutting basic tracks in Chicago with some of the boys from Wilco as backing band. To have a drummer and bass player who knew each other inside and out like Ken Coomer and John Stirratt, not to mention the multi-instrumental skills of Jay Bennett, seemed like a perfect idea. After hearing the demos, the Wilco guys jumped at the opportunity. The strength of the songs attracted Victoria Williams, Mark Olson (Jayhawks) and Petra Haden (That Dog) to the project as well, The Truth About Us is a collection of intricate, beautifully crafted songs that blend acoustic/electric/12-string guitars, bass and drums with Mellotron samples, distorted "spaghetti house" beat box loops and backwards e-bow guitar. As Joe says, "What we tried to do on this album was to bring some tension and threat to the songs. I feel it became a great combination of Hi-fi and Low-fl. There is, at times, a wonderful junkyard beauty to the tracks that never overwhelms the stories of a new life in L.A. or an old life on the road." The vital statistics are as follows; Tim writes songs, sings, plays electric and acoustic guitars and harmonica. He was born in upstate New York but mostly raised in Akron, Ohio. Having a Dad who worked for the Goodyear Tire Company made for a short stint in a grade school in Tokyo, Japan, where he first heard The Beatles . .. and Kiss! Later, his guitar playing older brothers turned him onto pioneer flatpicker Doc Watson and ace songwriter John Prine. He was later affected by the work of Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams and Freedy Johnston. Tim tried his luck at Ohio State and, while there started his first band, The Kosher Spears, who were an acoustic outfit made up of guitar, washtub bass and washboard. Variations of that lineup performed from the streets of Columbus to The Charles Bridge in Prague. Tim also did some solo busking in Paris, London and Dublin. Constant performing helped him hone a type of uniquely phrased, conversational folk singing he still employs to this day. The experience also did wonders for his playing ability ... he became an accomplished flatpicker himself. While rambling around Europe, it occurred to him that it might be time to make a record of original material based on the American Folk he'd been playing on the streets; that of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Townes Van Zandt and, the man who had become his biggest influence, Doc Watson. Things didn't go exactly as planned, however. He took a bit of a detour before making that happen. Returning o the States, he ended up being invited to join The Haynes Boys, a rock band that Tim then took in a rootsy direction. They released one wooly but enthusiastic album in 1996 entitled Guardian Angel on small New York label Slab Recordings, which earned Tim his first publishing deal with Maverick Music. The Haynes Boys were a loose aggregation whose members moonlighted with other bands like Gaunt and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments. In 1998, Tim took the initiative to record his first solo album with several session musicians in Nashville. The completed project was called Special 20 and was released on Tim's own Heathen Records. It was clear that he had become a formidable talent on his own. Tim and The Haynes Boys still played the occasional gig and eventually morphed into Burnbarrel, centered on the strong songwriting of friend and New York City newsman, J. P. Olsen, Burnbarrel released one album on Heathen in 1999 (from which Tim purloined the song "Bad Florida" for The Truth About Us). Special 20 brought Tim to the attention of E.M.I. Publishing. After inking a deal with them in the fall of '99, he decided to relocate to Los Angeles to explore film scoring and pursue a record deal. In no time Tim was performing at songwriter hubs like Largo and McCabe's and soon thereafter signed a recording contract with New West Records. Which brings us back to The Truth About Us . ...