Well I think as a band, we all believe so much in Tim’s lyrics and the message that it conveys. We hope that the music itself will speak through song and word to the heart of the listener. Second is how we compose ourselves in the public eye. Stars tend to be stereotyped to treat people in an inferior way. We want to break that mold and speak the simple truth that we are no better than the listeners and that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and love. – Luan Nguyen

Asian-Central.com had an opportunity to do a phone interview with Tim Be Told’s Vocalist, Tim Ouyang, and paper interviews with the rest of the band. Their responses were all so honest and heartfelt. Tim graduated with a degree in architecture at the University of Virginia but eventually decided to pursue music after a suggestion from a friend. Tim Be Told came together in September 2006 when Andrew flew from California to Virginia with his electric guitar to join Tim. They soon joined up with Tim’s college friend Luan Nguyen who plays guitar and piano and backs up Tim on vocals. Months later, Parker Stanley joined in on bass and Jim Barredo came from another band into Tim Be Told playing drums.

The band’s name “Tim Be Told” was inspired from the quote “truth be told” that a friend mentioned to the group. The idea of the name is to “tell a story through what you write and with your personal life being put out there.” Everyone ought to listen to the band’s music on their MySpace. Here is a sampling of one of their singles, “Gravity’s Hold.” Click here to listen.

Tim speaks Mandarin and is the main vocalist for the band. He writes all of their music, and the band backs him up with their instruments. Every one of the 50 songs and more that Tim has written have all held a great amount of significance to him since he writes from his heart. His lyrics come from the things in everyday life, relationships/friendships with people, and his belief in sincerity and honesty in music… they come from his life. He’s always been trying to find the root of emotion and figuring out what really exists there since “music is relatable beyond generic sex, drugs, love and money.”

Most of the members went through a self-discovery process with their musical talents. Jim and Parker are both self-taught musicians and Tim and Luan have had formal piano training. Tim has never had formal vocal training. Ever since he was young he loved singing but because of his shy personality, he didn’t like singing in public until the end of elementary school when he started to branch out. Although he isn’t sure what it is that convinced him to continue singing, he just knows that he loves doing it.

Filipino Jim Barredo who plays drums for the group says, “I had one drum lesson and my instructor told me he couldn’t teach me anything.” He also mentions that he thinks that “diversity and eclectic nature of the individual members’ musical influences/inspirations can be heard throughout the music. There is a lot of soul in Tim’s voice, a lot of rock in the rhythm section, and blues in the guitars.” He describes their music as “soul driven pop-rock.”

Andrew Chae “took guitar lessons for a couple of months when [he] started,” “took a semester of lessons in college,” and “also got some mail in material,” that he learned from. He also speaks Korean although he is not very fluent.

Luan Nguyen is a “classically trained pianist who took on guitar starting in college (less than 4 years ago). Piano lessons lasted for 10 years and even into college [he] took some improvisation and theory courses at the University.” He has also taken a “guitar fretboard class at UVA. Luan speaks some Vietnamese and has taken Spanish in high school.

Bass player Parker Stanley humorously claims to be the “regular old white guy” in the group. His hometown is Charlottesville, VA where Tim Be Told held their very first performance together on an open mic at a restaurant.

From there, they did another small restaurant show. As people came to recognize their music, they began to book even bigger shows receiving a positive response from everyone. Luan says, “Our 1st show in Charlottesville was a surprisingly high profile show in front of 500 people. I’d say we definitely held our own out there.”

Jim mentioned that he has not experienced any negativity form being an Asian-American musician and his ethnicity has never been a factor in any band that he’s played in. Jim announces, “In fact, I never really thought of myself as an Asian-American musician until I joined TBT.

Luan Nguyen says, “I think many of the difficulties of being an Asian-American band is primarily in the beginning and breaking in. We are received many times with an air of skepticism and lots of times people doubt our abilities but that changes after the show. I think time and persistence and a hope that this is what we’re supposed to be doing will give us the strength to push through all the initial skepticism and doubt.”

Jim Barredo, Parker Stanley, Tim Ouyang, Luan Nguyen, Andrew Chae

Despite some of the struggles that Tim Be Told has experienced, they’ve managed to grow in popularity thanks to the support of their fans all over the country and from the growing faith that their relatives have in them as well.

Tim’s parents were upset at first when he told them that he wanted to pursue a career in music. They wanted him to get a good education, get a secure job, go to graduate school and get married. But when they heard their first CD, they became more supportive. Now, they nag him to get enough sleep and to stay healthy in order to sing better.

Parker says, “My parents support me completely. It’s actually kind of weird because I would have expected them to be really hard on me and pushy about school. Instead they suggested that I take some time off from school to make the band work. Having their support means so much me.”

The process was definitely slow…and full support from our parents is a thing that I think a lot of us don’t fully have yet. But over time as things grow and change and our parents see that we can actually make rent and take care of ourselves, they start to come around. A lot of my parents fears are mitigated as time passes and they see my life isn’t crumbling but is actually a very fulfilling thing to me. – Luan Nguyen

I honestly didn’t think to take ourselves seriously until earlier this year. Ever since I communicated this to my parents - they’ve gradually warmed up to the idea. But don’t get me wrong, they do/will continue to support me. – Jim Barredo

Not only do their parents believe in them, but they believe in each other as a band as well.
We’ve come so far since then..but I think we had enough of our individual talent and experience that we were able to bring it together. – Luan Nguyen

As for how the boys get along off-stage, Andrew says, “We’re like family… we fight sometimes but most of the time we goof off and have fun together,” and according to Parker, “We bicker and make up and then bicker and make up and then we laugh and make up just to make up again. Seriously, we just have fun and live our lives.”

Website: http://www.timbetold.com/

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/timbetold

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/timbetold

Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2353378662

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tim-Be-Told/7454101332

Blog Page: http://timbetold.com/wordpress/

Authors: Nancy Nguyen, Brenda Ong, and Sophia Long