music – Mitchell Pluto

David True

I’m David True and I’m an Austin-based singer songwriter. Originally, I hale from Vermont, USA, the green mountain state. The name ‘Vermont’ comes from the French, ‘Vert’, meaning green and ‘Mont’, meaning mountain. It was in those green mountains, studying Creative Writing and French, where I met the artist, Mitchell Pluto in the 90s. Back then he was an art student at Johnson State College, his name was Mitchell Poor. We made the best kombucha in town and enjoyed hanging out with each other.

My music crosses many genres and is inspired by love, family, travel and humor. I have a lovely wife and two inspiring kiddos. I’ve visited over 40 countries, I try to speak a little French, Mandarin and Italian, and can say thank you in over 20 languages. My family and travels create the foundation for many of my songs.

My song ‘Kookaburra’, for example, is the story about oddities that happened to my wife in Australia to the rhythm of my then 3-year-old kiddo dancing. Once, when we were practicing tai chi in the back garden, a pair of kookaburras flew by, and one brushed my wife’s arm. Another time, I come back from a business trip to Korea only to find my 3-year-old has adopted a poisonous red back spider as a pet. You get the idea. Those and other crazy events ended up in this song. Here’s Kookaburra from YouTube

I wrote another song called ‘I Don’t Wanna Go’ and it’s about two friends who had a great divorce going but it didn’t work out — they got re-married. I recorded this track with my band, ‘David True and the Truebadours’. That band featured Linda Gonzalez, rest in peace IK, on harmony vocals and Paul Teneyuque on vocals and bass. We’d often bring in local legends Marshall Hood and Robb Kidd to play lead guitar and drums, respectively. In this recording, Connor Forsyth (Asleep at the Wheel, Belleville Outfit) joins us on Hammond organ:

Another song I’ve written is called ‘Desert Dreams’. One night it was time for bed, and my kid asks, ‘Can I have a snack?’
Being the good, firm and fair parent, I said, ‘No you can’t have a snack. You just brushed your teeth.’
‘Can I have a drink of water?’ they asked.
‘You just had a drink of water; it’s time for bed.’ I’m sure many parents are familiar with this routine. It’s important to be firm with kids and draw and hold boundaries.
Then they asked, ‘Do you want to write a song?’
I thought a moment and said, ‘Ok.’
Desert Dreams then flew in the window so quickly we had to check on the internet to see if coyotes really did sound like loons!

You get the idea after listening to a few songs. Living in Austin has really enabled my musical hobby. I get to listen to genius musicians every week. Some have even agreed to be in various bands I’ve had over the years and even more have agreed to help me out on recordings.

Most of those partnerships started after I’d written this bi-lingual French/English song called ‘Chaque Moment (Every Passing Moment is a Once in a Lifetime Event)’. In the song, I mention a couple local musicians. I somehow mustered enough courage to ask them if they’d help me record it.

Toni Price, an Austin legend who had lines outside the Continental Club in Austin every Tuesday night for more than 20 years said ‘Yes’. Not only did she say ‘Yes’, but instead of singing ‘ooo ooo ooo’ or something, as I expected, after her name, she basically turned the tune into a duet. I was shocked, amazed, humbled and grateful in equal parts. And she was a
character to work with. I picked her up because her car, given to her by a fan, wasn’t running at the moment. We stopped off at Quality Seafood to get her a po’ boy as she was hungry. And when we got to the studio, I swear she knew my song better than I did. What a pro.

Having Toni Price and Derek O’Brien and Ephraim Owens, three Austin legends and musical geniuses, willing to play on my little song, was a life-changer for me. Derek went on to help produce the record and has become a good friend. Here’s that ‘Chaque Moment’ tune from YouTube:

I’ve been writing songs since childhood. However, last summer, something changed. I was in a bit of a songwriting rut. I love the musician Guy Clark and was a little blocked because my songs didn’t sound like Guy’s songs. I was running my non-profit, Austin Band Camp, and we’d have these great songwriting workshops and workshop on all kinds of instruments, but
my songwriting was still in a bit of a rut.

Last August, 2025, I attended a songwriting workshop in the Catskill mountains near Woodstock, NY, led by Steve Poltz, Bob Schneider, Mary Gauthier and Ryan Montbleau. During Bob’s master class, he challenged us to create our own version of his weekly song club. And we did. Over the last 10 months, I’ve written one song a week, 38 songs, and I like about 9 of them so far. I encourage anyone who wants to create to just turn off the critic in your brain, and do a lot of art, music, writing, whatever, and don’t worry about how good it is, just get it out there and exercise your creative muscles. Give yourself permission to do “bad” art and just keep going. The results will likely be extremely rewarding.

Well, I’ve prattled on just about long enough. Looking forward, I have a song based on a poem written by an Irish buddy of mine, Tom Harding, called ‘Longing’, that’s coming out on the anniversary of Tom’s birth, 6/10/26. That song features 5-part harmonies, Paul and Linda (yay!), as well as a wee Scottish chick and a trio of geniuses from Cork, Ireland. In the oven are 7
more Truebadours songs recorded years ago that should also be out this summer as an album with a total of 10 or 11 songs called, ‘True Stories’. And in the recipe book are those 9 song club songs that I may also inflict on the universe, even the song about circumcision and the song about the song about circumcision, in an album called ‘Song Club Singles’.

Currently, you can find my album ‘Feeling Wonderful’ and a collection of singles on all the streaming platforms under the band names ‘David True’ and ‘David True and the Truebadours’. I play jams, open mics, house concerts and the occasional gig around Austin and occasionally somehow find gigs and audiences in Europe.

Stay connected with me at: https://davidtruemusic.com

Love to all y’all. Be gentle with yourselves.
Smile from your Hearts,
David

Manuel the Band

My mother has always told me “it started in the womb, ” so I think music has always been a sort of innate thing for me. My mom would play the piano and sing when she was pregnant and noticed that I would dance and smile to the same songs after I was born. So, I’ve been a musician literally even before I could remember! Which is a really cool thing to think about. Throughout elementary school, I took piano lessons and even joined a steel drum band when I was 12. I played with them until I was eighteen. Growing up in a small, New England town, playing steel drum music in the dead of winter was a superb treat- it’s so hard to be upset when that music is playing. Along the way, my mom would buy me those musician starter packs- the ones with a small amp, chord and stuff. At the time, they were like $100 and my mom would tell me to teach myself. So, I did. That’s how I learned guitar, bass, drums. You name it! I was very fortunate to be exposed to so much music early on in my life- there’s no doubt it impacted me becoming the musician I am.

What gives you inspiration?

I think this, like many things, ebbs and flows. I hate to sound so generic, but I like to write about real life. I’d say, the majority of my songs are about what was going on at the time. Lately, I’ve been on a writing kick that I call “millennial struggles” Ha! I’ve been writing about things like being able to pay rent, not understanding why career growth is so hard, questioning the realities of what my generation was told we could do. Needless to say, going to college doesn’t grant you that white picket fence and a comfortable salary like many said it would…and sometimes still do. So, lately, it’s been a lot of those kinds of talking points.

Which musicians have had the greatest influence on you?

Hmmm. I’ve always been a big John Mayer fan. Song writing wise, he has such a cool way to synthesize emotions and feelings into complex, elegant poetry. In Your Atmosphere, I think, is a beautiful example of that and I’ve always strived to have my “in your atmosphere” song. Still going for it. I grew up listening to a lot of folk, Joan Baez, Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary. So, I always feel at home with an acoustic guitar and people singing in harmonies. That’s just my roots.

What musical genre is closest to your heart?

I think folk, singer -song writer. In my opinion, it’s the most vulnerable. It’s usually lyric focused and I love listening to what people have to say. There’s something about hearing a song with simple chords, but with words that clearly mean so much to that person. That means the world.

Did you study music in school?

Not formally, no. I studied history and economic development. Spent a lot of time traveling around the other parts of the world conducting research on a variety of these types of topics. I feel very fortunate to have been able to write about subjects like poverty, development, immigration, ethnography, etc. But even though all of this…I’ve always managed to bring a guitar with me!

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Suite for Monk, a Triadic Played by Heller Levinson

MONK-LIKE


			like

lunge clump      canopy canister		fraught ganglia, chop
butterudder						back
								forward
								this way
							that
twist turn				vertiginate
		swallow     swelter
claim cluster clank crank		rustle roundabout
                           c     l     a     m
	bustle break bother broke brother
	bother bustle break brother broke
                   			bristle
								breathe
								    bombin-
ate		fables of late		bludgeon bark   bake
		   sleight slumber swell
	B Flat		line periphery-burst		stride
intervallic surge			sully sulk  skulk
																				 atti-T!ude
feud fidelity
                    ferm             en
                   		  ta		tion
			  
  	in-
 			  	stall

				un-
				install

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Mitchell Pluto inspired this Hinge to the Monk tune “Friday The 13th” Mitchell writes: One of my favorite tunes is Friday The 13th by Monk and Rollins, at first it takes the listener on a slant- a sort of drunk crab walk, and then the block chords, for me create a square spiral.

WOR studios 1953   thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins
sloop-de-sloop whirl wind full intake reed fill throat splash slippery slant
peek-a-boo inebriate	peregrinate		in-
cubate 	square spiral boulder-roll stroll crab colossal 	 hi-hat crisp
chink snap crystalclarioncrystalline 	bosomy broth ivories wrought bath breadload beatitude	concuss allude	wedge hook link	sinkseepagelodge	
								laurel sling
								carrion fletch
				b e t r o t h 
	clump stump flummery block lump here
	come de Monk	scruff scamper liv-
ery lurch	paint a birch		fu-
rl fistful conflagrate agitate French horn ― fog-caster, frog-hopper ― conflate titillate aerate levitate brindle lop Bird-bop
							chordal congregation
							hymnal meditation
				scintilla aubergine
whisk brisk bask peculiar challenge the ruler
adumbrate gestate
spray a mandate
, man

EPISTROPHY FOR T. MONK

       ganglion frieze chop

splash melodic purl surge
/under
flirt slash the line tease conflate
the outer reaches skim borders
peripheries riff the mad notes cyclones
flush curling cuniculi mucid caves jettison spills
of color mutation migration never before
heard harmonic swoops triads
scribbled above bison head rage of
memory snarled rhythms stored in stone
circling and twirling a 
gathering of data raptorial fingers toolbox
of the soul aerial lift and poise
& strafe the keys
prey for salvation litanous chariots
a last chance passage
bump into the final
four bar essence is exhaustion
of complexity buck to the
ride cymbal 
bow to the bass

Heller Levinson is the originator of Hinge Theory. His most recent books are Dialogics (Anvil Tongue Press, 2022), Lure, and jus’ sayn’ (Black Widow Press, 2022). His Query Caboodle and Shift Gristle are scheduled for a Spring 2023 release (also BWP). He lives in the Hudson Valley, NY.