When you ask Ben Mills, the drummer of the Austin-based three33, about music, he’ll tell you he’s listening to The Replacements, and you should be, too! Margot and the Nuclear So-So’s. Elton John. Airborne Toxic Event. Was that more than I needed? His bandmate Jon Millican, three33’s lead guitar, tells me he could be listening to country or metal or the last song he wrote — how can a person choose between “Time In A Bottle” and “Seek and Destroy”? When I asked Jon what season their songs are, he tells me: July and November.

A man’s friends tell you a lot about him, and the same goes for music: the songs that keep a musician company tell you a lot about the soul of his band. Three33 — or Tony Park, Jon Millican, Nathan Snyder, Chris Foster and Ben Mills —- are a hybrid. Post-alt, pop rock. When you listen to “Asylum,” you get the Dave Grohl influence in the happy snarling vocals, a la “The Deepest Blues Are Black.” And in the bridge (“I Still. Want. You.”) you hear the catchy punk punctuation of Airborne Toxic Event’s big hit, “Changing.” Jon says that the band doesn’t have any boundaries when they’re playing together. Three33’s range of influence lives in its music, and when you listen to their debut CD, no two songs are alike—it’s their well of inspiration that keeps the music inspired.

The Ugly Side of True was released June 8th, and if you’re lucky enough to be in the Texas area this summer you can see the band perform the material live. In Austin, when three33 plays the Deadhorse or Hanovers, a loyal following of friends and family fill the place, and that’s exactly the kind of show these guys like to play. Jon says that’s because the band likes to be part of the crowd. They like the smallest clubs, the free shows, the spilled beer and the noise and the music and the crowd, altogether.

If you’re an Austin ex-pat like me, check out the record on www.Three33music.com and follow the band on Facebook. Write to them. Check out their tour dates. And in the meantime, crank up the dial.