The Whiskey Trio sounds like the folky, front-porch music your grandpa probably liked.

With only two guitars and a fiddle, the Trio embodies traditional music stripped down to the basics. No fluff, no gimmicks, just old-fashioned country.

And they like it that way.

An unlikely uprising from the breakup of a more experimentally geared jam-band, The Whiskey Trio represents a reorganized, simpler ideology. Guitarist Tim Gregory keeps that ideology in mind when he sits down to write a song.

“I try to think about that old-time sounding music from the 40s and 50s, like ragtime or something,” he said. “It’s like I’m taking people back in time to a older, simpler time and feeling—at least that’s what I try to do.”

Indeed, the Trio sounds as if you just popped in an old Hank Williams or Woody Guthrie 78 rpm vinyl record. Singer Cabe Whitaker’s twangy, reeling voice is backed by simple rhythm chords, Gregory’s haunting lead guitar work and the prominent country-fiddle of Ben Arnett.

Together they use elements of traditional jazz, blues, country and folk to produce something straight out of your parents’ old vinyl collection, while still remaining refreshing and contemporary at the same time.

Gregory and Whitaker have been playing together since they first learned guitar, and after several jam sessions with the fiddle of Arnett wrote their first song, “I’ve Seen,” they said.

“It just kind of took off from there,” Gregory said.

Writing traditional folk music wasn’t really a conscious decision for Whitaker, who said he’s always loved it, considering it the best, most honest medium for songwriting. Even while playing with Gregory in Robots in the Sky, a band that gained a reputation in Norman for playing experimental-psychedelic jazz, Whitaker said he would go home after the shows, grab his acoustic guitar – and maybe some whiskey – and play some country songs.

“It just felt right,” he said. “I loved playing for Robots, don’t get me wrong, but I just felt insecure. I’d much rather play some John Prine or something like that. I think country music is heartfelt, truthful—and it matters.”

Whitaker said the Whiskey Trio’s more honest approach may not be exactly what Norman embraces right now, but he could care less.

“Norman right now is all about 747, Logan’s and striped shirts—hipsters. Life’s too short to worry about what people think of you. I mean, John Prine is great—he’s corny, and cliché, but so is life, ya know?”

The Whiskey Trio’s first album, “Tangled in Oblivion,” is a self produced, gritty-sounding collection of traditional tunes. The guitar work is sparse and subtle, and the exceptional violin work of Arnett gives the Trio their edge. Whitaker described his lyrics as “cynical” and “morbid,” but overall he said, “It’s about playing some chords and having a good time, trying to figure it all out.”

Their laid-back attitude should not be mistaken for apathy, however. The Whiskey Trio has big plans for the future and hopes to continue doing what they do for larger audiences in more diverse towns.

In the future, however, Whitaker said The Whiskey Trio might end up having to change its name.

“I got on MySpace the other day and found a few other Whiskey Trios,” he said, laughing. “I guess we’ll just have to see who makes it to Austin first.”

It all derives from a love and desire to play music, Whitaker said, no matter what you call it.

“Hell, we could just change our name to the Evan Williams Trio,” he said. “I’d actually be OK with that. A name is just a name. We’re just a group of people with something to say.”