Every band has a story to tell. Be it a funny one, a historic one or even a rather disgusting one. And Indianapolis natives The Why Store have their own stories to tell or webs to weave, if you will.

Sitting around in Lumpy’s waiting for their July show at People’s Bar and Grill to begin, the band enlightens with tales of college and jobs and other intriguing materials from which you can draw your own conclusions about the sanity of the band. Quite a change from the everyday “Where’s your favorite place to play?” questions, et cetera, etc.

Michael Smith, Charlie Bushor, Chris Shaffer and Greg Gardner each contribute to give The Why Store its unique sound. Smith on lead guitar, Bushor playing the drums, Shaffer singing and Gardner on the bass are touring while waiting for the release of their third CD, The Why Store.

Not only do they play a collective mix of retro-rollerskatin’-disco, they also have time to elaborate on the days of yore.

With such an intriguing name as The Why Store, the question had to be asked. It’.s cliche to wonder where the name came from, but hell, it just begs to be answered.

“[In] downtown Muncie there was an old building [that] was falling down, a pile of bricks basically. It was condemned. They had painted on the side ‘Welcome to The

Why Store,”‘ Gardner said. ” So, we just kind of lifted it. We figured it would be gone. It is gone now. It wouldn’t mean anything but to us, once it’s gone.

“We’re the only ones that know about it. And it had to do with Ball State, that had a lot to do with it too; it was significant,” Shaffer added.

So the literal definition of The Why Store is an old building that’s falling apart that has a sign on the side. Not as romantic as one would think, but hey, this is The Why Store.

The significance of Muncie is obvious; that’s where three of them met. “[Smith and I] were roommates. Chris was just about done. He didn’t have very far to go until he graduated. He had two years, a year and a half or something, and the band, we had nothing, but it was still exciting,” Gardner said. “We just stopped going to class. I was a music major and telecommunications.”

A lot of musicians who meet in college wonder if all that schooling will pay off, or should they just screw it and hop on the fame tour.

“I went to Ball State. I flunked out so I could join the band,” Smith said. “It was a requirement.”

This proud owner of a new house studied music engineering but wasn’t too optimistic about job opportunities after graduation.

“It wasn’t a very good program, so I didn’t miss out on a whole lot,” Smith said. “I got a degree from Ball State! Woo EE! We have just the job for you! Here’s the fry bin! Here’s the grill.”

Thanks to MTV, every teenage politically-minded kid knows that President Clinton can play the saxophone and loves music. But, did you know that he likes The Why Store? “Bill Clinton’s on our mailing list,” Bushor said. “We got the mailer back one night, and it said Bill Clinton, 1600 North Pennsylvania. Ya mean, Bill’s here?”

Now that the tales have been told the only thing left to relate is how The Why Store plans to rejuvenate baseball. “I think the best way that they can get major league baseball back on top is to have the commercial say “Major League Baseball: Free Beer,” Smith said.

But, not all is fun and games in the Store. Right now, they’re entertaining the idea of signing with a label. The band just got back from Los Angeles, where they played a music showcase for a record company.

“We’re in the process of talking to record labels,” said Larry Gerstein, the band’s manager. “[The CD] is finished. We’re just waiting to see what happens. We’re real excited about it.”

The Why Store will bring their stories, excitement, along with their music, to People’s tonight. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. The show will start at 9:30 p.m. and, as always, an ID is required.