Tinted Windows Debut to Drop 4/21, Group's Coming Together Explained

Aha, now it all makes sense. But what I wanna know is can we still expect Bun E. to play with baseball bats?

The debut, self-titled album by Tinted Windows will be released April 21st on S-Curve Records. Tinted Windows are: Taylor Hanson (lead vocals), James Iha (guitar), Adam Schlesinger (bass), and Bun E. Carlos (drums).

Taylor Hanson is best known as a member of Hanson, the multi-million-selling trio of brothers from Tulsa who have been recording and touring since 1992. James Iha was one of the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins, and has also been a member of A Perfect Circle and a solo artist. Adam Schlesinger is in the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. Bun E. Carlos is the drummer of the legendary Cheap Trick, with whom he has played since the group's inception in 1974.

The band will be making several appearances at the upcoming South By Southwest Festival in March. They will also perform select club shows starting this spring, and will appear at the Bamboozle festival at New Jersey's Meadowlands. A performance on The Late Show With David Letterman is scheduled for April 20th. More dates will be announced shortly.

Taylor and Adam first crossed paths in the mid-Nineties and stayed friends ever since. "Taylor and I had always talked about trying to do something together," says Schlesinger, "maybe write some songs, or play some shows - something." Meanwhile, James' and Adam's respective bands had toured together, and the two have been collaborating on various projects for years, including guesting on each others' records, producing other groups together, running indie label Scratchie Records and co-owning a recording studio in Manhattan.

James, Adam and Taylor started kicking around the idea of writing and recording some songs that would set Taylor's unmistakable voice against some loud guitars. They also talked about fusing the sounds of power-pop, rock and New Wave of the late 70's and early 80's, which they all loved, with the more modern rock and pop sounds of their own groups. "We talked about everything from from The Buzzcocks to The Knack," says Iha. "And, of course, Cheap Trick."

When discussing possible drummers to round out the group, they thought, according to Taylor, "Who do we know that can play drums like Bun E. Carlos?" They ran through a list of names, before realizing the obvious. Both the Pumpkins and Fountains Of Wayne had shared stages with Cheap Trick over the years. Figuring it was a long shot, but worth a try, they got in touch with Bun E. and asked if they could send him a few song demos. Much to their delight and surprise, he was into it, and agreed to come to New York to work with them. Explains Bun E., "The songs are great and I'm honored to be a part of Tinted Windows."

The result is a stripped-down, high-energy record that combines the strengths and identifiable styles of all four members, and yet doesn't really sound like anything else any of the four has done elsewhere. And with three of the four band members contributing songs, there is a real band vibe in the diversity of the material. They have shot videos for two songs on the album already, with plans to do more in the coming weeks.

S-Curve Founder/CEO Steve Greenberg noted: "When we first heard about Tinted Windows, we were intrigued by the lineup, since we've done projects with most members of the band in the past. But when we heard the music, we were absolutely blown away. This album is going to make a lot of music lovers very happy and we're honored to help bring it to the world."