Locksley Announce New Tour Dates

Do you like your pop sporting a Union Jack cover? Are you of the belief that all good bands are just x number of degrees from The Beatles or The Kinks? Well then, Locksley is the band for you. They supported Ray Davies during the tour for their first record, Don't Make Me Wait, even acting as his backup band for gems like "You Really Got Me" and "All the Day and All the Night." Their new record, "Be In Love," is due out soon so the brothers Locksley are heading back out on the road, even doing a few dates with the Blind Faith of power-pop, Tinted Windows. If those doesn't provide for some ample pop street cred, I don't know what does.

We've been cooped up inside Locksley HQ for far too long, and like any other caged beast, must roam free from time to time. We got our feet wet (soaked, actually) at The Bamboozle in New Jersey, and found our insatiable hunger to bring you new music was not to be held back any longer. Thus, we present to you:
SHOWS!!!
June 4th
STAGE ONE
Fairfield, CT

June 11th
SUBTERRANEAN
Chicago, IL

June 12th
FREEPORT MUSIC
430 N. Lake Street Park, Port Washington, WI
FREE SHOW!

June 13th
THE MAJESTIC THEATRE
Madison, WI

June 18th
TLA
Philadelphia, PA
***w/TINTED WINDOWS***

June 17th
HIGHLINE BALLROOM
New York, NY
***w/TINTED WINDOWS***

June 19th
THE BELL HOUSE
Brooklyn, NY

Tinted Windows Announce Tour Dates

Tinted Windows, the acclaimed new band comprised of Taylor Hanson, James Iha, Adam Schlesinger, and Bun E. Carlos, will celebrate the April 21st release of their highly-anticipated debut album with a flurry of activity, including late night television appearances, intimate club dates and appearances with No Doubt in Atlantic City and at the Bamboozle Festival.

Since their live unveiling at South By Southwest in March, critics have described Tinted Windows' sound as "hook crammed power pop jams" (Spin), "pure power pop", (Rolling Stone), and "more or less exactly a fusion of those four sensibilities...it's hard to deny the playfulness and joy at the heart of it" (NPR). The Chicago Sun-Times said "the new supergroup...qualifies as one of the strangest ever assembled, but...also promises to be one of the most artistically successful...[they] played with bountiful exuberance and ample confidence."

Taylor Hanson (lead vocals) 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 (guitar) 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 (bass) is in the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. Bun E. Carlos (drums) is the drummer of the legendary Cheap Trick, with whom he has played since the group's inception in 1974.

The album "TINTED WINDOWS" (available in stores and at digital retailers April 21 on S-Curve Records) is a stripped-down, high energy record that combines the strengths and identifiable styles of each member without ever really sounding like anything else any of the four has done elsewhere. The album contains leadoff single "Kind Of A Girl", which is already at radio. The deadpan performance video for the song on fictional late night show "Rock After Dark" was a blogosphere hit, and it has also recently been heard in promos for ABC's "Samantha Who?"

The band will continue to perform throughout the year in support of their album. More dates and events will be announced shortly.

Tour Dates
4/20: New York, NY, Mercury Lounge
4/25: Edmond, OK, Plunkett Park/University of Central Oklahoma

4/28: Los Angeles, CA, Troubadour

4/30: Chicago, IL, Double Door
5/2: Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata Events Center - w/No Doubt

5/3: E. Rutherford, NJ, The Bamboozle 2009 @ Meadowlands Sports Complex

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."

Tinted Windows Supergroup to Play SXSW 09; Also Known as the "Oddest Combination of Musicians Ever"

My goodness, what a odd conglomeration eh, was there a rip in the space/time continum that nobody reported on? Did someone say, "Hey, let's mix together members of hit making bands from each decade and form a supergroup!" (You forgot the 80s though...I hear Brett Michaels might be free.)

And I don't even care if Taylor Hanson is the singer, I still hope we get a rousing version of "Dream Police."

Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Hanson's Taylor Hanson and Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger have formed a new band, Tinted Windows.

The group has recorded its debut album at Stratosphere Sound Studios in New York, which Schlesinger and Iha co-own with Ivy's Andy Chase. The set is expected this spring on a label to be announced.

Tinted Windows will play its first major show at Billboard's South by Southwest showcase, to be held March 20 at Pangaea in Austin, Texas. (Source)