Adam Schlesinger Talks Tinted Windows (James Iha, Taylor Hanson, Cheap Trick)

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Feb 25, 2009

The world's latest rock'n'roll supergroup, Tinted Windows, have dished some details on this seemingly oddball collaboration, as well as the band's upcoming new full-length.

As previously reported, the band's line-up includes former Smashing Pumpkins guitar man James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger and MMMBopper Taylor Hanson of Hanson. The group's self-titled debut is due out April 21, courtesy of S-Curve and, as Schlesinger recently revealed in an interview, has been a long time coming.

"Even though it seems really sudden to everybody else, we've been working on making this happen for a while," Schlesinger told Billboard. "Taylor and I have been friends forever and started talking about it seriously about it three years ago. Two years ago, James was in on it."

Schlesinger went on to explain that Carlos signed on after hearing a few Tinted Windows demos and that all four members found a month last year to record their debut at New York's Stratosphere Sound Studios, which Iha and Schlesinger co-own with Ivy's Andy Chase. Apparently, Hanson's vocals lead much of the 11-track record, which was mostly written by Schlesinger and produced by the Fountains of Wayne member and Iha.

"For me, personally, as a writer, this was much more straight-forward musically and lyrically," Schlesinger said. "Lyrically, these aren't meant to be not ironic, not trying to be clever They're just pop songs."

He also reminded us that Hanson is no longer the baby-faced teen from the multimillion-selling '90s brother act. "We have Taylor with this incredible voice so I had the idea of doing something with a lot of energy," Schlesinger said. "It's a shame that when people think of Hanson, they think of Taylor as a teenager. But he's a grown man, and he's capable of doing so much."

Tinted Windows will play South by Southwest in March and reportedly are plotting several more club dates for April and May. They also may hit the road for a full-on tour this summer.

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