Tinted Windows Have Fun With Something Different

07/02/09 5:00pm

by Trevor Morelli (CHARTattack)

If you found yourself scratching your head when you heard former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha was working with Taylor Hanson, you're not alone.

While both parties admit their new Tinted Windows project is mainly about creating some no-nonsense, '60s style summer pop, it doesn't make either of them less excited about it.

"I think our other bands were more organic in the way they came about," explains Iha. "Your taste, style, blood, sweat and tears go into your first band. We just had this great idea of this pop band with loud guitars. We all like each other, so we thought we should just go for it."

Throw Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos into the mix and you have a record label's dream lineup.

"For me, it's a great departure," says Hanson.

"When I started making music, people assumed that being a young person meant it wouldn't last. They'd ask, 'So, what are you going to be doing in 10 years?'

"It's about having a career in music. You reach a point in your career where you want to do different things and collaborate with different people. Music is a very fluid sort of thing and the pieces just seemed to come together."

Wait a second. Does this mean the beloved '90s icons known as Hanson are breaking up?

"Hanson actually finished tracking a new record that should be out next year. We're not canning our other bands," clarifies the singer.

"Cheap Trick is touring and Fountains Of Wayne is working on an album. Tinted Windows is something we're doing in addition to our other bands. We've all had fans of our other bands assume that breakups are happening, but it's not true."

Well, that's just dandy. That news will either make you warm and fuzzy inside or make you want to punch yourself in the gut. All jokes aside, Hanson says the new band are really just about trying new things and having fun while doing it.

"This is just something from a musical point of view that we wanted to do. We don't think of this as a mechanism to get out there and do something that our previous bands haven't done before. We're trying not to take ourselves too seriously."

Tinted Windows have these tour dates lined up:

Aug. 1 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of The Living Arts
Aug. 3 Boston, MA @ The Paradise Rock Club & Lounge
Aug. 4 Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun
Aug. 5 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Sept. 1 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's