Published by James Montgomery on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 6:44 pm.
Take one graying former Smashing Pumpkins ax-man, a Hanson brother-turned-father, a 57-year-old Cheap Trick drummer and the Fountains of Wayne bassist, and what have you got?
Tinted Windows, the music world’s latest, relatively head-scratching supergroup.
That’s right — James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and Taylor Hanson have joined forces as the curiously named Windows. They even have a MySpace page, so it has to be legit.
And while, sure, it may seem like the oddest grouping of musicians ever, a closer look reveals that maybe Tinted Windows aren’t so random after all. Schlesinger and Iha co-own Stratosphere Sound Studios (along with Ivy’s Andy Chase), where Tinted Windows recorded their debut. And back when Iha was in the Pumpkins, they used to cover Cheap Trick songs (most notably “Baby Loves to Rock”) live in concert. We’re not really sure where the 25-year-old Hanson brother fits in, but, hey, it’s a supergroup … and since when do supergroups have to make complete sense?
The band’s album is expected to be released this spring, and they’ll be making their debut performance at Billboard’s South by Southwest showcase on March 20.
Laugh if you want to, but we all know how Taylor’s voice swept us away with “Mmmbop.” If that’s any indication, then Tinted Windows just might be the next big thing.