On The Record With The Tins [BUFFALO BAND OF THE WEEK]

Indie/rock/pop group The Tins has made waves in the local music scene and across the country since the release of the trio's buzzworthy self-titled EP in 2010.

The band's momentum continued to rise after Adam Putzer (guitar and vocals), Mike Santillo (keyboards and vocals) and Dave Muntner (drums) released their first album, Life's A Gas, with Modest Mouse producer Joe Blaney in October 2012, and they've played with big-name acts such as The Sam Roberts Band, Tokyo Police Club, Plants and Animals and The Blow.

And they're always looking forward. The group is working on a new EP and an album to be released in the near future. I sat down with Adam, Mike and Dave to discuss their new projects, guilty pleasures and success.

Tell me a little bit about the EP. Are you doing anything different this time?

Dave: It’s going to be four songs, and it’s going to be spectacular. It's more us.

Mike: I feel like it’s like a different kind of Tins. The stuff that we were doing before was influenced by the producer so much that it became something a little different, and this is all done on our own, so we feel like it’s more our own identity.

Adam: It may be worse. We started experimenting with strings, so there’s definitely a bit more of a symphonic chamber pop thing kinda going on on this one as opposed to the kinda throwback stuff that we fell into on the previous records. Our sound is broadening. It’s definitely a step forward and hopefully up.

What guilty pleasures are you listening to right now?

Dave: Adam is Mr. Guilty Pleasures.

Adam: My guilty pleasures kind of weaned down this year. There’s not as many. I like the song “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. That’s always a good song. Also, Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know.” It’s just like a song that I would never listen to, but I like it. It’s pretty ingenious some of the melodies that he came up with, but it’s not a song that I’m proud to say that I enjoy listening to.

Mike: There’s this Japanese teen pop band that played a song for that kid’s film Wreck-It Ralph, and I really liked the song, and I downloaded it, and I downloaded more of the music just to see what it was like. There’s also another song…a really popular club hit. Ke$ha’s “Die Young.” It’s just like crazy catchy.

Dave: I think that this may be pretentious to say, but I feel like…

Mike: Now it’s really going to be pretentious.

Dave: I feel like…

Mike: I feel like I'm my own guilty pleasure.

Dave: I feel like I've been listening to a lot of music for a very long time, and I feel like I'm at this point where if I like the song, it’s because how it was crafted was intelligent and something was done right, and that’s why I'm drawn to it. So I'm trying to find something that I'm actually embarrassed about liking...Coldplay. They have songs that I somewhat like. Like that “Paradise” song has some of the worst lyrics ever, but the hooks are really solid.

Do you have any advice for new bands? What’s your secret to success?

Adam: It’s funny because we don't consider ourselves very successful. I like to say you have to keep lying to yourself. It’s kind of weird though, because you feel like you're sedentary for a little while, you’re not going anywhere, then all the sudden we get on 90210. It’s kind of out of the blue, but something happens. It’s the little bit of hope that makes you want to keep going.

Dave: Then all the sudden you get a Jack FM interview, and the game changes.

Mike: I think you're successful if you're happy with what you're doing and you're challenging yourself artistically and the music you're putting out is something you believe in. However many people are listening to you is kind of second to that. If you're not happy doing it, then I feel like you're never really going to be successful because something’s missing if you don't feel fulfilled with it. Don't do it for any other reason than just wanting to make music. I think that if you're doing it just to get some certain result out of it, then you're going to be really disappointed. It’s kind of disingenuous.

Dave: The one thing that’s good about the music industry in general being so challenging is that if you're hardworking and you’re dedicated, it kind of forces you to work harder because you know how stiff the competition is and how you really need things to be good. I'm not saying we’ve achieved any level of what we would like to, but that whole idea of pushing forward inspires me to work harder.

Listen to a new remix of their song "Please Be Kind."

Catch The Tins at Mr. Goodbar on July 26 and opening for the 10,000 Manics on July 27 at the Niagara Falls USA Hard Rock Cafe.

For more information about The Tins, visit their Facebook and Twitter pages. Download Tins songs for free on their site, and stream more of their music on Soundcloud.

Hey, local bands: Want to be featured as our Buffalo Band of the Week? Local music aficionados, got a band you want to nominate? Email angela.stefano@townsquaremedia.com with their name!