Interview date: 2 July 1999
Tandym's "City Out Of Time" album is an independent release that has been getting good reviews. I had the chance to ask them a few questions about the album and what they've been up to recently.
1. How did Tandym get together ?
Tandym was formed in the early '90s (current configuration). Since that time the focus has been to write as many songs as possible and get the music out to the public. The original motivation was to provide a group that could actually produce the music and harmony live. At the time there weren't many popular groups on the radio which had anything more than a single vocal and repetitive distortion. We really just wanted better music to listen to.
We are from Atlanta Georgia and play mostly in the southeastern US. The response (nationally) to our style of music is definately getting stronger. Check out our web page for a growing list of radio stations playing Tandym music. There have also been a lot of positive reviews of the CD - they are posted there as well. The web site address is http://atlantacup.com/tandym.
2. Virtually every review of the album that I've seen mentions the band have a 70s/80s vibe. Is this where the majority of your musical influences lie ?
We all have similar and different influences. Our common influences include Journey, Styx, Toto, and other "produced" rock groups from the 80s. Some of our individual influences include steely dan, peter frampton, alan parsons project, elton john, frank zappa, dream theatre, and rush. I guess you would say we have a variety of influences old and new.
3. 80s AOR/HR isn't exactly trendy these days, was there ever a temptation to perhaps go for a more 90s approach ?
The responses to our CD have definately been better overseas than here. In the US, the music climate does seem to be changing toward our music style. Groups like dream theatre and aerosmith are doing very well these days here. We don't compare our music to theirs since each is rock from a different perspective.
Our music isn't from the "flavor of the month" variety which unfortunately is the choice of most major labels here. Like most unsigned bands, we haven't found the right deal. We feel our label contacts will improve as our music reaches more listeners. In the mean time, internet distribution and self-production seems to be the way to go.
4. Any reviews of the album I've seen in the music press or web sites have been positive. Have you been pleased with the reaction to the album ?
Definately yes. We are really trying hard to get more distribution in the US and overseas. We have been fortunate to have gotten "re-orders" from the distributors we have which certifies that people are really buying the CD.
Mostly we are internet distributed. We have our own web site and are also posted on a number of other high profile US web sites. You can buy our stuff right
off the web which is really a boon for independant/self-produced artists like us. We would like to get more exposure overseas since our music seems to be more popular there.
The response from radio has also been great. We have over 30 national (US) and international radio stations playing Tandym music right now.
[The Mood Swings review is posted on the Reviews Of 1998 Releases page.]
5. The album was an independent release by the band. Was it difficult getting the project together ?
Man, it is a constant struggle. Even now we are getting ready to release our second CD and the work load is tremendous. As independants we must be our own publicists, managers, accountants, recording engineers, producers, and (oh yes) song writers and performers. The City out of Time project was done on such primitive gear. The new CD is all digital - start-to-finish - and should be quite refreshing to those who didn't care for the low budget production on the first record. Although the sounds have grown - it is still us. Its the one thing we can't (and won't) change because it is honest.
6. My favourite song from the album is "Annie", but what are your favourites?
That must be a trick question. As song writers each song has a special merit. But we do have our personal favorites. For some reason, the latest songs always seem to be our favorite. I think it is just part of the growing process. :)
Scott brought in the "annie" idea about a girl he was trying to take out but she didn't want anything to do with him. She carried a pistol in her purse so he called her Annie Oakley. By the way...he married her.
7. "Annie" was one of the songs that got recognised by the Atlanta Songwriter's Association. How did that award come about ?
We entered some of our songs (3 of them) into the Atlanta Songwriter Association annual festival. We just sent in a tape blind. We were quite surprised when we were notified that two of the three songs (Annie and Dont Walk Away) were selected for award. We haven't entered that many contests and this one was really just a whim. We really think that regular folks listening to the music is a better confirmation of what we are doing than a panel of judges.
8. Are you happy with the album ? Or would you like to go back and change a few things ?
I think we are happy with the songs and arrangements. The gear used (and budget) to record and produce the first one was really lame. Analog tape machines and only a few tracks. The "busdriver" was actually recorded on a few cheapo dynamic mics in my bedroom with the drummer on synthetic triggers. Boy have we come a long way since then.
9. What have the band been doing since the release of "City Out Of Time" and what are your plans for the future ?
Promoting the record and recording the tracks for the next release while keeping our live chops up. We are quite close to releasing our next CD; which is as yet untitled. The CD will contain 11 or 12 new tracks from Tandym which reflect a lot of growing in both the songs and our ability to present them. We still have the Tandym trademarks of melody and harmony but i think the material is a little more intraspective. We tried a lot harder to present song patterns and lyrics which inspire mood and independant thinking instead of just jumping up and down. Of couse, there are a few "hoppy" songs on the new CD as well.
10. The big news on the AOR scene at the moment is the release of the new Def Leppard. Some people have been saying that it could the catalyst to kick start an AOR/Melodic Rock revival. Personally, I doubt AOR is every going to reach the same level of popularity that it enjoyed during the 80s, but what do you think the chances of such a revival are ?
I dont know about a "revival". This implies that the music went away and then came back. Good songs will tend to shine through regardless of how they are presented (rock, country, industrial, etc). We like to think that our music reflects an honesty that is representative of our feelings and emotions. We dont try to make songs sound a specific way, they just come out as they come out.
Our fingers are tired! Hope to see you out there soon.
Many thanks to Tandym for taking the time to answer my questions & to Keith Abbott for setting up the interview.
Tandym web sites : http://members.home.com/apromo/tandym.html & http://atlantacup.com/tandym |
