gs, sibling rivalry and plenty of bad puns. All and all a pretty decent interview with Brooklyn's Tiny Animals (the trendy address aside, don't call them indie kids).How and when did the band first get together?
Well, we could just give you a date on which the great conjunction occurred, but the story goes much deeper than that. It's basically a family affair. Rita and Chris have been playing music together since childhood. Much like Tiger Woods or Michael Jackson, our father urged/taught/forced us to play guitar and drums so that he could join in on bass guitar. Approximately 16 years later we met Anton (a sufficient replacement for our father), who then became a part of Chris' first band, Fighterpilot. He was called upon to complete the power trio that is now known throughout the universe as Tiny Animals.
As someone with two sisters, how difficult is it to be in a band with your sibling? Any Kinks or Oasis style fights yet?
Yes, Rita and Chris fight constantly. Physical violence is very common. OK, that's a lie. The truth is that we are deathly afraid of Rita. Her biceps are comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger's circa 1980. So, in order to avoid unwanted brutality we resort to therapeutic discussions, rather than an onstage bloodbath.
What can you tell me about the new record?
Well, we would like to take this opportunity to clear something up. This is not an "indie rock" album. It seems that publications are incapable of reviewing it without trying to pinpoint exactly which specific brand of indie rock we are offering. They either praise us for being indie rockers with a refreshing pop-edge or they bash us for sounding too mainstream for an indie rock trio. Why can't people just call our music what it is...POP ROCK! What exactly makes people think we are playing indie rock? We certainly don't sound "indie". We are signed to a record label (plug: North Street Records). We drive around in Bentleys. We live in Brooklyn....oh wait, maybe that's why. DAMNIT!
Is there a general theme to the songs?
The general theme is total awesomeness. Eh? Seriously though, there is no underlying theme to Sweet Sweetness. But fear not, album number two is already in the works and it is a full on concept album. We can't yet reveal the concept of course, so just let the anticipation simmer.
How were the songs written? Did someone bring in the lyrics and the music was built around them or was it all done more collaboratively?
Ten of the 11 original tracks on the album were written by Chris on his own and then arranged/perfected/tailored in rehearsal by all three of us. “Goodbye July” is the one song on Sweet Sweetness which was a truly collaborative effort. We enjoy playing it so much that we have decided to do a lot more composing as a group. If it doesn't work, we will hire a ghost writer for the next album.
Do you share similar musical influences?
Not really. While there is some common ground, Chris' favorite band is Hanson, Rita mostly listens to whale sounds, and Anton gets most of his influences from 1980's TV theme songs. (Note: Some of this sentence is actually true. You decide what part!)
Anything in particular you were all listening to when writing the record that had an influence on the sound?
No, but during the drum sessions we did watch Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. We'll have to go back and take a listen to find out if there are any direct influences or plagiarisms. We may have lifted a few melodies from the scene where he falls into the shark tank and screams "That's not Snowflake".
Gotta admit, I loved the YouTube video you created. How did that come about?
Thanks! What's interesting is that we were convinced the humor of our webisodes would be too personalized for others to find funny. As for how they came about...you know how sometimes you have a stupid idea and you're like "Man, I should make a video of this", but then your buddy says "No don't do that. You're a moron". Well, our buddy was at work that day. But honestly, we have been doing absurd videos like these since we were kids....there are many more on the way. Stay tuned!
Have you started touring behind this record yet?
Yes, but we are slacking. Can you get us a booking agent?
Anything else you want to add?
Yes. 5 + 16 = 21
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