Austin Sound

The Tiny Tin Hearts may have provided our most thorough Sound Off ever, which is fitting for the 8 piece ensemble’s impressively cohesive compositions. Shades of the Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Neutral Milk Hotel, and even locals like the Noise Revival Orchestra and the Dark Water Hymnal dance flirtatiously throughout the Tiny Tin Hearts’ music, which swells in chamber folk-pop grandiosity, but remains calmly subdued behind Seth Osborne’s subtly winding narratives and quiet, contemplative croon, that at times touches near Ben Folds. The group already caught our attention with their amazing live show, and will be releasing their debut album, Last Flight of the Martyr Aviator, at the end of next month. Last month, the octet won the Austin Chronicle’s Sound Wars to garner a spot on their Hot Sauce Festival lineup this Sunday, August 30, in Waterloo Park, but you can also catch them earlier in the week at Emo’s as they join a solid local lineup of Chief Rival, Peoplefood and Salesman on Thursday, 27.

Photo by Valerie Fremin

Profile: The Tiny Tin Hearts

Year Formed:

2007

Members/Instruments played:

Seth Osborn (piano, banjo, vocals)
Jenni Wieland (French horn, trumpet)
Jim Korioth (cello)
Donald McDaniel (trombone)
Daniel Eversole (violin)
Sean Ziegler (lap steel/electric guitars)
Melanie Martinez (bass)
Jessie Poole (drums/percussion)

Former Bands/Side Projects:

Seth: This Life Electric (Soul/Pop band), Friday Mountain (Bluegrass), Mame (Jam band)
Melanie: The Wild Bunch and the Lisa Hayes Band
Sean: Fighting Brothers McCarthy (Melody Boy), Tom VandenAvond, Woodsboss, Izzy Cox, Mike Taylor, Mike Brown and the Sneakies w/ Garth Hudson, Soda Gardocki, Rev. Ben T and the Well Kept Secrets, Good Time Johnny, solo stuff, film soundtracks, etc.
Jim: Robin Smith
Donald: The Austin Symphonic Band, The Floating Opera Orchestra, Austin Chamber Music Center (Board Member & Treasurer), Former Principal Trombone Irving Symphony Orchestra, lots of freelance recording and various University of North Texas jazz and symphonic ensembles, among many others.
Jessie: Luke Kalloch (The Loblolly Boy/Mountains in the Moon/BearKat).
Jenni: Various guest appearances with Wild Colonials, What Made Milwaukee Famous & State Radio, guest spots recording with Danny Malone, Watch Out For Rockets, Alex Livingstone and Shark (Wild Colonials) to name a few. Projects with the Accidental Arts Ensemble and the Lonesome Heroes, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, besides the usual formative school bands through college orchestra. Pop, punk, country, rock and classical.
Daniel: Does research in the lab count? [Daniel is a scientist.] This is my first band, officially. Other than that I’ve played in Gamelan Lila Muni, (Indonesian percussion ensemble) and school orchestras including the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.

Albums:

Upcoming Release: Last Flight of the Martyr Aviator, 2009. Produced by George Reiff.

Influences:

Seth: Paul Simon, Neutral Milk Hotel, Joni Mitchell, Erik Satie, Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, Joanna Newsom, Tom Waits, Pat Metheny
Melanie: Old soul and heavy metal
Sean: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Marc Ribot, Blind Willie McTell, Townes Van Zandt, Sneaky Pete, Son House, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Aleman, Hank Williams, Astor Piazolla, Django Reinhardt, John Hammond, Cindy Cashdollar, Lonnie Johnson, Brian Eno, Paul Westerberg, Bobby Bare Jr, Daniel Johnston, John Fahey, the robed dudes in Sunn O))), Dave Sitek, so many more
Jim: The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Sam Cooke, Santana, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, SRV, Faces, Phish and my mentor Adolfo Odnoposoff
Donald: Bonerama, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and trombonists James Pankow (Chicago), Dave Bargeron (Blood Sweat & Tears), J.J. Johnson and Bill Waltrous
Jessie: Elvis Costello, dad’s old blues/ rock on vinyl, Rick Latham’s Advanced Funk Studies, drum corps, Beethoven, and Ray Hale, the man who taught me to “play different,” MuteMath, Get Up Kids (Something to Write Home About), Third Eye Blind, Neutral Milk Hotel, M. Ward, Death Cab, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, The Ataris (End is Forever), Motion City Soundtrack, Menomena, Mew, Coldplay, Mike Marsh, Spoon, Mates of State, Ben Kweller, Bishop Allen, Caedmon’s Call, Ben Harper, David Crowder, Ben Folds, Nickel Creek, Aaron Ivey.
Jenni: Barber, Debussey, Gershwin, Radiohead, Pat Benatar, Arcade Fire, the Monkees, Li’l Cap’n Travis, Beck, Massive Attack, the Flaming Lips. I’ve spent a lot of time playing along to songs on my iPod, wishing I was in the band.
Daniel: Gustav Mahler (favorite composer) and violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:

Seth: Someone once said, “The Tiny Tin Hearts took us to their own private Narnia” in a review. I thought that was strange and wonderful.
Also the comment, “Thank you so much Tiny Tim!” was left inexplicably on our MySpace comments once.
Jenni: (I like Seth’s version of this)
Melanie: Who ARE these people and what are they doing together?
Sean: Quentin Tarantino told me how much he liked the way I play the organ. I was playing a lap steel at the time, but he bought me a shitload of beers, so I didn’t mind.
Jessie: Quoting George Reiff: “That has gotta be the strangest song ever written.”

Favorite local bands:

Seth: Deadman, Heybale, anything Glenn Rexach does
Melanie: Glenn Rexach, Will T. Massey, Rob Roeder (music my friends are making)
Sean: James Hand, Ultra Wolf, McLemor Ave., Glover Gill with Tosca, Octopus Project, PPJ, Cindy Cashdollar, so many more.
Jim: Robin Smith, Aly Tadros, Kalu James, Will T. Massey, Infinite Partials, Redd Volkaert, Douglas Jay Boyd, Blues Mafia, Gary Clark Jr.
Donald: Drew Smith and The Lonely Choir, Suzanna Choffel, The Blues Mafia, Jon Dee Graham, Autumn, The Monster Big Band, Kat Edmonson, Just Released
Jessie: Infinite Partials, Suzanna Choffel, Aunt Rubie’s Sweet Jazz Babies, Possessed by Paul James
Jenni: Li’l Cap’n Travis, Danny Malone, Shearwater, Spain Colored Orange, Okkervil River, SO many more.
Daniel: I don’t know the local scene that well.

Favorite local venue:

Seth: Momo’s is kind of our home base and we love it there.
Melanie: The Saxon Pub
Sean: Red’s Scoot Inn
Jim: Continental Club, Antone’s, Victory Grill, Momo’s, Emo’s, Saxon Pub
Donald: Lambert’s, Momo’s
Jessie: Emo’s, Stubb’s Indoors
Jenni: The Parish. I can’t wait to play there.
Daniel: The Mean Eyed Cat

Upcoming shows scheduled:

8/27, Emo’s with Chief Rival, Peoplefood and Salesman. We play after midnight.
8/30, The 19th Annual Hot Sauce Festival in Waterloo Park, noon-12:30 p.m.
9/25, Our CD Release at the Parish with Mother Falcon and Deadman

Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:

Seth: Mother Falcon, who’s playing with us.
Melanie: Dan Auerbach
Jessie: Well, M. Ward just left. So that leaves…?
Jenni: I’m excited about Mother Falcon and Deadman playing with us at the Parish. I love discovering new local bands to enjoy.

Some of your favorite albums from the past year:

Seth: Dear Science by TV on the Radio, Cow Island Hop by Feufollet, Welcome to Mali by Amadou and Mariam, Disfarmer by Bill Frisell
Melanie: Billy Harvey’s The Everlasting War
Sean: Sunn O))) (Monoliths & Dimensions), Possessed by Paul James (Cold and Blind), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Dig Lazarus Dig), Bibio (Ambivalence Avenue), Boris (Smile), Church (#23), TV on the Radio (Dear Science)
Jim: Robert Plant & Allison Kraus
Donald: The Decemberists’ Hazards of Love, St. Vincent’s (Annie Clark) The Actor, Kat Edmonson’s Take It to The Sky, Suzanna Choffel’s Shudders and Rings and Autumn’s Velvet Sky
Jenni: In Rainbows by Radiohead, Dear Science by TV on the Radio, Cuddlebugs by Danny Malone

Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:

Seth: Arcade Fire would be great, Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom
Melanie: ELO (that would be the past)
Sean: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim: Maceo Parker
Jessie: Sufjan.
Jenni: Arcade Fire, the Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens. Kind of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tour.

Austin Sound questions:
What’s your best advice for winning a competition like Sound Wars?

Seth: Be persistent. People didn’t really mind being reminded to vote as much as we thought they might.
Melanie: Have the best song.
Sean: Nag.
Jim: Have friends and family who are willing to be pestered every day for two months. Pester them accordingly.
Donald: Use all your work, clubs, friends and family networks, and use social networking to the max (Facebook, MySpace and Twitter). Keep people excited with daily updates and encouragement. Get everyone to buy into the dream.
Jenni: Be gracious to the other bands and seize the opportunity to gain exposure for your music. It’s a great mixer.
Daniel: Besides beating up the competition….get your friends psyched to register and vote every day.

What can y’all tell us about the debut album, especially in relation to the live shows?

Seth: It’s a great introduction and summation to our sound and what we do. There’s a little bit of everything. Every player has their moment. It’s a nice showcase of the different talent and influences that make up our sound. In live shows, we’re a wall of sound and the music is big and energetic, so parts get lost during performances. The album is great because you can hear every part clearly.
Melanie: There’s nothing else like either. The 2-inch tape recording (of up to six instruments at a time, later layered on with the remainder) adds to the warmth of the recording. Our producer George Reiff added his own touches in the recorded soundscape to accentuate the quirkiness and sweetness of what we do live.
Sean: I won’t spoil it.
Jim: The CD really sounds like we do live. George managed to capture all the instruments and mix them clearly, which is no simple task. All the songs stand alone but Another Gnossienne is intended to lead into Love and Jet Engines. Finally, no musicians were harmed in the making of the CD.
Donald: There is no doubt the studio maximizes the sound, dynamic, balance etc. However, because we recorded as much live with as little overdubbing as possible it is very faithful to our live performances.
Jessie: We captured the warmth and unity of our live ensemble by reproducing a similar environment in the studio. We create a friendly sort of tension that is ultimately swept away in a wall of sound or startling silence. Figuratively or literally, we want you to be in the room with us when you listen. We want you to sit in the middle of our ensemble and hear it for yourself.
Jenni: I really love what Jessie said, especially about inviting people to sit in the middle of us.
Daniel: The album shows, more than anything, how eclectic our sound is. The CD is more subdued than our normal, live sound, but it shows off the variety of our songs and how diverse our musical talent is. It’s a very full sound on the CD and that will be heard at our show at the Parish.

Song Introduction:

Seth:
The Aviator - This song was inspired by the tragic death of Emilio Carranza, the Mexican aviator who crashed his plane and died in the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, late one night 52 years-and-one-day before my birthday. One night while I was living in Jersey, my roommate Matt and I drove down to the Carranza Memorial in Tabernacle. I had never heard of Carranza but Matt and I are fans of exploring the weird, obscure pieces of New Jersey history. It was typical for us but this time stuck with me more than others. That night was vivid and amazing for me. In Tabernacle, I passed a little white church with a tiny graveyard filled with very old graves marked with white crosses. Everything white glowed an amazing blue-white in the moonlight and I felt an intense presence of mortality and that sight set the tone for the night. Since then I have felt a strange connection with Carranza and years later this song came out of it, though I layered on a lot of my own personal stuff. I wanted something grand that sounded tragic and joyful at the same time, with lyrics that are both regretful and grateful. It’s just one of a list of songs I’ve written about airplanes and loss.

Sound Off:

Jim: Buy a CD or the drummer gets it.
Jessie: For the record, Tiny Tim has nothing to do with it. And no, that’s not a theremin.
Jenni: We started off as a bunch of strangers, so the first year we had a tradition of standing around and staring at each other after practice. We became close so fast. That’s what playing together does. It’s soul to soul. So it was funny to be so awkward with each other outside the practice room.
Daniel: Like with the CD, one of the best qualities of the band is how eclectic it is. That’s what got me when I first checked out the band on MySpace–how diverse and how warm it was. We’ve meshed so well together and enhance each other without trying to outdo each other. There is a cohesive sound on every song we do and I like how well we work together to orchestrate it and not stick with the standard rock sound. We do something novel with each piece and that’s what’s cool. We really fill up the place. If it’s a big venue we really go at it, and if it’s a coffee shop, we are able to turn ourselves down and make it warm. There’s a versatility that’s optimum and it’s something a lot of bands can’t do.

Mp3 from Last Flight of the Martyr Aviator:
The Aviator

Websites:
http://tinytinhearts.com/
Myspace