Tinted Windows

Comprised of several generations of pop-minded hitmakers, Tinted Windows combined a supergroup pedigree with an appreciation for sugary, unapologetic power pop. Singer Taylor Hanson and bassist <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Adam Schlesinger</a> initially crossed paths in the mid-'90s, during Hanson's heyday as a teen heartthrob and <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Schlesinger</a>'s early development with <a href="spotify:artist:1pgtr4nhBQjp9oCUBPyYWh">Fountains of Wayne</a>. Although the two expressed interest in a collaborative project, each had more pressing responsibilities to attend to, including <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Schlesinger</a>'s management of his own label (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Scratchie+Records%22">Scratchie Records</a>, co-owned with longtime friend <a href="spotify:artist:2rmvGSbuMaxn7ZXe3ANXMC">James Iha</a>). As the years progressed, <a href="spotify:artist:2rmvGSbuMaxn7ZXe3ANXMC">Iha</a> left the <a href="spotify:artist:40Yq4vzPs9VNUrIBG5Jr2i">Smashing Pumpkins</a>' lineup but continued to work alongside <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Schlesinger</a>, even lending his guitar skills to <a href="spotify:artist:1pgtr4nhBQjp9oCUBPyYWh">Fountains of Wayne</a>'s 2003 effort, Welcome Interstate Managers.

Several years later, <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Schlesinger</a> and Hanson decided to finally launch their long-gestating collaboration, and <a href="spotify:artist:2rmvGSbuMaxn7ZXe3ANXMC">Iha</a> happily climbed aboard as the band's guitarist. The trio then sought out a drummer, hoping to find someone who played in the vein of <a href="spotify:artist:1LB8qB5BPb3MHQrfkvifXU">Cheap Trick</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:5uQSB1XKOtO2jkftTyZB2s">Bun E. Carlos</a>. They eventually extended the invitation to <a href="spotify:artist:5uQSB1XKOtO2jkftTyZB2s">Carlos</a> himself, who enjoyed the band's demo material and decamped to New York to work alongside the band. Tinted Windows signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22S-Curve+Records%22">S-Curve Records</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1pgtr4nhBQjp9oCUBPyYWh">Fountains of Wayne</a>'s former label, and released their debut album in spring 2009. <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Adam Schlesinger</a> died on April 1, 2020, from complications related to the COVID-19 virus. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi