Q&A: Band Rin Tin Tiger talks about inspiration, dark chat and DIY recording

 

The band Rin Tin Tiger pose at the beach in San Francisco. ANNA LARINA

By Lance Kramer
The Guardsman

Rin Tin Tiger is a three-piece alternative folk group that infuses rock ‘n’ roll elements with emotional and catchy tunes. The Guardsman caught up with brothers, Sean E. (bass player and vocalist) and Kevin Sullivan (guitarist and vocalist) at La Corneta Taqueria in Glen Park to discuss their love for music, burritos and Tupac.

Q. How long have you guys been Rin Tin Tigers?

Sean E.: Since March 2011.

Kevin: Yeah, we used to be called Westwood and Willow, then we changed our band name and officially added the drummer (Andrew Skewes) in March.

Q. How long have you guys been attending City College?

Kevin: Sean just graduated from San Francisco State. I used to go to CCSF but I dropped out this fall. I was just going because I thought I had to please my parents, but then I got awful grades, and I just wrote songs on campus instead of doing homework.

Q. Did you get a lot of inspiration from City College then?

Kevin: It was pretty dreary so it got me pretty depressed a lot of the time, but I did meet some weird people that were interesting and influential to my growth as a person.

Q. Where do you draw your inspiration for writing music?

Kevin: All of my songs are about being a passive-aggressive hypochondriac that would rather dark chat than have sex.

Q. Do you get the chance to play often in the Bay Area or to go on tour?

Sean E.: We play the Bay Area a lot, San Francisco and San Jose specifically. We’ve played a lot of shows there. We have been playing Berkeley more often, a little bit of Oakland but not too much. We’ve been doing a couple tours on the West Coast, from here to Seattle and back, essentially.

Q. What musicians have influenced your music?

Kevin: Well…I love Tupac a lot ‘cause he’s fearless, angry, and he’s multi-dimensional. On one track he’s talking about killing you and in another he’s talking about peace on the block, so I’m into that. And I felt that he always said just what he wanted to say and with conviction. Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith in there, and then I like Morrissey just because he’s so ridiculous, he’s very upfront, incredibly blunt, but I believe him. He’s not putting up a front, and of course Johnny Marr’s guitar is wonderful.

Q. Can you tell me about your approach to putting out your music?

Sean E.: Up until “Toxic Pocketbook”, which comes out this summer, we really did record our stuff mostly ourselves or with the help of friends in a very DIY environment. We went into Tiny Telephone Studios (in San Francisco) and we did everything to 2-inch tape and we mixed down to half-inch tape, so we did everything pretty much without a computer which is totally opposite to how we did stuff before.

Rin Tin Tiger plays at Bottom of the Hill on Friday, May 11 with Tumbleweed Wanderers and Infantree from Los Angeles. Their new album, “Toxic Pocketbook” can be downloaded through their website at rintintiger.com.