“People are quick to notice the ’80s UK/Britpop influences in our music, which is absolutely there, but there’s some less-than-expected DNA bubbling under the surface that is harder for people to detect.”
“Despite turning into record nerds and object fetishists in our 20s, our early experiences with vinyl were mostly relegated to seeing our parents’ collections boxed up and maybe getting to rifle through them once they heard us playing the Doors. One majorly treasured find from one of these digs was a folded up poster of Michael Jackson and E.T. holding hands, wedged between Carly Simon’s Greatest Hits and Donovan’s Gift From A Flower to A Garden. Breathtaking. I hung the Richard Avedon portraits from the White Album on my bedroom wall, while giving Pet Shop Boys’ Please another go-round on the cassette player and drifting even further away from my peers.” —Wyeth, bass
“Nina Persson of the Cardigans was my teenage crush. Before the Romeo and Juliette soundtrack and “Lovefool,” there was “Carnival,” a single off of Life. I must have caught the video on a tape-recorded version of 120 Minutes my buddy Scotty Walsh would make and then watch religiously.”
“I bummed a ride to Newbury Comics, fingered through the C section, and there she was, my Scandinavian confection. While my relationship with Nina was surface and fleeting, it was the triads, arpeggiated chords, thick tones, jangle and rhythm I fell in love with … listen to “Rise and Shine” and you’ll hear what I mean. Nina’s always my girl but guitarist—Peter Svensson—is the one who’s been with me all these years.” —Garrett, vocals, guitar
“Baseball cards were my thing. That’s where the money went. But somewhere in second grade I discovered MTV at a friend’s house. This was ’89, so hair metal was runnin’ hot. Cymbals hanging from chains. Rocking in warehouses with lots of welding going on.”
“Suddenly, who gives a shit about baseball? All lawn-mowing money was now invested in cassette tapes, with one piece of early key art being Faith No More’s The Real Thing. (It’s the one with “Epic,” the floppy-fish super-hit.) The record is equal parts powerhouse and crackpot. The slap-bass, rippin’ guitar, kook synth work, and all things Mike Patton—it all worked for me. Looking back I think part of the appeal must have been that these guys were badass rockers and they seemed to have a sense of humor. And I don’t care what nü-things followed, I still love this record.” —J., drums
“I grew up a third-generation preacher’s son in Texas and rural Oklahoma, my mom a traveling gospel singer and my Dad the church band’s bass-player. In addition to being a pastor, he had a (not-so-secret) love for all sorts of secular music, from Parliament to Steppenwolf.”
“He gave me Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Texas Flood for Christmas when I was 9, along with my first guitar (a Squire Strat, of course) and I was immediately drawn to it. I think “Cold Shot” was one of the first songs I learned how to play. I wanted to be able to play even close to how he did; just bending notes until he it almost became the right one.
I loved that it felt so organic and just sort of flowed out of him like the guitar was an appendage he’d had since birth. I’ve been told I still have a very bluesy guitar-playing style (even though I never came close to Stevie) and I can easily say that it all comes from listening to “Dirty Pool” over and over again.” —Collin, guitar
Hints’ No Regrets in Old English arrives in stores tomorrow, June 9, 2015.
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PHOTOS: MEREDITH JENKS
