Tight Pants Syndrome

TIGHT PANTS SYNDROME:FULLY ATTRACTIVE
(BLIP! BLAP! Records & Tapes)
STREET DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2010

St. Louis power pop collective Tight Pants Syndrome celebrates the release of their long awaited sophomore full-length, FULLY ATTRACTIVE, at Off Broadway (St. Louis) on October 2, 2010. The record will be available in select stores and online retailers three days later. As a bonus for fans, limited numbered copies of a special new EP, DON’T PANIC, will be included with purchase of the FULLY ATTRACTIVE CD at the show.

FULLY ATTRACTIVE’s explosive 17 tracks showcase the combined talents of four very distinct lead vocalists—longtime member and bassist Brian McClelland (“New Hit Record,” “I Shop for Sugar,” “Gimme Tonite”), keyboardist/guitarist Tim McAvin (“Ravishing in Black,” “Honey,” “What Will I Do”), keyboardist Jenn Malzone (“Get Outta My Haircut,” “Telephone,” “Waiting On a Signal”), and Erin Hogan (“Rebound,” “All of the Way”)—taking what made TPS stand out, huge shimmering ‘60s pop vocals buoyed by co-founding member Tom Stephens' lightning-hot, hook-laden tunes, and turning up the heat a few notches.

The group’s most ambitious recording yet, FULLY ATTRACTIVE opens with the rollicking fanfare of “New Hit Record (Tammy),” referred to by McClelland as “our kitchen sink song, ‘cause we fit pretty much everything in there: tympanis, a string section (provided by Brien Seyle of The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra), a real harp, guest vocalists…even a tambura app Tom played from his iPhone.” The result is a stunning large-scale explosion of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys meets Paul McCartney and Wings at their most rocking.

Speaking of PM&W—a smoking cover of their classic rock anthem “Jet” is included as an unlisted bonus track on a new limited edition TPS EP, DON’T PANIC, to be given free with the purchase of FULLY ATTRACTIVE at the CD release show. The EP (also featuring 8 new originals) came about as Stephen’s reaction to the lengthy FULLY ATTRACTIVE production, the idea being to throw down quick and dirty inspiration on tape (playing the drums and many of the basic tracks himself) and record the vocals gang-style in a couple of drunken sing-alongs. The finished recording plays like an exuberant and accidentally recorded afterparty in a damp South Side basement, which, Stephens admits, “It pretty much was.”

This lo-fi approach is what the band plans on focusing on over the next several months—intending to regularly release EPs every few months, just like in the early days of TPS, circa 2004.

The knockout current performing lineup consists of Paul Bordeaux (Roger from the Dark) on guitars/vocals, Jeff Hess (The Geargrinders, The Unmutuals) on drums/vocals, Jenn Malzone (Paper Dolls, Middle Class Fashion) on vocals/keyboards, Brian McClelland (Maxtone Four, Middle Class Fashion) on vocals/bass, and Tom Stephens (bart starr, The Flamerz) on guitar.

McAvin’s new outfit, Karate Bikini—also featuring co-founding TPS member Joe Scanlon—will open the CD release show.

So, what’s the deal with the always evolving lineup? McClelland explains that “once the lineup started shifting again during this recording, with Erin going to Hollywood, Tim to Karate Bikini, and one of the best drummers I’ve played with, Scott Hermes, selling his kit and retiring from drumming altogether, Tom and I started rethinking this band as more of a loosely structured collective where members are free to come and go—but the bottom line is that it remains a bunch of friends who really get off on playing on each other’s stuff in an unusually ego-free environment. It’s a blast.”

From the RIVERFRONT TIMES (June 2008):
Singles Going Steady
Elusive local power-pop/'60s-rock aficionados Tight Pants Syndrome have finally been captured on disc with Singles. As its name implies, the album collects tunes written and recorded between 2004 and 2007 with several different lineups. Unlike many odds-and-ends compilations, though, Singles is incredibly cohesive — from the Sloan-like power-pop of "Cool Bad Cherry" to the '80s indie-rock shambling of "John's Niece is Very Pretty" and drowsy harmonies of jangle-psych gem "Your Buzz Is Safe With Me." Now settled in as a quintet, Tight Pants Syndrome recently played its first out-of-town shows, which included an appearance at International Pop Overthrow Chicago. Vocalist/bassist Brian McClelland — a member of the band since 2005 — checked in with B-Sides on the eve of Singles' release.

B-Sides: How does it feel to finally hold a CD in your hands after all this time?

Brian McClelland: Of the fourteen songs on the record, I'm involved in the last five or six. The first batch of tunes I think is from 2005? 2004? I was such a big fan of those guys, I always wanted them to compile their stuff even before I was a band member. I think everyone's really excited about it. We've already started recording the next batch of songs, an actual record where everything is being made at the same time, instead of over a five-year period.

I bet that's a very different feeling.

This lineup has really been fun so far. Our live show is so much improved, I think — just a lot more vocals.

Erin [Hogan] is the newest member, right?

We basically have three lead singers; Tim [McAvin] and I and Erin [Hogan] are all doing lead. Tim actually found Erin on Craigslist, which I thought was a very modern way of [finding her]. [Laughs] She is a locally based actress. Most people, when they get a new member, you want them to feel like they're being a part of the creative process, so you try to let them shape their own parts. But she comes in and says, "Tell me exactly what you want to do, and I'll do it, no problem." She likes to be directed. We tell her exactly what we need, and she makes it sound great.

What struck me about listening to the collection, was how cohesive everything is, despite being written over so many years with so many different people. I was impressed by that.

A big part of that is Tom Stephens. Basically, the band is Tom Stephens. He has recycled the entire lineup since he did "Your Buzz Is Safe With Me" — everyone's new except for Tom. He just lends a very distinct slant to his pop songs. Tom is such a great songwriter.

Tights Pants Syndrome did some out-of-town stuff recently, right?

We did some Champaign and Chicago stuff over the last month or two. It was a blast; I never had that much fun being out of town with a band before. They're just the goofiest people I've ever known in my life — and that's in the best way, they're really fun. I'm on the midnight shift, [and] we left early in the morning, I tried to sleep the entire way up to Chicago — we had a day show [there] and a night show that same night in Champaign — and these guys were so goofy, yelling and screaming the whole time. I was exhausted, but they were having so much fun, I couldn't tell 'em, "Guys, can you keep it down?" Because that enthusiasm was so, I don't know...It makes everything so much more exciting and fun.— Annie Zaleski



From the ST. LOUIS POST's ROCK CANDY:
Tight Pants Syndrome delivers pop hooks on new album
By Matt Fernandes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Pop hooks and harmonies will abound this Saturday at the Tap Room as the local quintet Tight Pants Syndrome will release their debut album.

The band was founded in 2004 by guitarist Tom Stephens. After some departures, Stephens retooled the band with several established musicians: Brian McClelland (Maxtone Four) sings and plays bass; Tim McAvin (Lydia's Trumpet) sings and plays keys; and Scott Hermes (Fantasy Four, Phonocaptors) is on drums. Erin Hogan on vocals rounds out the band.

The new album is a reflection of the various lineup changes. Titled Singles, the record is made up of songs that the band recorded a few at a time over the years, plus five new tracks. With titles like “Your Buzz is Safe With Me Tonight” and “Suburban Girl,” expect some humor to go with your Tap Room fries on Sat.

The album will be available at shows and as a download on iTunes.

McClelland said that the group tries to keep it fun, loose and upbeat onstage, with lots of big harmonies. The band boasts three lead singers with the other two backing up at times.

“It’s very late-1960s and early-1970s AM pop music – (influenced by) something even as silly as the Archies,” said McClelland, referring to the animated bubblegum garage band from the Archie Show during the same era. More recent comparisons would be Canada’s Sloan and Denver’s Apples in Stereo.



From the RIVERFRONT TIMES:
BEST POP BAND 2006 - TIGHT PANTS SYNDROME
The cult of power-pop geeks is small but fanatical. Picture a cadre of harmony aficionados who might name-drop obscure bands, or devoted vinyl crate-diggers who speak with hushed reverence about finding impossibly rare 45s at a flea market. It's fitting, then, that very few local bands specialize in preserving power-pop's legacy. Enter Tight Pants Syndrome. A quintet bolstered with new member Scott Hermes on drums, the Pants wield the fiercest harmonies and melodies in town, with multiple layers of pop sugar spun into catchy songs. (Check out their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/tightpantssyndrome, then try to get the bubblegum-fuzz gem "Your Buzz Is Safe with Me Tonight" out of your head. Just try.) Those who scour the countryside for the Yellow Pills compilations, who attend every Dressy Bessy show in town or who are just plain tired of what passes for pop today will love Tight Pants Syndrome—guaranteed.


View Tight Pants Syndrome's EPK

Member Since:

November 29, 2005

Members:

Tom Stephens | guitar
Brian McClelland | vocals, bass
Jenn Malzone | vocals, keyboards
Paul Bordeaux | guitar, vocals
Jeff Hess | drums, vocals