Interview: TAN SLEEVE

    Songwriting is a mysterious and wondrous skill. The gift of intelligent yet soulful songwriting is possessed by few. These few gifted songwriters usually do not get their deserved credit. Lane Steinberg and Steve Barry are a magnificent songwriting team. Members of the 80’s band The Wind, both earned a cult following due to their powerful songwriting. The Wind's albums (which are now hard to find) remain powerful over a somewhat dated sound. The power remained because of the intelligent songwriting. Originally from Florida, the group moved to New York City but eventually disbanded. As time marched on, the two Jewish men settled down, got married, had kids, worked hard, and were almost forgotten. In the late 90’s, The Bus Stop Label released 2 EPs that reminded the music world of insightful lyrics and addictive melodies. Wall Of Orchids was Lane’s small but potent solo project. “Fall Love” by Tan Sleeve was a magnificent 4 song EP overflowing with romance. Their influences shined through their music. Without stealing, they gave a nod to The Beatles, Bob Dylan, etc. Tan Sleeve consisted of Steve Barry and Lane Steinberg. The team had returned. Their small cult following soon realized that they had been releasing CD-R albums through their website. The “Fall Love” EP was their first official release as Tan Sleeve. The Bus Stop Label made us wait, but eventually released their official debut “Bad On Both Sides” LP. More upbeat and irreverent than the previous EP, “Bad On Both Sides” maintained a delicate balance between romance and humor. Romantic songs like “You’ll Thank Me For This One Day”, “Take A Peace While It Lasts”, and “It Doesn’t Snow In New York Anymore” were perfect little gems that could be on a soundtrack for any film. The humorous tracks were clever enough to not be silly or debase the album’s quality. “Puffy’s Gun” was a country tune remarking about Puff Daddy’s arrest. “Best Behind” was a tribute to a woman’s butt. Eventually, Tan Sleeve soldiered on as they started Cheft Records. With little warning, their sophomore album “American Blood” was released in the Spring of 2005. Different in both sound and theme, “American Blood” retained the Tan Sleeve feel but traveled to new territory. Their political songs earned them some publicity. The title track was played on CNN. Their ode to African-American female power, “Condoleeza Will Lead Us” was mentioned on The Howard Stern Radio Show and various television news programs. Humor remained in Tan Sleeve’s songs too. With a strong influence from Simon & Garfunkel, “Mr. Combover” was a wicked track about a man who imagines his neighbor to be child molester. While fame never caught up with Lane and Steve, middle age certainly did. These days, they have creative control. They simply love songwriting! Tan Sleeve is an undiscovered jewel in a bucket of worthless rocks. On a humid Spring day in 2005, I spoke to both Steve Barry and Lane Steinberg. As their American Blood pumps through their veins, Tan Sleeve’s intelligent songwriting will remain.

T.JONES: "What goes on?"
LANE: "Trying to get this CD off the ground. It's our own label. So, we do everything."
STEVE: “New album, new baby! Hey, isn't that the name of a John Mayall record?”

T.JONES: "The new Tan Sleeve album is titled 'American Blood'. Tell us about the LP."
LANE: "Wow, big question! Musically, we just work and work until we have enough songs for a CD. This one was a bit more humorous, sarcastic, and topical. I guess that's the direction we're traveling in."
STEVE: “It's our second full length CD after Lane and I reunited back in 1998. We're just taking our time, making music at our own pace, and trying to enjoy ourselves.”

T.JONES: “How is 'American Blood' different from the 'Bad On Both Sides' LP?”
STEVE: “On ‘Bad From Both Sides’, we were just getting acquainted with the idea of working as duo in a home studio setting. We were trying stuff in different formats. Some songs were acoustic-based. Some had Lane playing drums. Some had basic tracks that were recorded in Miami, with ex-Wind drummer, Steve Burdick. The last few tracks we recorded, had drum loops and samples. On the new CD, I think that you can hear that we're more familiar and comfortable with the luxuries and possibilities of making records in this setting. It is certainly a far cry from the old days of booking time in some sub-standard studio with a $50 an hour engineer and having to keep one eye on the clock while laying down tracks.”
LANE: “The ‘Bad From Both Sides’ LP followed two CDs of mostly acoustic covers. We're really into songs of the classic era. Our first one had a bunch of songs that Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Ella sang. The second consisted of half covers and half originals. ‘Bad From Both Sides’ was more of a full-fledged step back into contemporary pop. We did manage to get a Mancini cover on it. ‘American Blood’ seems like a natural progression, a synthesis of our many influences. We crack each other up, trying to juxtapose unlikely sources.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite song on ‘American Blood’?”
LANE: “The title track was pretty important to me. I love Steve's ‘Walk Me Through It’. It gave me chills for weeks.”
STEVE: “It's a toss up between ‘Party Girl, Portly Boy’ and ‘When Lindsey Buckingham Shaved His Beard’. What I like about ‘Party’ is that it's so out-there. It really sounds like we're having fun, which is quite an accomplishment for two struggling musicians in their 40's.  As far as ‘Lindsey’ goes, it's probably my favorite song that I've ever written.”

T.JONES: “What does the title ‘American Blood’ mean to you?”
STEVE: “I wanted to write an ‘American Pie’ for my generation. We are people who were born in the early 60's, grew up listening to classic pop/rock, were disappointed by the bland mediocrity of corporate rock, and encouraged by the new wave scene. But, something happened after the turn of the decade. The excitement and freshness of artists like Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe was replaced by the cold, smug, pretentiousness of bands like The Smiths and The Cure. Given the choice, I'd rather listen to Foreigner or Bob Seger. So, I wanted to write something that expressed my own personal feelings about the evolution of rock music during my youth, as Don McLean did before.”
LANE: “Well, as the lyrics sort of allude to, you can be of any particular political stripe or even color, but once you step on foreign soil it's like, ‘There goes an American’.”

T.JONES: “Each song on each Tan Sleeve album goes back and forth from a song Lane wrote to a song that Steve wrote. Is this done on purpose?”
STEVE: “Not really, it just seems to work out that way. The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ is the model for our approach to making CD's. It is just a bunch of songs that cover a bunch of styles thrown together. It seems logical to us, but there doesn't seem to be too many other artists who take that same approach.”
LANE: “Actually, it just sort of fell that way. It's usually pretty close though. We're each represent one half of a full picture. To us, it's kind of blurry where one writer leaves off. We usually take a very liberal hand in shaping each other's final song. The actual written, bare bones song may have belonged to one of us, but the finished recording is very much a joint effort.”

T.JONES: “Can you describe the creative process? How is a song born? Out of improvisation? Are the lyrics written first, or is the melody?”
LANE: “I write almost exclusively in my head. I sing things into a tape recorder. I put it down, sometimes for a day, or sometimes for five years. When the song finishes itself, I actually sit down with a guitar and a notepad to finish it. I had ‘I'll Know It's Spring’ in my head for years, until the middle eight came to me one morning. Steve writes like this as well, but he also writes on the piano. I'd like to start writing together again. We haven't done it in a while and that's always fun.”
STEVE: “Lane and I started out, wanting to be a legitimate songwriting team. In the end, we tend to like to complete our own songs. The creative synergy is more in the recording and arranging process. We both add a lot to each other's songs. On our own, we'd both be a lot more boring and predictable. As far as my own songwriting goes, I like to start out with a song title and a lyrical idea. I'll usually start a melody in my head and take it as far as I can go, before sitting down at a piano and fleshing it out.”

T.JONES: “How did you guys meet and eventually form The Wind?”
LANE: “In High School, I moved from New York to Miami. I met Steve in a music class. He had a Frank Zappa songbook. We struck up a conversation and that was the beginning. The Wind was basically Me, Steve, and an ass-kicking drummer from the neighborhood, Steve Burdick. We were playing this Big Star and Beatles stuff in Miami, back when Journey & Survivor were the hot thing. I remember thinking after one night, playing to six drunks, ‘It's too bad no one's here. We sound amazing’. But, we cooked our own goose. We had over three hundred originals and we'd never play the same set twice. We were, and still are, songwriting nuts. It's pretty much an obsession that's never abated.”

T.JONES: “With The Wind, some songs were purposely recorded on Mono. Did you agree to this? Why was this done? Looking back, do you wish you recorded the music in stereo, or are you proud of the mono recordings?”
LANE: “We were misguided purists. In mono, you have to make things really perfect. There's a real art to mixing a record in mono. It has more impact and depth. It has mystery. But it's also a novelty. It's analogous to making a black and white movie when there already is color. People are used to color, as they're used to stereo. As in black and white, much is implied and left to the imagination to fill in the blanks. Making a mono record is no easy trick.”

T.JONES: “What are your favorite songs from The Wind period?”
LANE: “Well, what's left on record is just a tiny portion of what we wrote, and by no means the best. ‘House on Fire’ was a regional hit. People seemed to really respond to that one. Everyone always asked me if the lyric was a metaphor for something else. Steve's song, ‘You Changed’ on the first LP always reminds me of some great Young Rascals’ song. We were, and still are, really into old R&B stuff. That song really felt the authentic article, as opposed to a song that was influenced by the stuff we loved.”
STEVE: “There were a lot of great throwaways and some really fine songs. ‘What's The Fun’ and ‘You Changed’ have held up well. ‘Hey Mister’ is a personal favorite. ‘Stuck’ was probably the best track that we did with the ‘Donny and Roy’ line-up.”

T.JONES: “What is going on with The Wind now? Will there ever be a reunion? I heard something about a tour in Japan. Is that true?”
LANE: “There were two Wind re-issues. One here. One in Japan, on EM records, who also put out a compilation of my solo stuff. There was some talk about a year and a half ago, but the money end didn't come together. Tan Sleeve is really The Wind anyway. Steve Burdick plays drums on almost half the new record.”
 
T.JONES: “Lane, you had a solo project called Wall Of Orchids. Tell us about Wall Of Orchids.”
LANE: “In the late-eighties, I managed a recording studio called Water Music. It was in Hoboken, New Jersey. One perk I had was that I was able to record on the studio's downtime. I cut about six songs by myself. They were these big 24-track extravaganzas with tons of vocals. Chris Stamey played lead on one track. Besides that, it was all me. Bus Stop released a single of the two best songs, ‘Life Must Go On’ and ‘Come Back To Me’. It became a sort of cult hit, very popular in Japan. The Japanese seem to have a nose for stuff that Americans mostly ignore. After that, I cut a CD called ‘Peyote Marching Songs’ under the name Noel Coward's Ghost. It's very strange, but I like it.”

T.JONES: “Lane, what did you do between The Wind and Tan Sleeve / Wall Of Orchids?”
LANE: “I spent a few years writing a crazy musical called, ‘Heads Off’ with a writer friend of mine, David Breitkopf. I became really tired of guitar-pop music. It reached a point where anything with two guitars, bass, and drums made me physically ill. Working in the recording studio and listening to bands make records day in and day out, was what did it to me.”

T.JONES: “The new ‘American Blood’ LP was released on your own label, Cheft Records, but ‘Bad On Both Sides’ was released on The Bus Stop Label. Why did you not continue to work with The Bus Stop Label?”
LANE: “Bus Stop is run by Brian Kirk, who's a super nice guy. Unfortunately, his heart doesn't seem to be in it right now. He'd be the first to tell you that. ‘Bad From Both Sides’ wasn't promoted properly for a variety of reasons. I enjoy putting out our own records. The more control we retain, the better.”
 
T.JONES: “Tell us about Cheft Records. When did you start this label? How did you do it? What else do you plan to release on Cheft? What does Cheft mean?”
LANE: “The original Wind records were on Cheft. It means nothing. Cheft just sounds like one of those weird sixties labels that would be named after someone’s family. There will certainly be more Tan Sleeve records - not very soon, though. I have enough for a solo CD that might come out. I'd love to produce other artists as well. The main focus right now is getting Tan Sleeve running at full speed.”

T.JONES: “What does the name Tan Sleeve mean to you? Why did you choose that name for the group?”
LANE: “Originally the group was Teen Slave, which is an anagram of ‘Lane’ and ‘Steve’. We got sick of that after a bit. It became a bit of the Hawaiian shirt, so we went to another anagram which was Tan Sleeve. It sort of reminds us of those seventies name-bands like Jethro Tull & Steely Dan.”
STEVE: “Yeah, it's an anagram of Lane & Steve. I liked it because it's like an old record sleeve, or a manila envelope that could contain anything.”

T.JONES: “Does sharing the creative process ever become difficult? What do you argue about? Do you usually get along or do you sometimes seriously disagree?”
STEVE: “I think that we get along great. We've known each other since high school. We're married with kids, jobs, etc. We each have our own lives. So, when it comes to music, we just want to escape into our own world and enjoy ourselves. We're very much on the same wavelength and trust each other's opinions. Whoever is playing a particular instrument on a particular track, the other guy plays the role of producer. So, all of Lane's guitar parts are going to have a few notes changed, according to my request. The same thing applies to my bass lines and keyboard parts.”
LANE: “When one of us feels strong about something, we usually cede to it. My tendency is to get a bit flighty while Steve tends to cling to normalcy. We balance each other out nicely. I think it's a mutual aesthetic trust that we both share.”

T.JONES: “Lane, you have a love for wine. What are your top 3 favorite wines?”
LANE: “Oh, man, that's a real tough one. The best values I've had recently? Veramonte Primus Cabernet and Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet, both from Chile. These are deep, thick, serious wines that you can get for under $14. California's Rancho Zabacco Reserve Zinfandel is widely available for around the same price. That packs a lot of flavor as well. I could go on for hours. South America has lots of great bargains.”

T.JONES: “What has been in your CD player or on your turntable recently?”
LANE: “Let's see...on my CD stack is the new Quasimoto, the first Lewis Taylor CD from 1996, the first Lo Borges album from '72, and a box set of the complete Schubert piano sonatas. My listening is mostly classical music and older Brazilian music. On my turntable, Liszt's piano concertos, performed by Alfred Brendel.”
STEVE: “Last Winter, I was getting into all these obscure jazz organists like Big John Patton and Freddie Roach. I've also gotten into Isaac Hayes' first two albums The guy's a genius. Right now, I've been listening to Roger Nichols and the Small Circle Of Friends. Lane gave me a copy. My wife just had a baby, so it's great baby music. It reminds me of my childhood, when we'd put on Herb Alpert, The Mamas & Papas, and Sergio Mendes on Sunday afternoons.”

T.JONES: “What was the last incident of anti-Semitism you experienced?”
LANE: “I live in New York, so anti-Semitism rarely enters my world. I did see a swastika on a building site the other day. It was probably some kid. You can walk down my block and hear twelve different languages. I feel privileged to live in such an integrated environment. I must say, upon reflection, I run into very little racism of any kind. I think people are mostly past it right now. But, those things always have a way of turning on a dime, don't they?”
STEVE: “None for a long time. When I first moved to New York, at my first job, a Haitian guy that I worked with said ‘Jews are cheap’. He also said that he ‘Knew all about Jews’ because he works in Manhattan and there are Jews everywhere’.”

T.JONES: “As New Yorkers, how did you deal with September 11th?”
LANE: “It was one of the worst days of my life. It was the worst day, horrible. My family and I had just gotten back from visiting London, a week before. I woke up, went to the computer, and read the news of the first plane on Yahoo! Then, I went to the television and watched the first tower crumble. Six weeks before, I had been down there to see The Box Tops perform. It was still fresh in my mind, the massiveness of those two buildings. It was really like nothing else. I didn't lose anyone, but it was like a nightmare that you couldn't wake up from. The smell of burnt electricity was everywhere. You couldn't escape it. I had a non-stop headache for three weeks. I couldn't wrap my mind around the act. I still can't. It's still very fresh for me. It's still hard.”
STEVE: “It completely changed my political views, though I don't think that had anything to do with living in New York. I do think that it's ironic that Ground Zero borders on some of the most left wing neighborhoods in America. I see all these lefties in Soho, the Village. I feel like saying, ‘Look up, you fools! The World Trade Center is gone! Do you think these terrorists did this because they don't like right wingers? Wake up! They hate gay rights! They hate feminism! They want to bring us back to the dark ages!’.”
 
T.JONES: “Tell us about the song ‘Time Poor’.”
LANE: “The song ‘Time Poor’ is like an old Calypso number. I'm a huge calypso fan. The Mighty Sparrow, who's basically the Bob Dylan of contemporary calypso, has a place here in Queens. I'm still working up the nerve to contact him.”

T.JONES: “Whose butt are you singing about in ‘More Than Best Behind’?”
LANE: “Oh this is funny, from bombs to butts. My wife, I suppose. She's got a great ass.”

T.JONES: “Word association. I am going to say a name of a person / group and you say the first thing that pops into your head. So, if I said ‘The Beatles’, you may say ‘Apple’ or ‘Revolution’. If I said ‘Rick James’, you may say ‘Superfreak’, ‘MC Hammer’, or ‘Crack.’ Okay?”
LANE: “Psychotherapy time. Okay.”

T.JONES: “The Beatles.”
LANE: “The best.”
STEVE: “Magic.”

T.JONES: “Happy Mondays.”
LANE: “Long weekends.”
STEVE: “I’m honestly not familiar with their music.”

T.JONES: “Public Enemy.”
LANE: “John Gotti.”
STEVE: “Great lyrics, wild sound, but not something that I'd listen to.”

T.JONES: “Neil Young.”
LANE: “Shaggy Dog.”
STEVE: “Love his music, hate his politics.”

T.JONES: “Curtis Mayfield.”
LANE: “Top soul.”
STEVE: “Without him, there'd be no Bob Marley.”

T.JONES: “Smokey Robinson.”
STEVE: “Another great lyricist. Along with McCartney, one of the most important ballad writers of the 60's.”

T.JONES: “John Lee Hooker.”
LANE: “Bigfoot.”
STEVE: “Hot weather music.”

T.JONES: “David Bowie.”
LANE: “Orange hair.”
STEVE: “Dylan + The Stones + Lennon = Bowie.”

T.JONES: “Paul Simon.”
LANE: “Forest Hills.”
STEVE: “Yet another great lyricist, bad teeth.”

T.JONES: “Aretha Franklin.”
LANE: “Fat lady sings!”
STEVE: “I'm not into ‘belters’, but she's the best of em.”

T.JONES: “The Fall.”
LANE: “Rowche Rumble.”
STEVE: “Interesting punk band.”

T.JONES: “Gil-Scott Heron.”
LANE: “Wordy cocaine abuser.”
STEVE: “I'd like to play him ‘Condoleezza Will Lead Us’.”

T.JONES: “George Bush.”
LANE: “Aw shucks!”
STEVE: “One of the greatest Presidents in U.S. history.”

T.JONES: "One of my favorite songs is 'You'll Thank Me For This Someday' from the ‘Bad From Both Sides’ LP. Was this based on a true incident?”
STEVE: “It's actually about the War On Terror. It's America telling the whiny international community, ‘step aside little ones, and let us do what needs to be done.’ Sorry if that upsets you.”

T.JONES: “As a younger men just starting out, did you have big dreams of being rock stars? Since your following is smaller, but still very loyal, did you have to wrestle with emotions about fame or accept your place as good songwriters instead of huge stars?”
STEVE: “Absolutely! It took me a long time to realize that the most important thing, for me, is trying to write good songs and make the kind of music that I want to make. The music industry is so fickle and corrupt. I can't control what kind of success we have, but I can control the quality of what we produce.”
LANE: “This is the subject of a book I sometimes think of writing. I have to keep my eye on the target. That target is to be able to look in the mirror and know that I'm living up to my potential. Everything else is bullshit.”

T.JONES: "What do you do besides music?"
STEVE: “I sell co-op apartments in Forest Hills, New York. They call me ‘Mr. Forest Hills’.”

T.JONES: "Tell us about the song 'Condoleeza Will Lead Us'. Why did You write this? I heard it achieved some publicity. I even heard Howard Stern talk about it once.”
STEVE: “When I was a kid, there were all these songs about female and Black empowerment, like ‘I Am Woman’ and ‘Say It Loud I'm Black And I’m Proud’. To me, Condoleezza Rice is the embodiment of these songs’ messages. It bothered me that she's not considered a role model just because she's a Republican. So I figured, if no Black or female songwriters are going to pay tribute to her, I'll have to do it myself. I wanted to sound like ‘Philadelphia Freedom’. Really kitschy, but sincere.”

T.JONES: “Will other bands have albums released on Cheft?”
LANE: “Two acts were talking with are Uncle Mint and The Mojo Makers, which are sort of a voodoo swamp rock act. Also, Drew Farmer, who's a great singer-songwriter from Florida. I've also been informally doing some e-mail recording with R. Stevie Moore, which might see the light of day.”

T.JONES: “What were the biggest mistakes both of you have made in your career?”
LANE: “Waiting for success.”
STEVE: “Not getting a decent day job years ago, so I could stop worrying about making it in music.”

T.JONES: “What is in the future for Tan Sleeve?”
STEVE: “Making it in music.”
LANE: “I have a pile of songs. A few of them are really good. Steve just had a baby, so we're a little disjointed right now. I know he's got his pile as well. We'll get together and start chipping away until the next record is done. But right now, we're doing Cheft business like interviews, mailings, phone work, etc. We need a staff, but right now we're it.”

T.JONES: “Any final words for the people reading this?”
STEVE: “I'd rather you love our music and hate our politics, than the other way around. Thanks.”
LANE: “Just because the pumpkin isn't ripe, doesn't mean it's not Halloween.”