In last issue we did the review of the CD 'City out of time' of the American AOR/Radiorockband TANDYM. A new band with an independent release that captured songs that reminded me of bands like PREVIEW, NIGHT RANGER and THE PROMISE. I had an interview with them, let's see what they have to say…

First off, introduce your band TANDYM to the readers.
 
Tandym was formed in the early '90s (current configuration).  Since that time the focus has been to write as many songs as possible and get the music out to the public.  The original motivation was to provide a group that could actually produce the music and harmony live.  At the time there weren't many popular groups on the radio which had anything more than a single vocal and repetitive distortion.  We really just wanted better music to listen to.

From which part of the USA are you coming from and are you popular there?
 
We are from Atlanta Georgia and play mostly in the southeastern US.  The response (nationally) to our
style of music is definately getting stronger.  Check out our web page for a growing list of radio stations
playing Tandym music.  There have also been a lot of positive reviews of the CD - they are posted there as well. The web site address is http://atlantacup.com/tandym.

Your album "City out of time" contains some excellent AOR/Radiorock reminding me of the early 80´s. Which bands/artists influenced you?
 
We all have similar and different influences.  Our common influences include Journey, Styx, Toto, and other
"produced" rock groups from the 80s.  Some of our individual influences include Steely Dan, Peter Frampton, Alan Parsons Project, Elton John, Frank Zappa, and Rush.

I would like especially like to mention the song "Annie", can you tell  us about this fantastic classic AOR-song?

Scott brought in this idea about a girl he was trying to take out but she didn't want anything to do with him.
She carried a pistol in her purse so he called her Annie Oakley.   By the way...he married her.

How is your album "City out of time" distributed at the moment?
 
Mostly we are internet distributed.  We have our own web site and are also posted on a number of other high profile US web sites.  You can buy our stuff right off the web which is really a boon for independent/self-produced artists like us.  We would like to get more exposure overseas since our music seems to be more popular there.

That's right, in the USA your kind of music has had a rough time, do you thinkg AOR is coming back?

The responses to our CD have definitely been better overseas than here. Thanx Strutter!
In the US, the music climate does seem to be changing toward our music style.  Groups like Dream Theatre and Aerosmith are doing very well these days here.  We don't compare our music to theirs since each is rock from a different perspective.

You already mentioned you had airplay with your music, can you tell us more about that?

Oh yes!  The response from radio has been great.  We have over 25 national (US) and international radio stations playing Tandym music right now.

Are you working on any new material?
 
Oh yes again.  We have completed the song selection for our second CD.  As yet untitled, it will probably contain 11 or 12 brand new Tandym tunes.  The production should be much better and the sounds have grown but it is still us.  Its the one thing we can't (and won't) change because it is honest.

Do you have any contacts with major recordlabels?
 
We have some but none are permanent.  Our music isn't from the "flavor of the month" variety which unfortunately is the choice of most major labels here.  Like most unsigned bands, we haven't found the right deal.  We feel our label contacts will improve as our music reaches more listeners.  In the mean time, internet distribution and self-production seem to be the way to go.

Finally, what are the plans for the next coming months?

We will be finishing up production on our next CD release and keeping our live chops up.  It promises
to be a busy time for Tandym.  In areas where responses have been positive, we will be setting up
gig dates to keep up the momentum.

Well, I look forward to hear the new album and good luck with your band.

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Discography

City out of time  (Saffold Productions/1997)

Line Up

Jay Saffold   -Guitar, keyboards, vocals
Scott Goodfellow  -Keyboards, vocals
Jimmy Baughman  -Drums

Contactaddress

Saffold Productions
361 Timber Way East
Marietta
GA 30066
USA

E-mail address

tandym@iuma.com
 
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