This homegrown, suburban-Chicago based band officially formed in July of 2018, sets the groundwork for the future with their innate passion and deeply-rooted connection for their music and fans. I sat down for an interview with the band members, Tate Renner, Parker Bailey, Jack Biondi, and Jonathan Tatooles, at a local coffee shop to discuss all there is to know about TheSpins.

One of the first things I wondered when I sat down with the band was “How did they come up with the name?”, Parker Bailey, who is the band’s lead guitarist and vocalist, began by mentioning how the guys got together one day and started “knockin’ around some names,” in a notebook, writing whatever flew off the top of their heads. Initially, for the most part, the name was a no go. However, drummer, Jonathan Tatooles, went on to note that after a few weeks, the band revisited that same notebook and saw “TheSpins.” They came to a strong group consensus and began thinking it wasn’t too bad after all. “...It just kinda stuck on from there,” Tatooles added.

After many sips of coffee, I began to question the band’s members musical influences. Overall, from an early age, each member’s musical taste has been influenced by various spectrums of the music scene. From The Strokes to J. Cole, the band members have been well rounded in regards to their musical diversity. Additionally, rhythm guitarist and vocalist, Tate Renner, adds that he “also enjoy[s] Cage the Elephant” and “Stevie Ray Vaughan.” The mixture of new versus old allowed drummer, Tatooles, to add that vintage style and inspiration from mentioned artists reminds the band to “…listen to the essentials.” When asked about these styles and influences, Renner went on to point on that while the band has many influences, they don’t want to be “restricted” to specific genres or types of music. They want to be known for their originality, which Renner accompanies such thoughts by imperatively noting, “I think that we sound like TheSpins.”

The “essentials” concept is also something the band holds dearly to their hearts. Specifically, this is their passion and utilization of vintage instruments and gear. The band emphasizes how they utilize Biondi’s basement, a place for recording that they all prefer for all their recording needs. Tatooles admitted that “it’s not, y’know, ‘professional’ at all,” but made sure to let me know that “[they] just make it work.” However, they don’t find fault in their resources, they, in fact, believe that all the instruments they own, instruments from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, actually help their style of music and brings out a “character to them that’s indescribable.” Further on, the band notes that on their recently released EPs titled “The Spins,” and “The Spins II” carry on their prime characteristics, which include leaving commentary from their recordings, instead of taking them out during editing.

The band went on to add more insight into their “experimental” songwriting process, which revolves around Biondi’s mantra that he shares with the band -- “Be patient, love the process”. With this pivotal mantra comes values, time, and effort, which involves sitting in Biondi’s “basement for hours on end, playing the same part over and over again, until [they] get it right.” Lead vocalist and guitarist, Parker Bailey, added: “We don’t always strive for the perfect take, but we are always looking in the right direction.” Oftentimes, the band will utilize many different aspects from the music world. For instance, in “Meet Me in the Limelight,” the band integrate a unique jazz features which further exemplifies the versatility of the band’s style.

With their experimental music, follows the need to try out their style with the only audience readily available for them at the moment. Being in high school comes with many pros and cons. A main challenge for the band, Tate Renner mentions “...is finding a different way for [them] to spread [their] music” in a much more public way. While social and music applications like Instagram and Spotify allow their music to expand from their suburban setting, the band is continuously searching for ways to step out of their bubble -- adding on to their thought of “The process is the challenge.” On the other hand, an obvious benefit of being in high school is that they are able to host many performances in the place where their music was born -- Biondi’s basement -- where about 50 to 60 people are invited. Performances like these allow the band to spread their main goal: To bring different backgrounds and different ethnicities together [...] through the median of [their] music,” Tatooles added. After their first basement-show, Tatooles reminisced over the feeling of having the crowd sing the lyrics back to the band. “[It’s better than any payout,” he emphasized. Not only does the high-school community enjoy their music, but Parker Bailey made sure to add how the band “…[has] a lot of support from [their] families,” as well as “a lot of adults [aside from family] who dig [their] music”. TheSpins definitely have their town, Hinsdale, on edge… spinning for more and more music.

Holistically, The Spins plan on improving their skills no matter what. Juggling the fact that being in high-school comes with educational responsibility and making sure the band performs and practices to the best of their ability is not an easy feat. However, Tatooles mentions that just like professional athletes, [it’s about] going in, [and] putting in the hours.” Additionally, adding that the band must continue by “Pushing past [their] limits.” Tate Renner jumps off this idea and focuses on “building off each other more,” in order to maintain the chemistry they still have. Nonetheless, through trial and error, the band plans to have a full album coming out sometime in early January of 2019. Be sure to check back on this up-and-coming band, you won’t wanna miss it!