Life sounds pretty awesome for Jon Eaton, lead guitarist for The Spinto Band. He’s recording, he’s touring, he’s “pretty much dominating” Super Bomberman… I mean, who wouldn’t think that was rad? If I had to re-do my 20s, I would seriously consider living it in the likeness of The Spinto Band boys. The trouble is, to reap the benefits of a true Man Cave, one must be a man. Unfortunately.

So I’ll settle for writing about it. Read on and see why Jon’s stories got this writer thinking crazy, fleeting thoughts like… “Darn, too bad I’m not a dude.” and yes, even “Man, too bad I don’t live in Delaware.”

tMiM: So you guys just played in Arizona, right?

JE: Yeah, Phoenix. We’re actually still here and probably going to leave in about an hour. We don’t have a show tonight.

tMiM: What does everyone do during the off time?

JE: Well, it’s sort of time for us to make real money. Some of the guys are working for the census this year.

tMiM: Wait – so I could’ve had one of the guys from The Spinto Band knocking on my door??

JE: Ha, I guess so.. If you lived in Delaware.

tMiM: That would’ve been a lot cooler than the lady who DID come to my house. So how did Phoenix go?

JE: Awesome! It was the release show for Miniature Tigers’ record, Fortress, which is off the charts awesome. And some of the guys grew up in Phoenix, so it was kind of a homecoming celebration. The show was sold out.

tMiM: What’s the best part about touring with Miniature Tigers?

JE: I guess it’s that their crowd has the same taste in music as our crowd. It’s nice to be on tour with a band that has similar musical sensibilities. It’s the kind of thing you don’t really think about when you’re booking a tour, but it’s nice to be touring with a band that’s similar to us and has such cool fans.

tMiM: Will you be playing any of your new songs at the Dallas show?

JE: Yeah, we’ve been playing some new songs to get people’s reactions, and the response has been pretty good. They’re super fun so we’ll definitely be playing some of those as well as some older songs.

tMiM: Apparently some new instruments had to be learned for your new record… Who was it that had to learn the bass clarinet?

JE: Tom did.

tMiM: Lucky Tom! What’s your favorite instrument to play?

JE: Guitar was my first instrument, but my favorite instrument from the Hughes’ basement was always the theremin.

tMiM: The what?

JE: The theremin. You should check it out online.

tMiM: I think I should, because I really have no idea what you’re talking about.

JE: Well, we had a little cheap-o version of one. You play it by moving your hand close to this metal bar… You move your hands through the air left to right in correlation to this bar and the farther away your hand gets, the lower the pitch gets. The closer your hand is, the higher the pitch.

tMiM: Weird!

JE: Yeah, Tom got one of those and I’ve always wanted to put it on songs because it’s so goofy. It’s got a spooky sound to it. But it’s also hard to play. I just started playing the clarinet as well, so that’s the most recent instrument that I have fun with.

tMiM: Cool. Your band has a really charming backstory. The group is named after Nick’s late grandfather, Roy Spinto, who wrote song lyrics on the back of Cracker Jack boxes. Can you tell me more about being teenagers and trying to bring those lyrics to life?

JE: I haven’t listened to those tapes in forever! We really used them just as an excuse to record. We had a four track recorder and every weekend we’d invent a band name and record under a different moniker each week. Eventually we came up with The Spinto Band and the name stuck.

But none of those songs really had legs. The Roy Spinto songs were like a little project we tackled over a few weeks and then they were sort of put to the side.

tMiM: What’s the big difference between playing with these guys ten years ago vs. playing with them now? How’s the self-recording process been different this time around?

JE: It’s really quite mind blowing. Nick went to school for audio engineering so he’d been collecting studio gear and had amassed this collection but had no place to keep it. So we found this spot in Delaware and we set it all up and now it’s just amazing the kinds of stuff he and Tom are doing. I’m amazed every day I’m in there.

Then we also have a Super Nintendo and we’ve been playing a lot of Super Bomberman. Yeah, we pretty much dominate Super Bomberman. It’s a good one for blowing off steam.

So I guess ten years later, as far as recording and playing Super Nintendo goes – not much has changed.

tMiM: You just have better equipment now.

JE: Right. And maybe fewer fart sounds. It’s really just a clubhouse with inside joke on top of inside joke. If someone walked in on the scene they’d probably be weirded out, but we don’t have to explain anything to each other. Everyone just gets it.

tMiM: That’s great. Do you have any advice for other upstarts?

JE: Always read contracts. We’d put our names to paper and not think about what we were getting ourselves into!

tMiM: Sound advice. Last question – let’s talk about your record! Been working on it for six months now?

JE: Yeah! And we’re pretty much there. I think it’ll be done right at the end of August. We’re not really sure how we’re going to release it yet, but everyone’s really stoked about it and there’s a lot of cool stuff on there. We think it’s going to be really good.

tMiM: OK – I’ll put you on the spot for a second. Three words to describe the forthcoming album?

JE: Crazy. Sexy. Cool.

So is Dallas ready for all of that? We better be, because Spinto and Miniature Tigers are playing The Loft Dallas on Monday, August 2. There’s no way I would miss the chance to hear their new stuff… or old stuff for that matter.

Speaking of, here’s some old stuff so you don’t feel left out at the show. Wouldn’t want to be the only person not singing and dancing along, would you? More videos and updates on their recording progress can be found here.

And finally, possibly the best take away from the entire interview: Spinto will be teaming up with favorites Jukebox the Ghost and Skybox for a free-with-RSVP Lollapalooza Aftershow on August 7. Road trip, anyone? Jen’s got a new hybrid!

The Spinto Band – Japan Is An Island

The Spinto Band – “Jackhammer”