What do an electric toothbrush, remote control, iPhone, homemade egg shakers, meowing cats and a glass jar of coins all have in common? They are all ingredients used to create El-tin Fun’s new album Sunburned Skeptics. Jason Lambeth and Tom Teslik met each other three years ago in Madison and gradually started working together to create a garage rock sound with a creative twist.
“Cactus Flower” is a perfect example of their creativity. The introduction to this song incorporates a voicemail from a 10-year-old, Wilson, by holding the iPhone with the recorded message to the pickup of an electric guitar. The pickup, for those not familiar with instruments, is the part of the guitar that sends the noise currents to the amplifier where the sound is then intensified. The same technique is used with the buzzing of an electric toothbrush and beeping of a remote control. Other sounds were created after a trip to the thrift store, where Lambeth purchased plastic Easter eggs to fill with rice. These homemade egg shakers create a sound that shows up periodically throughout the album.
Meeting at a local Madison coffee shop as solo artists brought these two from different musical backgrounds together to create a unique sound they are both excited about. Lambeth may not be able to read music, but he is very distinctive in his writing and ideas – enough to impress Teslik, who comes from a loosely “classical music background.”
Although he has been formally educated in music, it is hard not to be impressed with Lambeth’s ability to play by ear. “Jason has a playful approach to music. He just has fun with it,” Teslik mentions with admiration for Lambeth’s originality. El-tin Fun’s music is made with the intention of allowing their audience to enjoy and have fun with their unique rhythmic style.
Lambeth is not only creative with his music, but with his every day life. Collecting change on a daily basis allowed him to get their record pressed. “I would pick up change off the ground and if something cost five dollars and one cent I wouldn’t pay the extra cent and just ask for the 99 cents back” reports Lambeth. The change accumulated in his glass jar over a period of six months, which soon added up to cover the cost of the entire pressing, which isn’t cheap.
Even though El-tin Fun paid for their album pressing themselves, without a record label they have distributed their music online on Mine, All Mine Records. They believe this to be the third wave of record labels, meaning that it is becoming popular to singularly utilize the Internet as a means of exposing their music to the public. The band has taken it even a step further by starting up their own webpage, which is still in the process of being made. It is called “In the Kitchen,” and will be a collection of writing, music, crafts, cooking and any other artistic creation people want to publish. Teslik and Lambeth advise fans and fans-to-be to begin looking for this webpage in the next couple months.
Interested listeners can go check out El-tin Fun live at Mickey’s Tavern this Saturday at 9 p.m. 1524 Willy St. Mickey’s Tavern provides an “intimate rock and roll” atmosphere as described by Teslik. They will be playing through all the songs on their newest album, again that’s Sunburned Skeptics, which can be previewed at El-tinfun.bandcamp.com. You can also check out Meteorade and Fatty Acid, which have their own spin on the genre of rock. Go to not only support Madison’s bands, but to have a memorable Saturday night expanding your musical dictionary.
