The Tinklers are a band from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

who have been together since 1979. The group consists of Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason, both of whom sing, play guitar, and percussion instruments of varying degrees of quality (including cigar boxes, spoons, and other types of junk). Both members are also actively engaged in creating art in other mediums including visual art and books. Their music can be characterized as

outsider music Outsider music (from " outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who su ...

due to its lack of traditional musical skills and abilities including proficiency at their instruments and the ability to sing in tune. Their performance method and practice eschews conventional standards of skills thought necessary for making music and can be historically placed with other acts such as

Jad Fair Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Biography Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...

and

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

, and many more obscure musicians. While the band's roots are in the mid-70s Baltimore art scene, they did not release a proper record until 1990 when the band caught the attention of legendary producer Kramer. They were promptly signed to Kramer's record label

Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, artists like Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween, Gwar ...

and released their first LP, ''Casserole''. The band would release two more LPs on

- ''Saplings'' and ''Crash'' - all of which contain similar material. While The Tinklers have not disbanded, since 1993 the band has released only one full-length album, ''Slowpoke'', and made a few other compilation appearances. Live performances are infrequent. Outside of The Tinklers, Brohawn also released a CD with Asa Osborne of

Lungfish Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, i ...

under the name Tear Jerks on Secret Eye Records. Throughout 2006 and 2007 the director Brian J. Averill followed the Tinklers and interviewed their friends creating the documentary ''Everybody Loves The Tinklers''. The documentary was released November 3, 2007, at the Load of Fun space in Baltimore, Maryland. The Tinklers released their book ''The Elements'' on Rupert Wondolowski's Shattered Wig Press on October 9, 2009. A release show was held that night at the Shattered Wig Nite hosted by Rupert Wondolowski at Baltimore's 14 Karat Cabaret.

Discography

Albums *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

''Casserole'' (

) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

''Saplings'' (

) * 1993 ''Crash'' (

) * 1998 ''Slowpoke'' ( Serious Records) Singles, EPs & Other Appearances *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

''The Tinklers'' self-titled cassette (

Widemouth Tapes Widemouth may refer to: * Widemouth, West Virginia, a community in Mercer County * Widemouth Bay, in Cornwall, England * Widemouth Creek, a stream in West Virginia {{Geodis ...

) * 1993 "James Brown", from a split 7-inch with

Simple Machines Records A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refe ...

* 1993 '' Rutles Highway Revisited: A Tribute to The Rutles'' – "Blue Suede Schubert" (

) *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

"James Brown" compiled on ''

Working Holiday! ''Working Holiday!'' is a compilation album released on the Simple Machines label in 1994. It is a collection of tracks by American indie bands which were originally released on a series of 12 7" singles by Simple Machines as part of the Work ...

'' (Simple Machines Records) - the limited edition 2 disc version contains a live version of "Fun Fun Fun in the Sun Sun Sun" *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

''U.F.O.'s'' 7-inch ( Frownland) * 2001 "The Tinklers with XXOO ep 7-inch ( Music à la Coque) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

''Seven Ways to Sunday'' (

Thick Syrup Records Thick Syrup Records is an independent record label from Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded by Travis McElroy in 2006, it specializes in indie rock and underground music. It has released the work of known acts such as Matt Cameron, Jad Fair from Half ...

) 4-disc set of Coo Coo Rockin Time songs re-imagined by The Tinklers,

R. Stevie Moore Robert Steven Moore (born January 18, 1952) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who pioneered lo-fi (or "DIY") music. Often called the "godfather of home recording", he is one of the most recognized artists of the cas ...

, etc.

References

External links

Everybody Loves The Tinklers
documentary by Brian J. Averill * AllMusic.com entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Tinklers Rock music groups from Maryland Outsider musicians Musical groups from Baltimore Musical groups established in 1979