The Tinted Windows [ tickets ] line-up of vocalist Taylor Hanson, guitarist James Iha, bassist Adam Schlesinger and drummer Bun E. Carlos seems pretty random. But, truthfully, the collaboration comes from long-standing friendships between Hanson, Iha and Schlesinger.

"From the outside, it seems like, 'What are these four people doing in a room together?,'" Schlesinger said with a laugh during an interview with LiveDaily. "We actually did have all these connections beforehand. And we were all kind of friends. I feel like it makes sense."

Schlesinger, the bassist/songwriter for Fountains of Wayne, has known Hanson, of the band Hanson, since 1996, and Iha and Schlesinger own a recording studio together, New York's Stratosphere Sound, and produce other people's works together. Schlesinger and Iha, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins, also helmed an indie label together called Scratchie.

"I had this idea a few years ago, which I mentioned to James first," Schlesinger said. "'Wouldn't it be great to make a loud pop-rock kind of record and have Taylor sing?' James was into the idea. I called Taylor and said, 'What do you think of this idea?' He said, 'Yeah it sounds like fun. Let's do it.' So, the three of us started working on it whenever we had the time. It was kind of in little bits and pieces for a long time.

"And then, as it started coming more into focus, we started talking about who would be the ideal drummer for something like this. We thought of Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. I thought we would give it a shot and see if he was interested. He was interested and he came in and did the drums. It was great."

The result is the band's self-titled debut, a stripped-down, raw-energy collection that hits stores today (4/21). The band members share songwriting duties, making for a varied album.

"I wrote a lot of the stuff, but James, Taylor and I each wrote some stuff," said Schlesinger, who produced the album with Iha. "I think the record touches on a lot of different eras. I think it sounds a little bit like stuff each of us has done in other bands, but not exactly like any of them."

Live, Tinted Windows has added a guitarist named Josh Lattanzi, who has played with Ben Kweller, Schlesinger's other band Ivy, Albert Hammond Jr., the Lemonheads and Juliana Hatfield.

"Musically, the live show is really straight ahead," Schlesinger said. "Live, it's a five-piece band. The songs translate really easily to being played live. The arrangements are simple on the record. We're pretty much able to cover all the parts from the record."