Deadsplinter Up! All Night: Tin House

10/3/20 Jonee 37

The music industry has a unique way of recognizing talent, and then immediately forgetting it. After recording a 14 song demo, and playing a scorching set at the Winter’s End Festival in Florida where they were on a bill with the Allman Brothers, Joan Baez, Mountain, and Johnny Winter, Orlando trio Tin House signed a 5 album deal with Epic. Two of the three guys were still in high school. Floyd Radford (guitar), Jeff Cole (bass), and Mike Logan had played in a few bands in school, honing rock skills that would rival much bigger names. Being a trio seems to have forced them to distill rock and roll down to its essentials. Searing guitar riffs shred above pounding rhythms. No time is wasted. Lyrics are horny and optimistic. The boys recorded this one self-titled album in 1970 before things fell apart and it’s one of my favorite records. Rick Derringer provided no nonsense production that just lets the rock do its thing.

The band toured extensively after recording the album and had high hopes, but for some reason Epic provided little support and the album sold poorly. Everyone who saw Tin House were blown away, and they opened for Edgar and Johnny Winter, and Humble Pie among others. Just as they were invited to tour the west coast with Mountain, however, Edgar Winter poached guitarist Floyd Radford for his group. Edgar apparently realized it was better to have a greater guitarist on stage with him than opening for him. That, the lousy sales, and label indifference added up to the end of Tin House after a too brief moment of brilliance. The one album was a hard to find legendary LP for many years until it got a nice re-release in 2015. I think it’s the best rock album no one knows about, and Tin House are an interesting rock and roll what if.

Tin House – Personal Gain

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37 Comments

  4. Probably my favorite one-off band was Loudhouse. I pretty much wore out the cassette and was lucky to find a CD in the cutout bin for a few bucks a couple years later. After one trashy, fun record called “For Crying Out Loud” they split with the singer and later became Sponge.

    Their cover of “Smoke on the Water” was included in the movie Point Break.

  7. …well, since I know the band to be a favorite of at least one member of this house…& your tin house band seems to have burned briefly but brightly

    …& speaking of this house of ours

  12. “As quiet as a mouse,
    Since the word got out,
    From the North down to the South,
    For no-one’s left in doubt,
    There’s no fear about,
    If we all hold hands and very quietly shout, Hallelujah–

    God is in the house”

  14. Wait, we have ALLLLLLLL these great “House” songs, and NO ONE’s brought *this one* into the mix yet?!?😉

    As for the Jovi’s for tonight’s theme, the OBVIOUS choice (note the heavy, Richie-less guitar, if you would😕🥴):

    And then for some *whole* Jovi, but a deeper cut, that fits BOTH the “one-off” AND “home” parts of tonight’s theme–
    One-off,because it was the one & only song that Richie sang lead on & played, when I saw them at the Xcel Center years ago, on the Circle tour–it’s off the album New Jersey:

    And this deeper cut, as a “just because,” which is one of *my* personal faves from the Young Guns 2 soundtrack–(i loved it as a 14-ear old, and I STILL love it, 30 years later😉):

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