The Tinklers are a band from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

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 have ...

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 Jadwin B. 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 ...

and

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in 1974, after their family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Half Japanese' original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playin ...

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 music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...

, 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, Low, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, W ...

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 Asa may refer to: People and fictional characters * Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named * Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania * Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and rec ...

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

under the name Tear Jerks on

Secret Eye Records Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

. 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 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

''Casserole'' (

) *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

''Saplings'' (

) *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

''Crash'' (

) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

''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 en ...

''The Tinklers'' self-titled cassette ( Widemouth Tapes) *

"James Brown", from a split 7-inch with

Simple Machines Records Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and event ...

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

) *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

"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 Wor ...

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

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

''U.F.O.'s'' 7-inch ( Frownland) *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

"The Tinklers with XXOO ep 7-inch ( Music à la Coque) *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

''Seven Ways to Sunday'' ( Thick Syrup Records) 4-disc set of Coo Coo Rockin Time songs re-imagined by The Tinklers, R. Stevie Moore, etc.

References

External links

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