Vocalist Jennifer Bartlett has been performing as part of school bands, musicals and talent shows since she was young. She met bassist Evan Barlett at one of her previous band’s shows and when she opted for a change of scenery, the two moved together, became closer and married.
Evan grew up with a musician brother who exposed him to everything from Van Halen and Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd and Nirvana. He’s been playing music since he purchased his first instrument at the age of 18.
After the two settled in together, they decided to start writing. What came out of their collaboration had an edge to it that surprised Evan.
“When we started the band we didn’t really say that we wanted to be one thing or the other,” Evan said. “We started writing and it came out this way. I honestly didn’t expect it to.”
“I guess it kind of stems from the stuff we were listening to at the time,” Jennifer added. “We were kind of really affected by the whole emo phase — I know when I was in college I was into bands like The Used and My Chemical Romance. I just really love the raw emotion in it and how it helped me in my journey.”
The latest stop on Jennifer’s journey? She and Evan’s band, Fine Fine Titans, have signed to Lancaster-based independent record label CI Records and will release their next full-length, “Renaissance,” on Nov. 21.
“The getting signed thing was just kind of funny,” Evan said. “We were trying to put together a last-minute tour through the northeast and we got hold of Jeremy (Weiss) who owns CI Records because he also owns quite a few venues in the area. He got us on a show and basically as soon as he booked us he scheduled a call with me and said he wanted to do something with us. It kind of came out of nowhere.”
Two singles from “Renaissance” have already premiered: the leading single, “Mistress,” and the recently released “I Just Saw a Ghost,” which features T.J. Miller of Still Remains. Even the finest of titans has to start somewhere, and to Jennifer, this start still feels brand new.
“Right now it still feels like we’re such a baby band and we just started even though this band has been together five years, let alone the bands we’ve been in in the past,” Jennifer said. “This stuff feels so fresh. It really hasn’t felt like anything else.”
Evan said Fine Fine Titans’ near future will consist of touring, touring, refining their craft and touring. For now, he, Jennifer (vocals), Brit Herron (guitar) and Nathan Jean (drums) are gearing up for the release of their album with a series of shows in their home state of Michigan. For future tour dates, as well as links to music, videos, music videos and other media, visit the band’s official website, finefinetitans.com.
