nonseq: I suggested the name Tin Men to reflect our shared sense of humor...heartless most of the time.

demancey: Most claim they have love for the music, and then release these JaRule-isms. If that’s the case, then we're taking on roles as the anti.

J3551C4: Who came up with the concept?

nonseq: Me.

demancey: He came up with the name, and we built the concept from there. You'll get a better explanation once the Tin Men LP is released.

J3551C4: What do you hope to accomplish in the music industry as producers and artists?

demancey: To gain respect amongst our peers. We want to be known as producers of musical classics--the cats that were a part of the movement of breathing new life into the music.

nonseq: Hopefully, the Tin Men name will be associated with works that are universally viewed as classic.

J3551C4: Is there a particular feel that you associate to your music, i.e. the ridiculous genres made up my mainstream music jerks like: gangsta rap, chewstick rap, backpack rap, hardcore… I don't even know where they get these from but you know what I mean.

demancey: There isn’t a particular feel that we can associate with, because we have various styles of beat-making. Nonseq has a more basic, grittier sound, while I have more of a complex, musical one. Its just good music when it all comes together. We've been branded with this neo-soul title, but if that’s how they wanna call it, then that’s their opinion.

nonseq: I tend to create music based on what I'm feeling emotionally at the time, but that can encompass any genre. When the Tin Men are working together, however, we tend to lean towards retro-hip-hop sounds.

J3551C4: Are you going to strictly remix songs or will you be releasing works produced 100% by Tin Men?

nonseq: We have plans to release at least 1 more remix album featuring artists from the Carolinas as well as 2 albums of all original material featuring our artists.

J3551C4: Are there any artists on your roster?

nonseq: We have a lounge singer who goes by the name of Leonard DeFaldo, III. We also have two emcees by the name of Osh Kosh and Axiom. We plan to do an album featuring them on Insensitivity Training [2004]. It's a concept album that will amuse and offend at the same time.

demancey: In addition to that we'll be doing remix work for Distrakt from Colorado, a group called Old Scratch from Brooklyn, and we're also in talks with artists in the South Carolina hip-hop movement, such as Kindablu, Likwid Styles, DJ Ambush, and Dan Johns.

J3551C4: What kind of artist do you plan on working with?

demancey: We're pretty much open to working with anyone that is open to creating good music.

nonseq: So far, interested artists have been either R&B or hip-hop, but we are open to other genres as well...we're talking with this funk band in Raleigh called StumP (http://www.stumphole.com/makedofunk.html), hopefully something will grow from that.

J3551C4: With whom from the industry would you like to work with?

nonseq: Rappers: Eminem, Alkaholiks, J-Live, De La Soul, Mos Def, Canibus, 50 Cent, Natural Elements… Producers: Pete Rock, Madlib, Dre, Prince Paul…Vocalists: Fiona Apple, Ashanti, Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, Bono from U2, Michael Stipe.

demancey: I would like to work with rappers such as Redman, CL Smooth, Mos Def, Jean Grae, Big Daddy Kane, Cage, Punch & Words. I would love to collaborate with producers such as Dre, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, JayDee, and Quincy Jones. Vocalist? I would like to work with Jill Scott, Davina, Esthero, Chester Bennington, New Edition, Res, and Luther Vandross (just to fuck with people).

J3551C4: Do you plan on making jams with live instruments as well as electronics?

Tin Men: We already have.

J3551C4: You state on soundclick.com that you don't want to be signed. Why? Why not?

demancey: Personally, I’ve been robbed by independent labels too many times to speak about it. Dealing with the major means I'll more than likely get screwed that much more. No thanks. They can call me, and I will send the bill, and that can be the strength of my ties to the industry.

nonseq: I would rather produce for major label artists than have a deal and stress about recouping and whether or not I could keep my publishing.

J3551C4: Do you consider "crossing over" into the mainstream as selling out?

nonseq: Depends on the manner in which one crosses over. If the artist stays consistent with what they had done previously, it's not selling out. If an artist changes to reflect what he/she thinks is more likely to hit the mainstream, it constitutes selling out.

J3551C4: Why do you think there is such a negative stigma attached to commercial success even for artists that keep their creative and music ethics in tact?

demancey: Fans seem to support their favorite artists when they are barely selling enough records to recoup, and they take on an elitist attitude about it, like "I listen to The Roots, so I know real hip-hop, and that makes me appreciate the music more so than this random cat that listens to Nelly and has never heard of The Roots in their life"....Then when the artist blows up they feel alienated and then hate on the artist. Possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

J3551C4: What do you think about hip hop in the burbs?

nonseq: I'm all for it. That demographic actually buys hip-hop records in significant numbers, whereas other demographics might only buy bootlegs or mixtapes. If it wasn't for hip-hop in the burbs, 90% of rappers would not be able to eat from their current vocation.

demancey: Hip-Hop belongs in the burbs just as much as it belongs in the streets. It’s just music. You can’t place limitations on it. That’s the strength of hip-hop. It belongs wherever it is located at a particular time.

J3551C4: What criteria, if any, do you have in the selection of songs that you have remixed? Looking at what you have posted on soundclick.com...it is very diverse...Black Moon, Ashanti, Jay Z, Common, Nas, etc… Besides the fact that hip hop encompasses more than the media will give credit...

demancey: We go into it with the notion that we can create a track that is either better than the original, or something that changes the mood of the record. As far as what we will remix, we don’t place limitations on that. Anything is fair game.

J3551C4: Why remix an oversaturated/overrated artist like Ashanti? I HAD TO SAY IT!!!!!!!

nonseq: That was my call actually. I felt like Ashanti wasn't as horrible as certain factions claimed, but was easy to hate because she was singing over a Bad Boy jack for her first big single. I wanted to see what the reaction would be if I changed the track behind her. Thus the alternative mix and the other mix were born. Several of my female friends upon hearing them said "I hate you! You made me like this horrible song!" I figured I was on the right track.

demancey: When we decided to work on the remix CD, we wanted to make sure that we represented all types of popular hip-hop and R&B, and not just the underground. Remixing Jay-Z and Ashanti with our (dare I say) retro-soul sound seemed like the perfect chance to show what we could do.

J3551C4: What production team/producer do you admire?

demancey: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Those cats are consistent as hell. And most don’t even know they are crate diggers. They've been in the game for almost 30 years, and responsible for JANET keeping a strong presence in the industry with every release...The Neptunes...not the Trackmasters.

nonseq: Pete Rock for his overall consistency and versatility. Prince Paul for his conceptual gifts as far as entire albums. Dre for his ear.

J3551C4: Do you have a formula for the creation process?

nonseq: Not really. Two main things drive 80% of the creative process. Either I hear a beat in my head and it haunts me until I actually go in and create it. Or I feel a certain way and create a beat to reflect that mood. The other 20% of the time I play with sounds until something sounds good enough to build a beat around.

demancey: Sometimes it’s like you have a sound in your head that you just have to get out, and other times it’s as if the track creates itself. I prefer to build the track around the drums most of the times.

J3551C4: What is in your player right now?

nonseq: A bunch of mix CD's. Current albums I played recently were 50 Cent “Get Rich Or Die Trying” and Little Brother, “The Listening.”

demancey: Jean Grae, Dj Ambush mixes of Kindablu, Floetry, Little Brother, Santana, America, and Miles Davis.

J3551C4: Who are some of your strongest jazz influences and when or where did your jazz aficionado originate?

demancey: First and foremost Roy Ayers, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker, Ahmad Jamal, and Max Roach. My love for jazz music actually came from my love of Hip-Hop by way of artists like Gang Starr, Lord Finesse, Pete Rock, and A Tribe Called Quest.

nonseq: My grandfather, who played with a lot of jazz greats. Also, Wes Montgomery, Cal Tjader, Kenny Burrell, Bill Evans, and Gary Burton. I started playing trombone in a jazz band in high school, and started getting interested in the songs that I was playing. My grandfather then put me on to artists to check out from there.

J3551C4: Sum up your flava in one sentence

demancey: Backyard Soul

nonseq: It's like a buffet really. I offer as little or as much as you want of a variety of things.

J3551C4: In the opinion of Tin Men, who is the most under-rated artist to date?

nonseq: J-Zone baby!!

demancey: Pete Rock and CL Smooth, hands down. In fact when I die, I want "T.R.O.Y." played at my funeral.

J3551C4: If I write some lyrics...will you produce me? LOLOLOL

demancey: As long as they don’t suck.

nonseq: Only if you make the dollars circulate !!!!!!!