In New York City, off the Halsey L train stop you’ll find a cute Vietnamese spot with the best Banh-Mi that will ever grace your tongue. Next to it is Trans-Pecos, a small but mighty venue hosting an eclectic range of artists and part-time raves. The lack of deodorant from the venue-goers can be quite disorienting but is masked by the eye-catching spinning disco balls above you. No matter how small or packed the place is, the floor is dedicated to a mosh pit right front and center. At the first stop of the current T!LT tour, the audience started moshing from the moment their set started.
Started by Michael Scialla, Hayden Carter, and Luca Costantini, the band promptly started releasing music during the pandemic. The currently Connecticut-based band started around 2020 after knowing each other through their high school years. Much like a Beatles story, T!LT had changed their first drummer with Connor Simpson to fill in the spot and suit the dynamics of where the band wanted to go. Now the group has flavor, and a passion to rock on the stage.
Photo by Devon DelCastillo
The goofy Tumblr energy is stacked with these four kids and it’s quite evident even by their appearance. Overalls, shaved heads, mullets, and an accidental bell-bottom that the 70s would laude in approval. Though their personas come off as regular, the band pulls electricity from the air the minute they start to perform. It’s loud, it’s rambunctious, it’s T!LT. A Gen Z forum for new music has never tasted so good.
During their first performance on tour, their set tested the eardrums of the Demonia boot applauders. At a T!LT concert, they go so hard they break their drum kit (apparently it’s happened more than once). Their set consisted of earlier works with their sound based on hard rock and indie basics, but their newest EP, “Death Do Us Part”, goes towards greener pastures.
Much like Beyonce and Mitski, T!LT too is jumping on to the cowboy express and breaking in their boots with a folksy americana record. “I think one of the stronger points we have is that we all listen to such different types of music and pull different inspirations,” says Carter. Their lead single “Castes” slows down the band, but still pushes for a fireside anthem with a hot toddy in hand. The new production highlights violin playing from Costantini and trumpet from Simpson, and its merged sound is a lovechild of euphoria.
Music Video for “Washing Machine Heart”
On the new project, the band covers Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, channeling a soft Nickelback tone that would go wild live. The band doesn’t shy from covering the greats. In 2023, they covered Mitski’s “Washing Machine Heart”. “Mitski is grunge,” emphasized Scialla, who often summons the ghost of Kurt Cobain in each singing breath. Scialla has been a large contributor to the band’s writing credits, but their biggest song “Freezer Burn” comes straight from Constantini’s noggin.
“I was thinking about this time when I was little. My dad used to buy bread and buy stuff and freeze it,” Constantini says his father’s traditional Italian ways made a large imprint. The track relates stale bread to fragile love. Unlike the Neighbourhood’s “Daddy Issues”, the song isn’t overly traumatic, just a passionate rage many have felt.
Photo by Devon DelCastillo
The band’s punk-rock-amped style works across topics, themes, and genres, but why the name T!LT (with the emphasized exclamation in the middle)? “It comes from how we play music. We’re not living in the underground and we’re not living in the mainstream. In between,” explained Scialla. The band believes the era of “selling out” or categorizing yourself as “mainstream” is starting to fade. Considering the likelihood of success that the social media game has favored for many bands and artists, perhaps T!LT hopes to relish in the godly hands of a For You Page.
The band hopes to make a full New York transfer by the end of 2024. Like Madonna’s five-cents-and-a-dream trope, the band hopes to go from a small fish in a big pond to a slightly bigger fish in a big pond. More than anything, they’re excited for the music to take off. “It feels like a runaway train that’s not gonna stop,” says Simpson.
