The Tin Man
Atlanta, GA | Established. Jan 01, 2014
Music
Press
Marshall Seese traded in his steady job as a corporate lawyer to pursue his passion for singing. To fuel his dream, he began a Kickstarter account, raising more than $19,000! To hear more of his music, visit his website here! - Headline News
ATLANTA -- Atlanta musician Marshall Seese, Jr. is giving up steady paychecks to pursue a new career as a singer songwriter.
Known on stage as the "Tin Man," he's raising money for his first album with an Indiegogo campaign that raises the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Before going all in with music, Seese worked as an Atlanta attorney and then a tech entrepreneur. But he still wasn't happy.
"I grew up as this kid who had to make straight A's," Seese said. "I was always very obedient, taught that failure's not good. It's all about succeeding."
Seese said he fell in love with music as a kid but never considered a career in it, until recently.
About a year ago, the 35-year-old started a new career in music.
As for his stage name, it holds special meaning for Seese.
"I think I've lived a lot of my life with my brain," Seese said. "I want to focus on living my life with my heart."
The Tin Man has raised close to $5,000 so far with a goal of $19,000 in the next month. - NBC: 11 Alive
Dana Barrett Show on AM1190 Atlanta - Dana Barrett Show
One The Tin Man’s single “Already Gone” from the upcoming EP Too Many Lines, the singer-songwriter demonstrates an achingly harrowing venture into the throws of love. With a jangly-tinge paired with southern charm, The Tin Man reminds one of early Kings Of Leon. - Elmore Magazine
“When I think of vinyl I think of Christmas morning. As a kid, the soundtrack to my race downstairs was “Little Drummer Boy” and the Beach Boys’ Christmas album. Something about the pops and crackles of the record player made it feel even warmer than the fire my folks always had going.” - The Vinyl District
One thing is certain -- Seese has worked at his craft, molded it and shaped it into a style that works for him. From these tunes I think he has found his motherlode. So.....22 minutes of delightful excursions, journeys into the soul and some moderate kick-ass rock. Lots here to recommend it. When is the full album coming? Ah…just kidding. No pressure. The man has a stimulating showcase and there is an authentic air that comes with it. Yes…The Tin Man…he is well-oiled on “Too Many Lines,” and his heart is in-between every note he plays. - No Depression
"If you want to fall in love with a band with a unique back story and inspiration then look no further. The Tin Man, fronted by a singer-songwriter who left practicing law two years ago, is taking the music scene by storm with quirky, unique and quality music... I only wish we had more songs from The Tin Man." - Vents Magazine
The Tin Man is a unique name for a one-man musician, but it works well for the man behind The Tin Man. He recently teamed up with Grammy-nominated, Billy Hume, to record his debut EP, Too Many Lines. The reviews have been nothing short of stellar. The Tin Man takes you to a place where the story to the music begins, and has you enveloped from the first tune. The Tin Man and his music are well-honed, and crafted to perfection, or as close to it as one can get in music. We had a lovely chat about his influences, recording process of his debut EP, why he chooses to use The Tin Man as his moniker, and much more musical goodness. Read on and discover something new about your favorite musician, or discover a new favorite. Either way, The Tin Man is surely one to keep an eye on.
AXS: What specific influences, musically or materialistically, have encouraged you to pursue songwriting and performing?
The Tin Man: Growing up, there was always music playing throughout the house. We had one of those intercom systems that was connected to the radio, and you could send music to every room. But despite my mom being an operatic vocalist and my dad coming from the radio business, neither one is the type of person who buys new music on a regular basis. So the music I had access to was a fixed collection from their younger years. The Beach Boys. Paul Simon. James Brown. Captain & Tennille. Crap tons of Captain & Tennille. For a guy who describes his music as anthemic folk-rock, there was a serious shortage of rock in their record collection. But I fell in love with the story-driven lyrics, catchy melodies, and lush harmonies of these albums. They were my first real influences.
A: What was the recording process like for your debut EP? i.e, do you write the songs or musical chords first?
T: When I first wrote some of the songs on the EP I went straight to producer Billy Hume and said, "Let's record this stuff!" But he declined and said I wasn't ready yet. I needed to let them live and breathe. Workshop them with my band. He was right. After a year of sculpting these songs with the best musicians I've ever played with, they finally found their sonic home. So we hit the studio. Thanks to Billy I couldn't be more pleased with how these recordings came out -- showcasing each song's unique personality. As for how I write, 80% of the time I’m messing around on the guitar, find a riff or chord progression I love and start singing gibberish over it trying out melodies. Eventually my subconscious says something interesting and I build the song around that. But 20% of the time (and ofter the better songs) come to as lyrics and melody first. Then I build the music around that. Either way, I believe all these songs already exist in the universe and I’m just an archeologist digging up their bones :)
A: I want to talk about the moniker The Tin Man. Please go more in-depth about the name behind your music…
T: I've written songs and played music for a long time; it's always been my professional hobby, even when I was in the corporate world, but the songs were always lacking something. You can almost say they were lacking heart. I think I just wasn't connecting with my own music. That didn't stop me from writing or playing, but eventually, in early 2014, I went through some corporate and romantic trials and tribulations that rocked me at a core deeper than I'd ever been rocked before. It started bringing up music unlike anything I'd written before. It was certainly darker, from a lyrical perspective, but I was connecting with it at a new level. I was so passionate about it even my friends could see the difference. So when I started to play those songs at clubs I didn't want to do it under my name, which is what I'd been performing under before. This was something new and I wanted to reinvent myself.
I was thinking about the The Wizard Of Oz and I was like, 'oh, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Dorothy, and holy sh*t the Tin Man'. I thought, 'I embody the Tin Man'. I felt like my heart had been ripped out from me and I was on a quest for a new one. I’ve found my heart in this new music.
A: You've got a few dates coming up in Atlanta, including Smith's Olde Bar. Is there a specific place you've ever dreamed of performing at?
T: As far as Atlanta goes my goal is to sell out Terminal West. That’s gonna take a little time, but I love that venue. The sound, the ambience, everything. After that the Tabernacle :) I really love playing venues that have soul and history behind them and the buildings they’re in.
Now, for the "fun" questions:
A: Who was your first concert, and do you have an overall favorite?
T: This is so embarrassing… my first concert was Amy Grant when I was 12 haha. Heart in Motion tour! Favorite concert is sooooo hard. I saw John Mayer when he was doing his blues trio at the Tabernacle… that blew my mind. And then last year I saw Brandi Carlyle at the Tabernacle cause her drummer is a friend of mine, and her setlist was unlike anything I’d ever heard. She covered every emotion and you never lost interest.
A: What five albums and/or artists would you not want to live without?
T: Continuum by: John Mayer
Only By The Night by: Kings of Leon
Ceremonials by: Florence + The Machine
If You Wait by: London Grammar
Fables by: David Ramirez
A: What was your first album on cassette, CD and/or vinyl?
T: I remember buying Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul as my first cassette ever. From there I joined BMG music club (much to my parents’ horror) and got Color Me Badd, All 4 One, and then eventually ever R.E.M. album at the time. Yep, I’ve had a weird, eclectic taste in music!
A: Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?
T: I have many, haha. I’m not afraid to rock some EDM and even Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber’s new albums. From an entertainment perspective, my guilty pleasure is cheesy teen romantic comedies like “Can’t Hardly Wait” haha - AXS
Discography
Too Many Lines EP (March 18, 2016)
Photos
Bio
The Tin Man's heart is not only worn on his sleeve, but also strapped to his back telling emotional stories through a hollow-bodied guitar. Paired with a seasoned voice unashamed of its raw vulnerability, you quickly find your own heart beating in sync with these anthemic songs. It’s the sound of relationships past and inner struggles present, balanced with the hope of a brighter future. It’s a southern sound bread out of a youthful love for The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and Tom Petty.
Born to an operatic singer and television weatherman in Marietta, Georgia, Marshall Seese, Jr. is no stranger to the entertainment world. Starting out with piano lessons and a place in the church choir like every other good Southern boy, he soon swapped Bach for Beck by trading Playboys to a friend for guitar lessons instead. It started on his grandad's old bass ukulele, but he didn't play like everyone else. He held the right-handed instrument like a lefty and learned to play backwards, upside-down. That's what made sense to a boy used to playing rhythms on the piano with his left hand and melodies with his right. This rare style not only helps create his signature sound, but also puts him in the company of Paul McCartney, Albert King, and Doyle Bramhall II.
Despite all the heart Marshall has always put into music, the first two chapters of his career where lead by his brain. After college he earned a law degree from the prestigious University of Michigan and proceeded to practice corporate, intellectual property law for seven years. Then upon leaving the law, he founded Mowgli, an entertainment technology company focused on gamifying the creation of music. Four years and four million investment dollars into the fast-paced technology start-up world, Marshall realized he'd done it again. He had let his brain take the reigns over his heart. So when the company collapsed he took a step back, 417,462 steps to be exact, and hiked the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. It was his yellow brick road, which lead him to the heart of his music.
But like any great product, it takes time to develop. “When I got back from the Camino I went straight to Grammy-nominated producer Billy Hume and said, ‘let’s record these songs!’” But Billy knew what the newly dubbed Tin Man really needed, and it wasn’t a record. “Billy told me to go play with musicians who intimidated me. To play the songs over and over again until they began to breath on their own.”
And so a new journey began. One that culminated in a successful Indiegogo campaign that raised over $19,000 and was featured on Headline News, with Marshall being interviewed on the couch by Coy Wire. The Tin Man was ready, and Billy could begin to work his magic. "Billy is one of those rare souls who doesn't just slap his signature onto your music. He listens. And listens. And listens. Until he knows you as a human as much as he does an artist. That's why everything I've heard him put out is dripping with authenticity." This rare quality might make Billy the Wizard in our storybook -- he does in fact happen to look like one. The five songs they recorded together capture the entire quest perfectly. “An achingly harrowing venture into the throws of love” as described by Elmore Magazine.
It’s no wonder the release of The Tin Man’s debut Too Many Lines EP has been garnering so much attention for a new artist. “The Tin Man is crafting some of the most realistic and down to earth tunes out there today that will increase your love for the art of songwriting,” says Music Box Pete. The rave reviews keep coming in as thousands of new fans find their way to the music with the help of features from tastemakers like NoiseTrade and Vents Magazine, who echos what everyone seems to be thinking, “I only wish we had more songs from The Tin Man.”
Those who encounter him invest both their money and their heart into the music. And they remember it. Word for word. Show after show. The fan base continues to grow as more and more people connect with the honesty in his lyrics and the hooks in his melodies. It’s infectious. A cathartic therapy session in each song.
In a world that demands more and more use of our brains every day, it’s refreshing to see someone truly living it with their heart.
"But, after all, brains are not the best things in the world... Once I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart."
- The Tin Man, from "The Wonderful World of Oz"
Band Members
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