![]() Make no mistake, Scaggs is not just there for “doo-wops” and handclaps. Then there’s Noelle Scaggs, the powerful voice behind Fitz’s croons. Funky drummer John Wicks is a Motown B-side aficionado and prolific session player, Jeremy Ruzumna manned the keyboards for Macy Gray, while King and bassist Ethan Phillips backed De La Soul. Enter the Tantrums, Fitz’s airtight ensemble keeping it real like it’s1969. ![]() In their sound and on the stage, Fitz and the Tantrums are nothing but professionals, and never less than classy. These powerful songs take the band’s energy up a notch, but like their energized performances, they never loose control. ![]() It’s a funk-filled plea to give love a chance. President.” “L.O.V.” is a jaunt through pop music history embarking with a groovy organ intro, meandering through juicy big band breakdowns and Fitz’s svelte croons, then carrying us away with flute outro. He now delves into more acerbic lyrical territory, going on the offensive against gold diggers on the exceptionally funky “Money Grabber,” and even gets political on the piano-banging, handclap-driven call to action, “Dear Mr. Like the EP, Fitz recorded the full-length debut back at home, to bottle the lightning that struck in those first jam sessions. After that one encounter, Levine personally invited Fitz and the Tantrums to join their tour. Levine was getting a tattoo in New York when the tattoo artist told him he had to hear this new band he had discovered. That’s what grabbed the attention of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. The infectious, rolling rhythms of “Breaking the Chains of Love,” immediately turn your head and actually get cemented in your brain, like a good pop song should. 1, a burst of effervescent swingers and floor-stompers, infused with the energy of long forgotten songs. There in the living room, he recorded Songs for a Breakup, Vol. Could we make a huge sound with out any guitars?”Ī huge sound takes a huge studio-Motown had Studio A in Detroit, Philadelphia International had Sigma Studios, Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound was created in Hollywood’s legendary Gold Star Studios- but when it came time to capture the feeling and the soul of soul, Fitz knew of the perfect studio: his home. “We wanted to find a new vocabulary for the genre, I wanted to make a record without any guitars. While the electric guitar drives rock, the saxophone takes center stage in soul, and that’s the way Fitz likes it. I thought, this feels so real, so natural.”įitz shared his vision with long-time friend and saxophonist, James King, who immediately connected with the sound. I was being not true to myself, and it never felt right until I wrote that song, and I sang like that. “I’ve always been a singer,” Fitz says, “but with so much music, I felt that I was trying to push a square peg through a round hole. But at those 88 keys, just seven hours after that organ dropped into his life, Fitz had finally found his voice. He’d spent years in L.A.’s music industry, writing music and working in a studio with Beck producer, Mickey Petralia. The overflow of inspiration startled Fitz. “Sometimes, the Music Gods just give it to you,” Fitz says. That night, Fitz stationed himself in front of that vintage instrument and wrote a blue-eyed soul anthem, “Breaking the Chains of Love.” ![]() Not one to say no, Fitz called some piano movers, cashed in some favors, and seven hours later, the organ went from the curb to his living room. And, he has this organ…”įitz, the Svengali frontman of the crew, describes the find like the discovery of a compass, or that treasure map in Goonies, which undoubtedly leads to adventure. “I got a call from my ex-girlfriend,” Fitz explains, “And she said, ‘My neighbor is moving out in a hurry and has to sell everything. Now on the cusp of the release of their debut full length, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, the troupe is poised get down in dancehalls across the universe. 1.įor some bands, it takes a lifetime to build this success, but few performers deliver an unrestrained blast of soul-clapping, get-down-on-the-floor, moneymaker shakers like Fitz and the Tantrums. All this on the strength of their stellar five-song EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. have toured with Maroon 5, played to thousands at Colorado’s world famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, shared the stage New Year’s Eve with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and performed on KCRW’s esteemed show, Morning Becomes Eclectic. Since their first show at Hollywood’s Hotel Café in December 2008, Fitz and co. The recipe for meteoric success? Six killer musicians, five dapper suits, irresistible songs, some serendipity and one vintage organ. In just over a year, soulsters Fitz & the Tantrums went from the living room to the main stage.
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