“Sometimes, the Music Gods just give it to you" ~Fitz
You know those songs that are so infectious that they instantly make you want to dance no matter where you are? (And cue me in the egg/yogurt/cheese aisle at Loblaws last week when this band came on over the speakers...yeah I was so close to starting a flash mob of spontaneous dancing but I digress).
Fitz and The Tantrums is bringing the soul back to music...and it's so so good. Fitz and the Tantrums makes you believe there really is hope for music after all.
The L.A band, headed up by Michael Fitzpatrick, is a throwback to music of times gone by and their distinctive exploding soulful-rhythm-pop sounds will get you moving (think old Motown records, American Bandstand and dancehalls)...and their live performances are getting rave review after rave review.
In just a year or so, soulsters Fitz & the Tantrums went from the living room to the main stage. The recipe for meteoric success? Six killer musicians, five dapper suits, irresistible songs, some serendipity, one vintage organ.
Yes the vintage organ...that's where the inspiration all began. “I got a call from my ex-girlfriend,” Fitz explains, “And she said, ‘My neighbour is moving out in a hurry and has to sell everything. And, he has this organ…” Fitz describes the find like the discovery of a compass, or that treasure map in Goonies, which undoubtedly leads to adventure. 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. That night, Fitz stationed himself in front of that vintage instrument and wrote his first soul inspired track.
The first introduction to the band was the killer five song EP (2009), Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1. For Fitz the release of that album was all about finally finding his voice and being true to himself. “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. I was being not true to myself, and it never felt right until I wrote that song, and I sang like that. I thought, this feels so real, so natural.” The sound was a burst of swingers and floor-stompers, mixed with a dose of energy of those long forgotten songs.
The song that first made heads turn was the track “Breaking the Chains of Love" - the vibe of the song had a familiar sound but it was entirely unique at the same time.
It's that sound that grabbed the attention of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Levine was getting a tattoo in New York when the tattoo artist told him he had to hear this new band he had discovered. After that one encounter, Levine personally invited Fitz and the Tantrums to join their tour.
The new single by Fitz and the Tantrums is 'Moneygrabber' off their new album Pickin' Up The Pieces (now on iTunes)...
Catch Fitz and The Tantrums later this evening on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Follow Fitz and the Tantrums on Twitter: @FitzAndTantrums
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