Fitz & the Tantrums
Encyclopedia
Fitz and The Tantrums are an American soul
/indie pop
band from Los Angeles, California
, formed in 2008. Their debut studio album
, Pickin' Up the Pieces
, released in August 2010, has received critical acclaim and reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. They were heralded as a "band to watch" in an April 2011 profile in Rolling Stone. They have performed their hit single "MoneyGrabber" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live
, on TBS' Conan and on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
, and have toured extensively in the United States and abroad. They are signed to Dangerbird Records
.
The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick
(lead vocals and keyboards), Noelle Scaggs
(vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, flute, trumpet, and harmonica), Joseph Karnes (bass guitar), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards) and John Wicks
(drums and percussion). They are produced by Chris Seefried
, who is also a co-writer.
in 2008. Having purchased an old Conn
electronic organ
, he was inspired to write the song "Breakin' the Chains of Love" that same night. He contacted his college friend, saxophonist James King, who recommended singer Noelle Scaggs
and drummer John Wicks
. In turn, Wicks brought in bassist Ethan Phillips and keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna. According to Fitzpatrick, the band immediately clicked. He has said, "It was literally like five phone calls, one rehearsal, and we could have played a show that night."
The band performed their first show at Hollywood's Hotel Café
in December 2008, which Fitzpatrick booked one week after their first rehearsal. In interviews, he has stated the importance of booking a date before the band was ready, in order to bring out the best in all performers. During the first half of 2009 they performed at several clubs in Los Angeles, including the Viper Room
and Spaceland
.
The band recorded their debut EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1
, during the first half of 2009 at Fitzpatrick's home in Los Angeles. The EP was first released on August 11, 2009 through Canyon Productions. The songs began to receive considerable airplay on Los Angeles public radio station KCRW
.
In September 2009 they toured with Hepcat
and Flogging Molly
. In November 2009 the band opened eight concerts on the Maroon 5
Back to School Tour. Their appearance was at short notice, after previously scheduled K'naan
canceled due to fatigue in late October. According to Fitzpatrick, "Adam Levine
from Maroon 5 was in New York to get a tattoo and his favorite tattoo artist had downloaded the record after hearing us on KCRW
. He told Adam, 'you gotta hear this band.' A week and a half later we're opening for Maroon 5 on their college tour." In December 2009 the band shot the official music video for their first single "Breakin' The Chains of Love", directed by Joshua Leonard
. It features Fitzpatrick and Scaggs in a moving and rotating bed.
In March 2010, Fitz and The Tantrums played at KCRW’s Official Showcases at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The festival is traditionally an important event for new groups to meet with representatives of the music industry. On April 15, 2010, Fitz and The Tantrums opened for ska
legends The Specials
on their North American reunion tour at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. On April 26, 2010, Dangerbird Records
announced that they had signed Fitz and The Tantrums. Their first full-length album, Pickin' Up the Pieces
was released on August 24, 2010.
In October 2010, Daryl Hall
invited the band to perform on his popular web-series Live from Daryl's House. They played a seven-song set including four Tantrums songs, early Hall song "Girl I Love You", "Perkiomen", and finishing with "Sara Smile
". "I walked back into the kitchen of his big old house in upstate New York and his mother was there," recalled Fitzpatrick. "She said, 'Fitz, come over here. You sound just like my son!'"
On January 12, 2011, Fitz and The Tantrums performed the songs "MoneyGrabber" and "Don't Gotta Work It Out" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live
in Los Angeles. On February 28, 2011, they performed "MoneyGrabber" on TBS' Conan and on April 5, 2011, on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
. In 2010, the band's music video for the song "MoneyGrabber" was incorporated into the opening scene of a sixth season episode of the CBS crime-drama Criminal Minds
entitled "Safe Haven".
In mid-March 2011, the band's song "News 4 U" was chosen for the promo of Desperate Housewives
seventh season.
In 2011, the band announced a U.S. and international tour with April Smith.
Their song "MoneyGrabber" was featured in the "How 'bout that?" segment of the April 23, 2011 episode of "This Week in Baseball".
record labels, the band is not trying to create an exact replica of that music. In another interview, Fitzpatrick talked about his decision to not use guitars in the band. "I did want to try and make a big sounding record without guitars," he said. "For me, I just feel like in any music that has a band, the guitar is always there, it's always featured, it's always prevalent. I'm just sick of hearing it."
Also contributed to a number of political causes.
In June 2011, Vogue Daily named Fitz and The Tantrums the "Hardest-Working Band" of the 2011 summer festival circuit. "Not only do L.A.–based six-piece Fitz and the Tantrums share James Brown’s penchant for snazzy-dressed brass bands and feel-good retro ballads, they also have the late godfather of soul’s tireless work ethic."
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/indie pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, formed in 2008. Their debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Pickin' Up the Pieces
Pickin' Up the Pieces (album)
Pickin' Up the Pieces is the debut studio album by American soul group Fitz and The Tantrums. Produced by Chris Seefried and vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick, the album was first released on August 24, 2010 in the United States on independent label Dangerbird Records. After the success of their...
, released in August 2010, has received critical acclaim and reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. They were heralded as a "band to watch" in an April 2011 profile in Rolling Stone. They have performed their hit single "MoneyGrabber" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
, on TBS' Conan and on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
, and have toured extensively in the United States and abroad. They are signed to Dangerbird Records
Dangerbird Records
Dangerbird Records is an independent record label located in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Jeff Castelaz and Peter Walker in 2004, the label is home to artists across the globe, as well as part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. Their small roster of artists has enjoyed international...
.
The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick
Michael Fitzpatrick (musician)
Michael Sean "Fitz" Fitzpatrick is a Los Angeles musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the soul indie pop band Fitz and The Tantrums....
(lead vocals and keyboards), Noelle Scaggs
Noelle Scaggs
Noelle Scaggs is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. As a singer for soul band Fitz and The Tantrums, she has toured extensively in the United States and abroad, and has performed on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, on TBS' Conan and on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.- Biography :She was the lead...
(vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, flute, trumpet, and harmonica), Joseph Karnes (bass guitar), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards) and John Wicks
John Wicks (drummer)
John Wicks is a studio session drummer, producer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles.As of May 2010, Wicks is playing live and/or recording with B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Cee Lo, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chocolate Genius, Money Mark, Fitz and The Tantrums, Zack Hexum, and many more.-Recordings:* Bruno Mars...
(drums and percussion). They are produced by Chris Seefried
Chris Seefried
Chris Seefried is an American record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of bands Gods Child, Joe 90, Low Stars and producer co-writer for the neo soul band Fitz and the Tantrums....
, who is also a co-writer.
History
Fitz and The Tantrums were founded by Michael FitzpatrickMichael Fitzpatrick (musician)
Michael Sean "Fitz" Fitzpatrick is a Los Angeles musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the soul indie pop band Fitz and The Tantrums....
in 2008. Having purchased an old Conn
C. G. Conn
C.G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, was a United States manufacturer of musical instruments, especially brass instruments. In 1985 their Strobotuner division was bought by Peterson Electro-Musical Products, who continue to service their line of products.Assets...
electronic organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, he was inspired to write the song "Breakin' the Chains of Love" that same night. He contacted his college friend, saxophonist James King, who recommended singer Noelle Scaggs
Noelle Scaggs
Noelle Scaggs is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. As a singer for soul band Fitz and The Tantrums, she has toured extensively in the United States and abroad, and has performed on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, on TBS' Conan and on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.- Biography :She was the lead...
and drummer John Wicks
John Wicks (drummer)
John Wicks is a studio session drummer, producer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles.As of May 2010, Wicks is playing live and/or recording with B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Cee Lo, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chocolate Genius, Money Mark, Fitz and The Tantrums, Zack Hexum, and many more.-Recordings:* Bruno Mars...
. In turn, Wicks brought in bassist Ethan Phillips and keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna. According to Fitzpatrick, the band immediately clicked. He has said, "It was literally like five phone calls, one rehearsal, and we could have played a show that night."
The band performed their first show at Hollywood's Hotel Café
Hotel Café
The Hotel Café is a live music venue located off an alley on the Cahuenga Boulevard strip in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that has become known for helping to establish the careers of new singer-songwriters in the 2000s...
in December 2008, which Fitzpatrick booked one week after their first rehearsal. In interviews, he has stated the importance of booking a date before the band was ready, in order to bring out the best in all performers. During the first half of 2009 they performed at several clubs in Los Angeles, including the Viper Room
Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. It was opened in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp until 2004. The club became known for being a hangout of Hollywood elite, and was the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on...
and Spaceland
Spaceland
Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a gay disco called Dreams...
.
The band recorded their debut EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1
Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1
Songs for a Breakup: Vol. 1 is the debut studio EP by the American indie rock band Fitz and The Tantrums, released on August 11, 2009 through Canyon Productions...
, during the first half of 2009 at Fitzpatrick's home in Los Angeles. The EP was first released on August 11, 2009 through Canyon Productions. The songs began to receive considerable airplay on Los Angeles public radio station KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
.
In September 2009 they toured with Hepcat
Hepcat
Hepcat is a ska and reggae band formed in southern California in 1989.Their soulful harmonies and mellow rhythms were unlike those of contemporaries and more akin to musicians from the heyday of 1960s Jamaican ska, also referred to as the first wave....
and Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
. In November 2009 the band opened eight concerts on the Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
Back to School Tour. Their appearance was at short notice, after previously scheduled K'naan
K'naan
K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
canceled due to fatigue in late October. According to Fitzpatrick, "Adam Levine
Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.-Early life:...
from Maroon 5 was in New York to get a tattoo and his favorite tattoo artist had downloaded the record after hearing us on KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
. He told Adam, 'you gotta hear this band.' A week and a half later we're opening for Maroon 5 on their college tour." In December 2009 the band shot the official music video for their first single "Breakin' The Chains of Love", directed by Joshua Leonard
Joshua Leonard
Joshua Granville Leonard is an American actor, known for his role in The Blair Witch Project.-Early life:Leonard was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Joann, an operator of a children's theatre, and Robert Leonard, a theater professor. He was raised in State College, Pennsylvania...
. It features Fitzpatrick and Scaggs in a moving and rotating bed.
In March 2010, Fitz and The Tantrums played at KCRW’s Official Showcases at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The festival is traditionally an important event for new groups to meet with representatives of the music industry. On April 15, 2010, Fitz and The Tantrums opened for ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
legends The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
on their North American reunion tour at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. On April 26, 2010, Dangerbird Records
Dangerbird Records
Dangerbird Records is an independent record label located in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Jeff Castelaz and Peter Walker in 2004, the label is home to artists across the globe, as well as part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. Their small roster of artists has enjoyed international...
announced that they had signed Fitz and The Tantrums. Their first full-length album, Pickin' Up the Pieces
Pickin' Up the Pieces (album)
Pickin' Up the Pieces is the debut studio album by American soul group Fitz and The Tantrums. Produced by Chris Seefried and vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick, the album was first released on August 24, 2010 in the United States on independent label Dangerbird Records. After the success of their...
was released on August 24, 2010.
In October 2010, Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...
invited the band to perform on his popular web-series Live from Daryl's House. They played a seven-song set including four Tantrums songs, early Hall song "Girl I Love You", "Perkiomen", and finishing with "Sara Smile
Sara Smile
Country music singer Jimmy Wayne released a cover version in 2009, with backing vocals from Hall & Oates. This version debuted at #51 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated October 3, 2009 and serves as the title track for Wayne's third album, Sara Smile...
". "I walked back into the kitchen of his big old house in upstate New York and his mother was there," recalled Fitzpatrick. "She said, 'Fitz, come over here. You sound just like my son!'"
On January 12, 2011, Fitz and The Tantrums performed the songs "MoneyGrabber" and "Don't Gotta Work It Out" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
in Los Angeles. On February 28, 2011, they performed "MoneyGrabber" on TBS' Conan and on April 5, 2011, on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
. In 2010, the band's music video for the song "MoneyGrabber" was incorporated into the opening scene of a sixth season episode of the CBS crime-drama Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
entitled "Safe Haven".
In mid-March 2011, the band's song "News 4 U" was chosen for the promo of Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
seventh season.
In 2011, the band announced a U.S. and international tour with April Smith.
Their song "MoneyGrabber" was featured in the "How 'bout that?" segment of the April 23, 2011 episode of "This Week in Baseball".
Musical style
Fitzpatrick has said that the band's musical style can be fairly described as "soul-influenced indie pop". He noted that while the band is influenced by the classic songs of the Motown and StaxStax
Stax can refer to:* StAX, Streaming API for XML. An API for reading and writing XML in Java.* Stax Earspeakers, a Japanese brand of electrostatic earspeakers* Stax Records, an American record company...
record labels, the band is not trying to create an exact replica of that music. In another interview, Fitzpatrick talked about his decision to not use guitars in the band. "I did want to try and make a big sounding record without guitars," he said. "For me, I just feel like in any music that has a band, the guitar is always there, it's always featured, it's always prevalent. I'm just sick of hearing it."
Also contributed to a number of political causes.
Critical reception
Los Angeles Times music critic Ann Powers wrote, "Fitz & the Tantrums is the kind of band that communicates best in concert, but this album serves as a fine proxy and party-starter." Aly Comingore of the Santa Barbara Independent wrote that the band members craft "soulful, nostalgia pop that's not only infectious, but just fresh enough to make it stand apart from its predecessors."In June 2011, Vogue Daily named Fitz and The Tantrums the "Hardest-Working Band" of the 2011 summer festival circuit. "Not only do L.A.–based six-piece Fitz and the Tantrums share James Brown’s penchant for snazzy-dressed brass bands and feel-good retro ballads, they also have the late godfather of soul’s tireless work ethic."
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
||
| Pickin' Up the Pieces Pickin' Up the Pieces (album) Pickin' Up the Pieces is the debut studio album by American soul group Fitz and The Tantrums. Produced by Chris Seefried and vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick, the album was first released on August 24, 2010 in the United States on independent label Dangerbird Records. After the success of their... |
|
140 | 1 | 18 |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1 Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1 Songs for a Breakup: Vol. 1 is the debut studio EP by the American indie rock band Fitz and The Tantrums, released on August 11, 2009 through Canyon Productions... |
|
| Santa Stole My Lady Santa Stole My Lady Santa Stole My Lady is the second studio EP by the American indie rock band Fitz and The Tantrums, released on November 26, 2010 through Dangerbird Records... |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Adult |
US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
||||||||
| 2010 | "Winds of Change" | — | — | Pickin' Up the Pieces | |||||
| "L.O.V." | — | — | |||||||
| "Breakin' the Chains of Love" | — | — | |||||||
| 2011 | "MoneyGrabber" | 34 | 33 | ||||||
| "Don't Gotta Work It Out"A | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- A Current single.