Fitz and The Tantrums Collect Records
To call Fitz and The Tantrums derivative would not be fair, but their music is knowing. You can hear that they are music lovers, fans of vintage soul and old school instrumentation. They must have vintage records, right? You can't write tunes like these and belt them out without having at some point internalized the likes of Otis and Tina and Marvin. In fact, Fitz has been quoted as saying,"We [the band] all have a love affair with soul and funk music. For me, it’s obviously Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, all that stuff. My musical taste runs the gamut from Radiohead to Zeppelin to Major Lazer. My older brother was really into 80s new wave, so a lot of the first records I got to borrow and steal were his."
Fitz, what do you have in your record collection? Next time you are in Pittsburgh, let's go to Jerry's together and you can stock up on soul and r&b from his vast stock.
Last night's sold-out show - thanks Kay and Tom! - was absolutely authentic and electrifying. Fitz and soul swinger side kick Noelle Scaggs had the enthusiastic crowd on their feet - no choice, no chairs at Mr. Smalls! - and rocking from the very first notes of the first tune and hardly let up for the rest of the evening. The guy next to me kept yelling 'Fitzburgh' to Fitz and Noelle who have been here to perfom three times in the last year. It felt like Fitzburgh by the time they were done.
The picture above is from the F&TT website and was taken by drummer John Wicks of the crowd. I am there in the front right of the picture. Can you find me?
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