Events

[FILLER] Fitz and the Tantrums continue defying the odds. The Los Angeles-based sextet played its debut gig at Hollywood’s Hotel Café just one week after rehearsing for the first time. Not a full year later, Adam Levine invited them to open a string of Maroon Five gigs. After releasing Pickin’ Up the Pieces on the indie imprint Dangerbird, they scored a deal with Elektra: Dangerbird co-founder Jeff Catelaz had become Elektra’s president in the interim. The major label debut, More than Just a Dream, favored an 1980s-influenced club sound over the neo-soul of its predecessor, and the band’s audience still expanded. Fitz and company’s latest, a self-titled set released on Elektra in early June, eschews the retro vibe altogether for a risky embrace of modern pop. Critics have been torn, but the disc penetrated Billboard’s top 20 and the lead single, “Handclap” proved to be a summer anthem. It’s a similar can’t-lose story to that of Foster the People, and if you’re thinking, “Only in L.A.,” you might be right. But NPR’s Ann Powers — a discerning voice in pop culture’s din — said the band communicates best in concert. Find out on Friday, November 18, when Alternative Buffalo, 101.7, brings Fitz and the Tantrums to the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls with Barns Courtney. We spoke with keyboard wizard Jeremy Ruzumna about the band’s good luck and new sound.

Given the stylistic shifts over the three records, it’s safe to say that Fitz and the Tantrums aren’t interested in formulas. Is there a mission, musically?
At our core, we’re always trying to stay in the moment and be what it is that we’re feeling. And to make music that we love and are excited by. If we can stay excited, hopefully our fans will too. 

Fitz (Michael Fitzpatrick) has said he thinks this is a great/exciting time for music. But there’s lot of emotionally insincere crap floating around. What are some of the drawbacks you see in this?
It’s true—technology is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand, different and interesting musicians who might not otherwise have had a chance can now make amazing music, because fully realized albums can now be made on a laptop. On the other hand, now that anybody can make albums, there’s a whole lot more to wade thru before you get to the true stuff. But I would argue that there’s always been mediocre music out there, as well as mind blowing and innovative stuff. And in the end, everything finds its right place. 

Was there any concern as the new record took shape that it might be difficult to replicate in a live setting?
That’s always the challenge. But we were game from the beginning. In our live setting, we’ve always strived to put some extra “sauce” into the music so that you’re not coming to the show just to hear exactly what’s on the albums. You’ll get that, but you also get so much more from the concert experience. For us, the album is only the jumping off point. 

For the new album, was an effort made to avoid moving toward something completely inorganic?
With this album, we were definitely interested in re-imagining our sound in a modern context. We wanted to take all of the things that make us us and bring it into the present and the future. 

Fitz and the Tantrums has managed to achieve considerable success despite not having toured for years and years prior to your debut, with a front man in his 40s and a sound that was initially steeped in nostalgia. Do you feel lucky?
We are definitely freaks of the industry in that sense. Don’t get me wrong—we did tour in a van for a long time and had to build up our fan base in the most organic way before a record label would even talk to us. So by the time we signed our first indie deal, we had been on the grind for quite some time. But yes—it is pretty crazy to be doing what we do right now.