Signal throws Fitz and the Tantrums show
Two years after forming in 2008, Fitz and the Tantrums made a splash with the success of “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.” With two No. 1 Alternative Radio singles, “The Walker” and “Out of My League,” the album’s success sent Fitz and the Tantrums on a two-year tour that earned them a reputation as one of the country’s hottest live acts.
But when it came time to write songs for the next album in January 2015, it became clear to Fitz and his co-vocalist, Noelle Scaggs, that they were suffering from a classic case of writer’s block. Barely home since the release of “More Than Just A Dream” in 2013, being cooped up with each other on tour had taken its toll.
“The last album was made super fast and in something of a bubble,” Michael Fitzpatrick (Fitz) says in a news release. “This time there was a lot of massive change happening for all of us personally, so once we put our roots back in the ground at home, I needed someone to hold up a mirror and say, ‘Where are you right now, as a human being? What do you care about? What do you want to say to the world?’”
To hold up that mirror, the band turned to outside collaborators for the first time — songwriters and producers Sam Hollander (Panic! At The Disco), Ricky Reed (Twenty One Pilots), Jesse Shatkin (Sia) and Joel Little (Lorde), which gave the band an opportunity to answer some tough questions.
“We relinquished control of ourselves,” Scaggs says, “and that enabled us to tell our story in a completely truthful manner.”
The result was “Fitz and the Tantrums” in 2016 and a deluxe version of the same album in 2017. The album’s music ran the gamut from hip-hop and trap music to world music rhythms.
Hear it all Saturday night, June 2, when Fitz and the Tantrums stop at The Signal for an 8:30 show.
With their lively mix of ’80s New Wave, blue-eyed soul, disco and dance-pop, the band uses celebratory music to break down social barriers and bring people together.
Fitzpatrick says the band’s live show has become its calling card because he and Scaggs sing to the audience “and encourage them to be participants, an actual rhythmical part of the music. That became a huge part of our identity.”
For more information: 423-498-4700.