SONG OF THE DAY
“Breakin’ The Chains Of Love” by Fitz and The Tantrums (Pickin’ Up The Pieces, Dangerbird Records, 2010). Written and composed by Michael Fitzpatrick.
RECOMMENDED BY
My good friend in music and life, Meg, who has the privilege of being able to listen to many quality radio stations from her perch North of Detroit. Lucky lady! I miss the airwaves of Michigan, always feeding me great songs. I know, I know, I have radio Woodstock now. But they keep playing the new Paul Simon single over and over again, and they never played this awesome song! Thank goodness for CBC Radio2! Oh Canada!
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– Fitz & the Tantrums are an American soul group from Los Angeles, California.
– They were founded by Michael Fitzpatrick, who had begun writing soul music for a solo project on an old church organ he had purchased. He added friend James King to the group as an arranger and soon after expanded the band to a seven-piece, including several horns. Fitzpatrick shares the vocal duties with Noelle Scaggs. Other members include Joseph Karnes, Jeremy Ruzumna, and John Wicks.
– The group’s debut EP, Songs for a Breakup: Vol. 1, was released in 2009.
– Dangerbird Records signed the group in 2010 and issued their first full-length album, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, in August of that year.
– The album reached #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
– 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.”
– 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 Stax 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.”
– Pickin’ Up the Pieces is the debut studio album by American soul group Fitz & The Tantrums.
– The group draws inspiration from various musical tastes, among those Motown records and soul music, but instead of recording a “carbon copy” of their influences, the group pushes the music further, incorporating elements of funk and hip hop. Plus, Fitzgerald created a juxtaposition between the angry, biting lyricism of the album with the fun, carefree sound of its music.
– The musicians produced the album at Fitzgerald’s house and recorded in his living room, which Fitzgerald dubbed Dillon Street Studios.
– Michael Fitzpatrick, vocalist, founded the group shortly after a break-up. Having a hard time after the breakup, Fitzgerald came to the conclusion that he needed to release the energy through creativity and get a focus and direction, for the sole purpose of distracting him from the discomfort.
– In late 2008, he received a call from the same ex-girlfriend, who demanded a rigid “no-talking” policy to tell him about a neighbor who needed to unload a church organ for $50. Thanks to some “shady Russian piano movers,” Fitzpatrick had the organ installed in his apartment that night.
– By morning, he had already written “Breakin’ the Chains of Love”. “I immediately knew it was the best song I’d written,” said Fitzpatrick in 2011. “I could astral plane out and hear myself, like, ‘wow!’ Not bad!”
– Fitzgerald knew he wanted a horn section, and he called college friend and saxophonist James King, and the two immediately began working on early versions of the songs.
– Fitzpatrick envisioned a full band, in suits, with a female vocalist. King recommended vocalist Noelle Scaggs. Five phone calls later, the Tantrums were assembled, out of college contacts of Fitzgerald and King.
– They played their first rehearsal a week later, and instantly clicked. “We could have played a show that same night,” recalled Fitzpatrick.
– They performed their first show at Hollywood’s Hotel Café in December 2008, which Fitzgerald booked one week after their first rehearsal. The group recorded their debut EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1, at Fitzpatrick’s home in Los Angeles, which he dubbed Dillon Street Studios.
– Fitzpatrick used his technical skills he honed to engineer the EP himself. Formerly a studio engineer, Fitzgerald spent the bulk of his professional career behind the scenes, working with producer Mickey Petralia, who produced Beck, Ladytron, Flight of the Conchords, and The Dandy Warhols.
– The band began to get constant airplay on Los Angeles public radio station KCRW and had many notable early promoters. “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,” explained Fitzpatrick. “He told Adam, ‘you gotta hear this band.'” A week and a half later, Fitz & The Tantrums were opening for Maroon 5 on their college tour.
– Daryl Hall, of Hall & Oates fame, invited the band to perform on his popular web-series Live from Daryl’s House. “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!'”
– The entire foundation of the band from the start was a do it yourself approach. “Nobody was really giving us the time of day in any shape or form,” recalled Fitzpatrick. “We just hoed our own road, started playing before we even had songs to play, and developed our own fan base organically.” The ethic was running out of steam by the time they became one of the major buzz bands at 2010’s SXSW, where they ran out of money and resources amid congratulations from fans.
– However, their last SXSW gig was a show for Dangerbird Records. The following morning, the label’s president called a meeting. In April 2010, Dangerbird signed the group, who immediately announced the album title, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, and a promise that it would deliver “a burst of effervescent swingers.”
– The band recorded the entire debut in Fitzgerald’s living room, as they couldn’t afford to go into a studio. The band did not soundproof the room, instead desiring to “just go with it,” which produced a sense of familiarity. “It let us have this more family, laid-back approach, and to be able to really take the time to do what we wanted in the way that we wanted,” said Fitzpatrick.
– Fitzgerald has described Motown as “the greatest period of songwriting in music ever,” but used it as a jumping off point. The band’s eclectic musical tastes are reflected in the music of the album, as Fitzgerald is also a fan of Radiohead, The Jam, Talking Heads, The Style Council, & Jeff Buckley. “We wanted to see if we could capture the way those records sounded and at the same time push it forward,” said Fitzgerald.