HotStar: Fitz And The Tantrums

It may seem like Fitz And The Tantrums came out of nowhere to fill venues big and small in the last three years but, as industry blogger Bob Lefsetz described the band in his “Lefsetz Letter,” the band has been “hiding in plain sight, waiting to break through.”

That’s what singers Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs, saxophonist James King, bassist Joseph Karnes, keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna and drummer John Wicks have accomplished through a DIY approach to crafting live shows, meeting fans face-to-face or staying in touch through Facebook, Twitter and other social media to keep the buzz growing.

Lefsetz admitted when he first heard Fitz And The Tantrums on Sirius XM, he didn’t “get it.” But the band’s live show, which he described as “a cross between those bands playing in the basement in ‘Quadrophenia,’ ABC, the Average White Band and 60s soul music,” was the slam-dunk.

Fitz himself acknowledged that Lefsetz got it when he said, in a thank-you response for acknowledging the band, “Everyone can steal your music but they can’t steal your live show.”

That’s also what grabbed Iminmusic’s Lisa Nupoff and Brian Klein, the band’s co-managers.

Nupoff said she’d known Fitz for a number of years when he approached her with the EP, Songs for a Breakup Vol.1. She and Klein saw the potential in both the music and the band’s live show.

“Brian and I were floored by the energy, the songs and the chemistry between them,” Nupoff told Pollstar. “We knew there was something special happening on stage and thought we could help expose it to the world.”

Since then, tour slots with Maroon 5, Flogging Molly and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings further upped Fitz & The Tantrums’ profile.

The band is currently headlining in the U.S. through late April, then heads to Europe for a few dates in May before returning to the U.S. for dates through July.