DeFY. New York Interview With Noelle Scaggs Of Fitz & The Tantrums

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I recently interviewed Noelle Scaggs of Fitz & The Tantrums hope you guys enjoy.

For those of you that don't know who Noelle Scaggs or Fitz & The Tantrums is check out their track money grabber below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3WRXYYBwRA

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW

Founded by Michael Fitzpatrick in 2008, Fitz & The Tantrums have been riding a rocket to superstardom. A $50.00 vintage ? , 6 uber talented musicians and a chance to open for Maroon 5 have led to appearances on Conan, Jimmy Kimmel and the Tonight Show as well as a tour that includes 19 upcoming concerts.

Most recently, lead singers of Fitz & The Tantrums, Fitz and Noelle, and drummer John Wicks formed like Voltron with California staple American Rag, to celebrate style and music with the release of the holiday issue of RAGGED MAG (a magazine published quarterly by FILTER Magazine and powered by American Rag clothing that features full-length articles and photo spreads of today’s hottest artists). The Fitz crew hosted the release party where music notables, fashionistas, and socials alike partied at downtown hotspot the Jane Hotel (yes, the same spot mentioned frequently in How To Make It In America) sipping cocktails, posing for branded Polaroids, and getting “inked” with airbrush tattoos all while previewing the Holiday 2011 American Rag collection.

DeFY. was able to catch up with Noelle Scaggs to talk all things Fitz

What’s up Noelle? I appreciate you taking time out of your hectic schedule to chat it up with DeFY. New York.



DeFY: With all you’ve got going on (I’m exhausted just reading about your schedule this past year), how do you guys stay focused mentally and maintain that great energy for all your performances?

NS: Lots of Caffeine for the Guys and lots of Fruit Smoothies for me



DeFY: How did Fitz & The Tantrums come about?

NS: As you know Fitz came into possession of a vintage Conn ? when his X girl called him up to tell him it was available. He later wrote the first song on our EP called, Breakin The Chains of Love. He Reconnected with our Sax player James King who helped him finish the rest of the tunes on that EP and they thought it would be great to put together a show. I received a text from James saying that his friend would be calling me up about singing with them for the show, I later spoke to Fitz over the phone and a couple weeks later after listening to the tunes told him that I would do it. We had one rehearsal the day before the gig and it was magic. We all sort of knew each other around the LA music Scene and it just Gelled. Bada Boom Bada Bing we have been together for close to 3 years.



DeFY: What about the name? We get the Fitz part, but how about the Tantrums?

NS: It was something that ended up being a toss in the hat situation. Fitz wanted to come up with a name that kept the integrity of the inspirations that were coming through the music. Being that his last name is Fitzpatrick, Fitz made sense and the Tantrums came about through a friend that had seen us perform, she thought the energy was like having a tantrum in stage. It clicked so we became Fitz And The Tantrums.



DeFY: What artists inspire your music?

NS: We are inspired by the music we all grew up listening to, the music of the 60s Motown Sax period, the 80′s British invasion etc. we just wanted to put a modern spin on it. Definitely not a revival band you hear the influences but we didn’t want to be a pastiche; we shot for making our own thing within these inspirations. Luckily playing together so early in the process made this easier to accomplish.



DeFY: I’ve read that you guys started recording in Fitz’s living room due to lack of funds, resources etc. A lot of artists today are facing the same situation or worse. What advice can you give to struggling artists/bands that are trying to balance their music career with paying the bills?

NS: First thing I would say is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a record. Technology has made it easier and cheaper for us struggling artists. Nowadays all u need is a computer, a good software program with a great library of sounds, a midi keyboard and the talent and drive to make it happen. Everything else will fall into place. My first studio cost me $300 total.



DeFY: Has there ever been a point where you guys were discouraged? If so what kept you going?

NS: It started to become a tough thing for us all financially to really keep things moving the way we needed to. We were getting these amazing offers that we couldn’t pass up on (like the Maroon 5 tour for instance) and Fitz was backing the project with his own money. Our last try before we were going to reassess, was when we played that 1st year at SXSW. Had we decided not to do it we wouldn’t be here right now. Our fans really keep us going as well. They are as big a part of our success as our management team and our work ethic.



DeFY: I came across an interview of you and Fitz at the IFC Cross Roads House in Austin Texas where Fitz stated he wanted hip-hop artists to sample the band’s music. Are there any artists in particular that you had in mind when you made that statement?

NS: I am a big fan of the Dilated People’s Crew, they are all fans of the band, Evidence is a good friend of mine I may be able to harass him enough to use one of our songs in his beats lol



DeFY: Are there any artists or bands from any other genres of music that you would like to work with as well?

NS: Would love to work with Thom York and Bjork.



DeFY: I know your schedule is hectic right now (filled with performances rehearsals, and interviews) but when you finally have free time, how would you like to spend it?

NS: In Bed.