Arts & Entertainment
The Beat Of The Tom Toms
Chris Frantz And Tina Weymouth Bring The Funk To Fairfield
If you're a music lover, you've probably had the chance to experience brainy lyrics and brawny music. But rarely at the same time. Troubling, right? It's cool. The Tom Tom Club has your back. They'll be bringing their genius for funky rhythms, kooky, thought-provoking words and the best party atmosphere this side of George Clinton, when they rock the Fairfield Theatre Company on Sept. 21 and 22.
According to drummer Chris Frantz, this gig and tour will also right a record-release wrong.
"We recorded a live album in October 2001, not long after the horrible events in September," Frantz said recently. "We thought it would be a good way to do something positive and fun and might help counteract the sadness and confusion after 9/11."
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This record, originally called "Live At The Club House," was bobbled at release time by the group's last label. So much so, that Frantz claimed, "Hardly anyone knew it had come out. Hopefully, we can fix that this time around."
That's right, America. You're about to get that rarest of commodities: The second chance. Timed to coincide with their first real tour in over a decade, The Tom Tom Club is re-releasing said album, now pithily titled "Genius Of Live," on Sept. 28. It will not only feature those kickin' live tracks, but the best early Christmas present you've ever gotten: A series of remixes of TTC's classic, "Genius Of Love," done by a shimmering constellation of Hip Hop stars. Folks like Money Mark, Senor Cocoanut and The Mexican Institute Of Sound. The last one so exciting, you'll wonder if it's an actual school and if you can possibly matriculate there.
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"We've really been lucky this time around," said Frantz. "This new label, Nacional Records, approached us and asked if we wanted to put the record out again. We said, absolutely! It got so little attention the first time, it's really like a brand new thing."
All of us who are familiar with the work of Frantz and Weymouth, the premiere rhythm section of our time, know that luck probably had something to do with it. But really, this was all meant to be.
From their first incarnation, as the folks who anchored the legendary Talking Heads (they're the ones flanking the zany guy in the glasses and the big suit), to the present day, it's hard to imagine our musical lives without them. Since the moment this funky drummer and elastic bassist strode sinuously onto the '77 music scene, we've scarcely stopped shaking our collective booties. Sure, David Byrne provided the barely-controlled hysteria and anomie of an everyman who can't cope with marriage, home ownership, pets, air, memories and travel. But Weymouth, Frantz and Jerry Harrison anchored all this eloquently-articulated angst in earthy rhythms, which pulled from sources as diverse as Al Green and The 1910 Fruitgum Company.
Now, with The Heads no more, we get to fully enjoy our membership in The Club, whose slightly-cracked party records have produced more than their share of good times. Like the endlessly-sampled "Genius Of Love" song, one of the key strands in the DNA of Hip Hop.
According to Frantz, it's an open-minded aesthetic that powered both The Heads and TTC and attracted all these MCs and producers in the first place.
"A lot of up-and-coming rappers and deejays sampled our stuff, because they could hear we loved the new technology. That includes someone like Senor Cocoanut, who's one of the remixers on the new record. He is a German artist, who relocated to Chile and who once re-mixed Kraftwerk's music and added Latin percussion. We have a kinship with guys like that. I think I'm one of the first people to use the (synth-like) Linn Drums. Tina and I have never shied away from these cross-cultural and technological ideas."
He also credited his and Weymouth's producing jobs (which include Ziggy Marley), with inspiring new sounds and collaborations. In particular, citing Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, a rock/hip hop ensemble from Buenos Aires, for turning him on to these exciting 21st-century musical partnerships.
Clearly, this open approach has filtered down to the next generation. One of Frantz and Weymouth's two sons (who goes by the nom de disque "Kid Ginseng"), will be joining the band for various dates, sampling and scratching. Musically speaking.
Ms. Weymouth, who despite her modest height is one of rock's towering bass players, then chimed in about this tour, the state of the world and her band's place in it.
"I love the idea of seeing our fans again, but I worry about the effect that all our travel has on the planet," said Ms. Weymouth. "It's a big deal to take a band around and to know how much fuel it uses. Plus, for some of our dates, our fans have to drive to some of the places, because they're not centrally located. I'm concerned about the ecological footprint we're leaving, to promote this record."
Weymouth goes on to praise countries like France for their bike-friendly lifestyle and says the U.S. could take a page or two, environmentally, from most European countries.
Still, she's really excited about doing "The first real Tom Tom Club tour since about 1999."
"There's nothing like playing with this band. I play guitar on my own, at the house, but I don't even touch the bass, unless we're rehearsing. That must mean something. That we're a great live band and I hope everybody comes and reminds themselves of that. Who knows when it will happen again? Hey, we've been at this for 30 years. We don't know how many more tours we have left in us!"
INFO: The Tom Tom Club will be at The Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford St., on Sept. 21 and 22. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $42; members save $10 per ticket. For info, call 203-259-1036. The Tom Tom Club's new album "Genius Of Live," featuring favorite tracks and a bonus disc of remixes of "Genius Of Love" will be available on Sept. 28. Go to www.tomtomclub.net for info.
