Fitz and The Tantrums has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel and Late Night with Seth Meyers – and that’s just in the past two months.
However, bassist Joe Karnes said he knows the “80s soul-pop” group’s rise to fame has not been an overnight success.
“It’s been a good five and a half years of solid work,” Karnes said in a phone interview with The Daily Beacon. “We often feel like we’re the tortoise of the race. We’re slow and steady and we just climb bit by bit.”
This slow climb will lead them to headline this year’s Volapalooza, UT’s annual end-of-the-year concert, on Friday at Thompson Boling-Arena. Other performers include Nashville’s The Delta Saints and Knoxville natives The Dirty Guv’nahs and Crab Apple Lane.
Fitz and The Tantrums was founded by Michael Fitzpatrick in 2009, and Karnes joined the band officially in 2010 after subbing in for the original bassist for about six months. Two records later, Karnes said the journey from indie band to a major label has been “a dream come true.”
It has also come with more opportunities, like performing on Ellen DeGeneres’ (who Karnes says is “incredibly sweet”) birthday show after the band’s latest single, “The Walker,” was featured on a promotional ad for DeGeneres’ hosting of the Oscars.
Now, Fitz and The Tantrums is gearing up for a summer tour while continuing to work on new music. For Karnes, this preparation includes “taking lots of spin classes.”
“Everyone has their own regime,” he said. “If you haven’t been doing a show for a while, it’s a very physical show that we do. So, a little bit of training helps just to kind of make sure that you’re starting the first show at the level you’re going to have to get to in a couple weeks when you’ve really come into your own as far as the pacing of the set.”
This live show is one the Tantrums are extremely proud of, and it is one that Karnes calls “personal and visceral.” He said he can’t wait to bring it to UT’s college-age audience.
“We all just love university crowds, and this sounds like it’s gonna be so much fun,” he said. “It’s always a good time when someone actually wants us to come and play. I’d like to tell everyone to be ready to participate and bring your dancing shoes.
“This isn’t the kind of show that you’re supposed to sit down and observe respectfully.”
Though Karnes has previously done work with side projects from Pedestrian and Hanson, he said every member of the band has had to prioritize Fitz above everything else.
“We definitely have to be fully committed,” Karnes said. “I’ll do occasional sessions when I can and try to write with other bands when we can do it. But we’re really so full-on with this thing and things come up at the drop of a hat, opportunities that we have to take advantage of.
“Unfortunately, some of that other stuff has to go on the backburner, and we are trying to find the balance of that even right now.”
From a band that made fans one at a time during live shows to touring nationally and internationally, Karnes said the best part is still that personal audience connection.
“The smiles on everyone’s faces; that moment and that connection,” Karnes said. “The audience is the seventh member of our band. We’re very proud of our show, but it can only get to a certain point by ourselves.
“But when we have an amazing crowd and we’re both feeding off each other’s energy back and forth, you get something really cool that can happen.”
