Tom Tom Club News!!!!!
Genius Of Live’ Will Be Released September 28th; It Will Feature Select Tracks From Tom Tom Club’s Album ‘Live At The Club House’ As Well As A Latin Alternative Remix Tribute To The Timeless Smash Hit “Genius Of Love”
‘Live At The Club House’ Found The Iconic Group Performing At Peak Energy For A Collection Of Friends In Their Home Studio And Traveling Their Catalog From “Genius Of Love” And “Wordy Rappinghood” To Their Signature Covers Of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” And Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing”
“Genius Of Love” Has Been Prominently Sampled Since The Early Days Of Hip Hop, From Grandmaster Flash To Mariah Carey And Tupac Shakur To T.I.; On The New Tom Tom Club Release, ‘Genius Of Live,’ Artists Like Ozomatli, Nortec Collective, Money Mark And The Pinker Tones Tackle The Track
While Tom Tom Club Has Performed From Connecticut To Spain And Japan In The Past Year, They Will Embark On Their First Lengthy U.S. Tour In 10 Years This Fall
UPCOMING ‘GENIUS OF LIVE’ ALBUM RELEASE TOUR
9/21 – StageOne – Fairfield, CT
9/22 – – StageOne – Fairfield, CT
9/23 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
9/24 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
9/25 – Midpoint Music Festival – Cincinnati, OH
9/26 – Exit In – Nashville, TN
9/27 – The Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
9/28 – Metro – Chicago, IL
9/29 – Mickey Finn’s Pub – Toledo, OH
9/30 – Phoenix Theatre – Toronto, ON
10/1 – Cabaret Mile End – Montreal, QC
10/2 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – Burlington, VT
10/3 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
10/8 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
10/9 – The Getty – Los Angeles, CA
10/10 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
10/12 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
Nacional Records is proud to announce the September 28th release of Tom Tom Club’s ‘Genius Of Live.’ The iconic group’s new album will feature select tracks from classic album ‘Live At The Club House’ as well as a remix tribute to the smash hit, “Genius Of Love.” Tom Tom Club will embark on their first lengthy U.S. tour in 10 years this fall.
“It will be a real pleasure for us to see so much of the USA again this fall,” says Tom Tom Club drummer/founder Chris Frantz. “We are all very excited about this tour, to go out and make new friends and reconnect with old friends. The band consists of seven players, is smoking hot and completely live. We don’t use any sequencers or backing tapes at all!”
‘Live At The Club House’ was recorded with the group performing at peak energy for a collection of friends in their Connecticut home studio. It features Tom Tom Club’s effervescent, energetic, and upbeat live show while proving their original fusion of hip hop, reggae, Afrobeat and funk is truly timeless. The album travels the group’s catalog from “Genius Of Love” and “Wordy Rappinghood” to their renowned covers of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” and Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing.” It was recorded shortly after the September 11 tragedy, converting the stress and paranoia of the times into positive energy.
“We have a really exciting band and wanted to record the band for posterity while we were all together,” Chris says. “Who knew if we would still be all together in the future? This was in October immediately following the harrowing events of September 11 and we wanted to do something positive and fun to counteract the sad and confused feeling people were experiencing at the time.”
“Genius Of Love” has been prominently sampled since the early days of hip hop, from Grandmaster Flash to Mariah Carey and Tupac Shakur to T.I. On ‘Genius Of Live,’ Latin alternative artists like Ozomatli, Nortec Collective, Money Mark (Beastie Boys) and The Pinker Tones tackle the track for their own remixes.
“‘Genius Of Love’ is a song that really has taken on a life of its own,” Chris explains. “It is not just about dancing or getting down. It’s about musical salvation; that a life can be saved by funky music. When we were first introduced to Grandmaster Flash, he said, ‘You’re going to hear a lot of people using this track.’ Of course, we had no idea how right he would turn out to be.”
Chris and Tina originally connected with Nacional founder/president Tomas Cookman in a conversation about Cookman’s longtime management client Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. They were approached to produce the legendary Argentine band’s album ‘Rey Azucar.’
“I took one look at the video for ‘Matador’ and before I knew it, I was on a plane to Puerto Rico to meet the Cadillacs,” Chris recalls. “I soon found out that Tomas had been a habitué of CBGB’s and we shared a lot of common. My first thoughts were, ‘How will I communicate with the band if I cannot speak Spanish?’ But, when I met them for the first time and saw what amazing musicians they were, I knew that we would be able to understand each other on a musical level. Producing ‘Rey Azucar’ in the Bahamas was a completely satisfying and successful experience and one that we will always remember with great affection.”
The Tom Tom Club was formed by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth in 1981. Graduates from the Rhode Island School of Design, they moved to New York City where they founded the Talking Heads as a trio with David Byrne in 1975. Chris played drums, Tina played bass and David sang and played guitar. In early 1981, the Talking Heads took a hiatus after five years of touring internationally and four studio albums. Chris and Tina began the Tom Tom Club and signed with Chris Blackwell and Island Records.
When legendary reggae producer Lee “Scratch” Perry failed to show up for the scheduled recording sessions in the Bahamas, Blackwell allowed Chris and Tina to produce the album themselves with Jamaican engineer Steven Stanley. The Tom Tom Club’s first single was “Wordy Rappinghood,” an unusually original mix of schoolyard rap over a funky groove that went into the top of the charts in 17 countries. “Wordy Rappinghood” turned out to be seminal in bringing mainstream attention to the new spirit of hip-hop.
The group’s second single was the remarkable “Genius of Love.” Released in the UK before North America, the track was bubbling up in the underground with dozens of unsolicited remixes and versions–most notably, Grandmaster Flash’s “It’s Nasty/Genius of Love” in 1982—a massive hit in the clubs and on the R&B and dance charts, soon earning the Tom Tom Club debut a Gold sales award. In 1995, Mariah Carey hit #1 with “Fantasy,” her version of “Genius of Love” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard rapping over the original instrumental track. “Genius of Love” continues to be frequently sampled by various artists, from Tupac Shakur to most recently, T.I. feat. Fergie and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
Beginning their artistic careers as painters, Chris and Tina often tell stories about originally planning to pursue music for a couple years. But it’s become a lifelong pursuit. “Painting is a beautiful medium, it’s something that you can do until the day you die,” Chris says. “Still, once you’ve rocked the house with Tom Tom Club, there really is nothing quite as satisfying. Without exaggeration we can say that we truly love this band.”
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