Tim Fite Recent News

Man Man's "You Are My Manifest Destiny" Tour Commences

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:09:00 -0700

Man Man's "You Are My Manifest Destiny" Tour Commences with Dates at San Diego Street Scene and Austin City Limits

Famed Live Performers Tap Equally Acclaimed Labelmate Tim Fite to Support Select Dates

After a recent show-stopping performance at Seattle's Bumbershoot music festival, Man Man are set to resume their merry-making in Los Angeles on September 19th. Non-stop touring in support of their Anti- Records debut Rabbit Habits has seen Man Man crisscrossing the US, sleeping on floors in Europe and winning fans at each show. The legend of the Man Man live experience - which includes a whirlwind of songs that flow seamlessly from one to the other amidst a jumble of swapped instruments and found objects - grows exponentially as ardent fans, clad, Man Man-style (mustached, real or fake, war painted and in all-white), carry the message out into the world.

- "Everyone writhes, wiggles, and shakes their way through each track, and, needless to say, the end result is always a f**ked up dance party. This band is sheer kinetic energy, and it's hard not to get caught right up in the middle of it all." The Portland Mercury

- "When I personally witnessed the white clad, white-painted members of Man Man pounding their drums and romping around the stage, playing that freaky sideshow music while everyone in the audience rocked out, I had an epiphany. This band really is all that and a bag of chips: you just have to see them in person to know it (mea culpa, mea culpa!)." Seattle Weekly

- "Man Man seem to take a manic glee in experimentation, in stringing together and piling on sounds, everything from beautifully boozy horns to incoming-fireworks crackles to almost sorta normal angular guitars." The Oregonian

In October, Man Man will be joined by musician and labelmate Tim Fite, an equally acclaimed live performer who utilizes a laptop, drawings, handmade boomboxes and his brother, Dr. Leisure, to get his point across on stage. The Washington Post writes "Fite's circus-like sound collages yield pleasure as well as surprise," while Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribune warns "there's a storm coming, alright, and Fite is sounding the alarm on Fair Ain't Fair, one of those albums that defies anyone to categorize or ignore it." Bookending his run with Man Man, Fite will be playing the Hideout Block Party in Chicago on Sept 21 and the Fun Fun Fun festival in Austin in November.

Man Man "You Are My Manifest Destiny" Tour:
09.19.08 - Echoplex, Los Angeles CA
09.20.08 - Street Scene, San Diego CA
09.25.08 - 40 Watt Club, Athens GA (w/Benji Hughes)
09.27.08 - Austin City Limits Festival, Austin TX
09.27.08 - Emo's, Austin TX (w/Okkerville River)
09.29.08 - Hi Tone, Memphis TN (w/ the Broken West)
10.10.08 - Webster Hall, New York NY (w/Titus Andronicus)
10.18.08 - Bottom Lounge, Chicago IL

with special guest Tim Fite
10.11.08 - Pearl Street Ballroom, North Hampton, MA
10.12.08 - Heirloom Arts Theatre, Danbury CT
10.14.08 - Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights OH
10.15.08 - The Crofoot, Pontiac MI
10.16.08 - Canopy Club, Urbana IL
10.17.08 - Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee WI
10.19.08 - The Picador, Iowa City IA
10.20.08 - The Bluebird, St. Louis MO
10.22.08 - Mercy Lounge, Nashville TN
10.23.08 - Thirsty Hippo, Hattiesburg MS
10.24.08 - Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans LA
10.25.08 - Club Downunder - Florida State, Tallahassee FL
10.26.08 - The Social, Orlando FL
10.27.08 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville FL
10.28.08 - Headliners, Columbia SC
10.29.08 - Visulite Theatre, Charlotte NC
10.30.08 - The National, Richmond VA

TIM FITE TO HOST CURRENT TV'S DAILY FIX MONDAY JULY 21

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:07:00 -0700

Iconic Musician Flooring Critics and Winning Fans with Engaging Live Shows

Musician/artist Tim Fite is currently on tour with the Watson Twins, and to keep himself occupied in between programming multi-media backdrops into his Mac and shopping for vintage trousers, the Brooklynite has taken on a number of hosting jobs. The first occurred when the tour passed through NYC, where Fite treated writers and bloggers to a "Monster vs Pizza" themed pizza party, and clay creations battled for dominance. The second will air on Monday, July 21, as Fite takes to the airwaves to host Current TV’s "Daily Fix." Current TV is the world’s leading peer-to-peer news and information network, seen in 51 million homes in the US and UK. Check local listings for showtimes.

Fite has been touring non-stop in support of his latest release Fair Ain’t Fair, which "confirms that this enigmatic, genre-bending songwriter is one of rock ‘n roll’s most subversive renaissance men," according to Esquire magazine. In his quest, Fite has shared the road with everyone from Les Claypool to Adam Green, and his latest odyssey with the Watson Twins has been receiving enthusiastic reviews:

• "Tim Fite’s set has always been magical, capturing a semi-childlike spirit with his strange stories and fun activities." --CMJ.com
• "Tim Fite's new songs, as well as his storybook riddles, are always worth the price of admission." -- Spin.com
• "The way he threw himself bodily into his performance demanded that attention be paid." –Washington Post
• "[Tim Fite] is equally phenomenal live as he is recorded, and that certainly is saying something, considering Fite’s most recent effort, Fair Ain’t Fair, is an album I still tell everyone I know to check out…Tim Fite is more than a musician, he is an entertainer."
–Consequence of Sound

The Tim Fite/Watson Twins tour continues through the end of July, and on August 7th, Fite will join Nada Surf for a special performance at the 2008 Twilight Concert Series in Salt Lake City.

Mon July 21 Denver, CO Hi Dive
Tue July 22 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Thu July 24 Vancouver, BC Richards on Richards
Fri July 25 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
Sat July 26 Portland, OR Doug Fir
Mon July 28 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Tue July 29 Los Angeles, CA Echo
Thurs Aug 7 Salt Lake City, UT Twilight Concert Series

OUT TODAY: Tim Fite and Ersi Arvizu

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:05:00 -0700

Tim Fite Fair Ain't Fair - Tim Fite is a busy man. His new record comes out today and he leaves on tour with Adam Green on Saturday. And he's making appearances, getting reviews and all sorts of stuff:

"It's bluesy, it's folksy and it's funky at times, but it's a record that just makes you want to smile," says Esquire magazine music critic Andy Langer on NPR's Bryant Park Project. Click here to listen to the rest of the review.

See Tim and Dr Leisure being interviewed on the IFC's music program "The Independent Ear"

Ersi Arvizu Friend For Life - True life tales from a true child of the barrio. Produced by Ry Cooder. The LA Weekly did a piece where John Payne writes "There is a kind of sound that delivers you back to a place and time that you loved - or that you imagine you would have loved if given the opportunity. Ersi Arvizu's new Friend for Life is just such an experience."

Tim Fite in Daytrotter Sessions

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:05:00 -0700

He Who Puts The Cream In The Calf

Words by Sean Moeller // Illustration by Johnnie Cluney // Sound engineering by Brad Kopplin

The truly healthy and happy person is one who can witness - even play victim to the many carcinogens and ruinous offerings that get tossed out and in front of them like glossy beach balls or nervous squirrels getting from one tree to another collecting nuts - while still permitting themselves to stop and smell the flowers. They don’t have to be roses, because that’s getting picky, that’s getting greedy, just any flower, any sprig of colorful beauty amidst the damaged, scratch and dent sale that most of everything’s become will work fine for the noses... [Story Continues at Daytrotter.com. Click Here.]

Free MP3: Tim Fite, "Yesterday's Garden" at SPIN.com

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700

From an imaginative storybook fairytale about Beans, to an acoustic ditty describing "a wife taking man," Tim Fite's artistic mind has interpreted a smorgasbord of topics, and "Yesterday's Garden," a tune off his forthcoming record Fair Ain't Fair (out May 6 via Anti-), locates a happy medium in his assorted oeuvre with a humorous, confessional recollection of an automobile mishap.

"I guess you know that yesterday / I ran your garden over girl," Fite tunefully admits as jolly ivories pluck in the background, and gleeful backing vocals of "yesterday" collide against yodelayeehhheees, ironically punctuating his destructive blunder. Stuttered by the occasional instrumental high jinks, Fite's silly and topical "Yesterday's Garden" merrily balances with equal parts production gloss and eclecticism -- despite the destroyed flower patch. -SPIN.COM

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD "Yesterday's Garden"

Check out Time Fite's "Yum Yum" video promo!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700

You may have seen his original performance at SXSW or caught his track “Big Mistake” on Stereogum, but here is another chance to enjoy some of Tim Fite’s originality. Check out the first of many videos in support of the 5.6.08 release, Fair Ain't Fair.

Click here to watch it.

ANTI at South By Southwest

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:03:00 -0700

Check out the following live performances captured at our SXSW showcase.

Billy Bragg - I Keep Faith

DeVotchKa - Along the Way

The Weakerthans - Night Windows

Man Man - Doo Right

Tim Fite - More Clothes

Islands - The Arm

TIM FITE TO RELEASE FAIR AIN'T FAIR MAY 6TH

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:02:00 -0800

The Inimitable Fite's First Commercial Release in 2+ Years Proceeded by U.S Tour with Primus Vet Les Claypool

Tim Fite, the genre-bending craftsman called a "cultural gadfly" by the New York Times, has announced the release of the follow-up to his 2005 album Gone Ain't Gone. The Brooklyn-based Fite put out several web-only, critically acclaimed releases in 2007, but Fair Ain't Fair is his first studio recording since his heralded Anti- Records debut.

Anyone familiar with Fite's work knows that the term "studio recording" is used in the loosest sense of the word. He famously mines long-forgotten records for useful scraps of music, which he then forges into his own tunes, often rendering them indistinguishable from, and unrelated to, their former selves. Fair Ain't Fair again sees a large amount of musical chop-shopping, but the samples are utilized in a more restrained, mature way. An example: Fite recorded violist Marla Hansen (of Sufjan Stevens' Illinoisemakers and My Brightest Diamond), and from that, created a sweetly discordant loop on which to anchor his sharp, self-effacing lyrics. Fair Ain't Fair also finds Fite expanding on the use of his voice, layering track upon track to create a Pet Sounds-esque vocal performance. Still, each was painstakingly recorded in his bedroom.

Fair Ain't Fair is a natural progression of Fite's earlier work, but feels much more expansive. The topics of greed and consumerism so wittily expounded upon on his self-released Over the Counter Culture are in there, but surrounded by catchy pop (yes, pop!) songs and sweet two minute modern hymns, they seem less vitriolic, more forgivably human.

Fite also recently announced a three week tour with fellow nonconformist Les Claypool. The Fite/Claypool tour kicks off on March 18th in Denver, CO. In preparation, Tim Fite will be playing a number of shows at the famed South By Southwest Music festival, including the Anti Records showcase on March 13th at Cedar Street Courtyard with labelmates Devotchka, Man Man and Billy Bragg, among others.

Tim Fite tour dates:

Mar-12 to Mar-16 - Austin TX - SXSW
Mar-18 - Denver CO - Ogden Theatre
Mar-20 - Minneapolis MN - First Avenue
Mar-21 - Milwaukee WI - Eagles Club
Mar-22 - Chicago IL - Vic Theatre
Mar-25 - Tulsa OK - Cain's Ballroom
Mar-27 - Dallas TX - House of Blues
Mar-28 - Houston TX - Warehouse Live
Mar-29 - Austin TX - Stubb's BBQ
Apr-01 - Tuscon AZ - Rialto Theater
Apr-02 - San Diego CA - House of Blues
Apr-04 - Los Angeles CA - The Wiltern
Apr-05 - San Francisco CA - The Warfield

OVER THE COUNTER CULTURE - ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS OF 2007 IS NOT AVAILABLE IN A STORE NEAR YOU

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0800

TIM FITE'S FREE LP TOPS MANY CRITICS "BEST OF" LISTS

Tim Fite, the critically acclaimed Anti recording artist and maverick multi-genrist, released Over the Counter Culture in early 2007, and made it available for free, exclusively on his website (www.timfite.com). A scathing topical diatribe against consumerism, greed and the lows of commercial hip hop, the record went on to score a number of coveted spots in several pre-eminent critics' Top 10 lists for 2007.

Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times awarded Over the Counter Culture the number one spot in his year end wrap up, writing "Fite comes off as a folksy activist masquerading as a hip-hop artist, and delivered the working man's reaction to an increasingly confusing political and cultural climate."

Over at the Chicago Sun Times, Jim DeRogatis put the record at number three, observing "Fite has been a novelty rapper and a postmodern, Beck-like acoustic bluesman. Here, he combined both approaches for a searing indictment of rampant consumerism, charging that the result of our fascination with bling has been a nation blindly led to war."

The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot placed the record at number seven, saying "A critique and celebration of hip-hop packed with crackling beats, outrageous humor and rage. Best of all, it's free."

Eric R Danton at the Hartford Courant put the record at number eight, enthusing "on his scathing, wickedly funny indictment of unthinking consumerism and vacuous pop culture, Brooklyn rapper Tim Fite laces his rhymes with slashing beats and an eclectic jumble of guitars, keyboards and bass. He outdoes himself on "I've Been Shot" when he touts (with tongue in cheek) the career-enhancing benefits of taking a bullet or two. "Not every rapper does it," he observes. "But every rapper should.'"

Additionally, Dan DeLuca at the Philadelphia Inquirer included Over the Counter Culture in his year-end wrap up on digital-only, free and alternative-method releases.

Fans hoping to hear new material from Fite's highly anticipated new record may be in for a treat as he kicks off the new year with a show at Joe's Pub in NYC on Jan 19. Over the next few months Fite will spend time in the studio, finalizing the recording of the follow-up to his last commercial release and Anti- Records debut, Gone Ain't Gone. The yet-untitled record is slated for a late Spring 2008 release.

ANTI- To Present One-Of-A-Kind Hootenanny at SXSW

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:03:00 -0800

March 18 at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX

Collaborative performance featuring Billy Bragg, Jolie Holland, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Joe Henry , Tim Fite plus special guests

This year at SXSW Anti- Records is presenting its first Hootenanny, a one-of-a-kind collaborative performance by a diverse group of artists, trading off songs and verses in the true spirit of musical community. The Hootenanny will take place on Saturday, March 18 at 12midnight at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX.

Billy Bragg�s proactive brand of populist post punk, pop and folk has been engaging us since the 80s and today he is more inspiring than ever. His appearance at the Hootenanny as well as his other SXSW shows are part of a rare US tour and a break from his recent involvement in UK politics, but anyone who has seen him knows he is not to be missed.

Ramblin Jack Elliott, who is preparing to release his Anti- debut �I Stand Alone� is certainly no stranger to this kind of show, having shared stages with everyone from Woody Guthrie to Ralph Stanley to Bob Dylan in the course of his remarkable career.

Jolie Holland who�s haunting yet jubilant blend of folk, jazz and pop has won many-a-heart in these last couple of years will also be performing. She will be in town in preparation for her upcoming album �Springtime Can Kill You�, due out on Anti- this spring.. Jolie, who has always been at home in this type of environment, has been part of some really interesting collaborations lately, notably, sitting in w/ rapper Sage Francis on a recent LA gig and harmonizing with Bad Religion singer, Greg Graffin on his upcoming solo album.

Joe Henry is the consummate musical Renaissance man. From his acclaimed solo albums, to his vivid songwriting to his recent emergence as producer of soul legends like Solomon Burke and Bettye Lavette, Henry always surprises and never disappoints. He embraces, Rock, R&B, Country and Jazz seamlessly which makes him perfect for this kind of ensemble.

Tim Fite is a true original. Raised on hip hop, but in his early 20s his discovery of Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie changed his life. He is a one-man mash up of folk, rap, spoken word and really catchy songs that delights everyone who sees him. His debut album, �Gone Ain�t Gone� just came out this fall and it has been receiving raves around the world.

The idea is that each of the artists will be featured on a couple of their own tunes backed at times by the other artists on the stage. There will also be more collaborative performances of songs that everyone knows. In addition to these great artists, we are also expecting some special guests to drop by. We are talking to folks from across the musical spectrum, so we are hoping for some really crazy surprises.