Don't let the name fool you: Few bands brighten a bad mood like Fitz and the Tantrums. The LA-based neo-soul group's sophomore release, "More Than Just a Dream," has already spawned hit singles "The Walker" and "Out of My League." Now the band is spreading the sunshine on its summer and fall tour. I chatted with lead vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick (aka Fitz) about how music uplifts him, musical influences and inspirations, and his favorite programs while on the road. Fitz and the Tantrums always brings the party. Your music is so celebratory. What can fans coming to the current tour expect to see and hear? We try to bring the dance party always. Our shows are high energy from learn to finish. We always try to make the audience another member of the show with call-and-response. What we have found through the years is that sometimes people need to be given permission to let loose and go crazy and not worry what they look like or be too cool for school. We're playing songs from our first record and a lot of the new album as well, and it's pretty awesome to see the reception we've been getting for the new record. You've already opened for some pretty big-name artists. Of all the artists that you've toured with thus far, which have you felt the most kinship with? Last summer we got to tour with Bruno Mars, and that was incredible. He and his band are so bloody talented. Bruno Mars is a superstar, and when you see him perform live, you know he deserves all the success that he has. It was great to see him do his thing every full night and kill it every night. Your music is so fun. Is that reflective of your day-to-day mood? I would like to think so, on my best days. That's also the power of music, that it could lift you from whatever state of mind you are in up. That's why it's always interesting to see people's comments and tweets and responses. Someone said the other day, "When I'm in a bad mood, I put on a Fitz and the Tantrums record, and I feel better." As musicians, that's what performing is all about. It doesn't matter what sort of day you've had or how tired you are from touring, music is what elevates us and transports us. Which artists do you listen to when you need your mood elevated? So much of my life is on the road, so it's often sitting at the window of a plane, train, or car, looking at the landscape of a new environment, which always puts me in a reflective mood. For those occasions I have a go-to song always, which is Fleet Foxes' "Mykonos." That song is my pensive, transporting Traveling Wilburys song. Then I love Foster the People's first record. That's always a go-to for me if I want to have a good time and escape for a little bit. So much of my day is performing music, so whether or not we're not at the shows, we're at a radio station performing or at a website performing, so I try to give my mind and my ears a break from music. So I also enjoy some quiet non-music and time, because that balances out for me and lets me create enough space to then do it again in an hour. You've described the guitar as an overplayed instrument that you're tired of hearing. It's always felt like it's the main instrument of all bands, like it would be a great challenge to create a big, relevant sound without guitars as the primary focus. On the first record we had no guitars, and on the new record a guitar was had by us on one song. So at first it was just a challenge, and then it created a really interesting instrumentation for us -- a really nice pocket for the vocals to fit in, and then we could give attention to what the rhythm track was doing. We've just continued that, and it's become our modus operandi. We don't even think about it anymore. It's the natural way we do things. Motown and Stax are big influences for you clearly, but which artists specifically? Anybody from Aretha to Otis Redding to Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye. What I love about that whole period is that there's such an emphasis on these incredible melodies and vocals. Featured Freeware: WebMynd. We've never tried to be a copycat band. We just tried to use that as a real point of inspiration and make a huge step forward while keeping that inspiration somewhere in there and trying to put our own spin on what the word "soul" can mean moving forward. More Than a Dream will lift your spirits with soul Just. With your album "More Than Just a Dream" in mind, are you a dreamer? I didn't use to be, but in the last few years I've been able to recall my dreams much more. Sometimes I have anxiety dreams, but usually they're just fantastical and trying to figure out what it all meant. Dreams are an interesting thing. When a dream is had by you, it can set the tone for the rest of your day. So it can be a blessing or curse sometimes, depending on where the journey took you. Going back, what inspired the track "Breakin' the Chains of Love" off your debut album, "Pickin' Up the Pieces"? That was literally the first song that was ever written. It was a breakup song that was written to be cathartic, and as soon as it was written by me, I knew there was something special about that song. I was having an out-of-body experience and saying that this was maybe among the best songs I've ever written, and it really set the compass for what the rest of the record was going to be. It was the brief moment I was able to find my voice as a singer, and it all spun out from there really. You wrote a song called "Dear Mr. President." If you were writing a letter to the president today, what would you say? When we were writing that, it was written right as the economy was collapsing, and it was a nudge for him to do better. Our letter today would be, "You're on your last term as president, so don't hold back and really go for it with all the things you wanna achieve. I'll take intelligence over ignorance any day. I think he's one of the most thoughtful people, and I wish he wasn't such a consensus builder and would try and get the things he believes in done. What are the top five mobile software that you'll be using on the road this summer? Google Maps, because I'm touring, so I'm always looking for where the hell I am and buying coffee shop in the town. I use Echofon for Twitter. Instagram, because our fans want to be linked with us on a deeper level beyond the music. For us to post photos and do all that is a really important way for us to stay connected. The Huffington Post, to keep abreast of what's happening in the world, because on the road it can be this crazy bubble, where you keep your head down and check out from the rest of the world. I'm obsessed with real estate, so I'm always looking at Zillow to see what new houses are coming on the market. I'm in the market to find my dream home, but I don't know when that's going to happen. My lady and I love driving around neighborhoods, looking at houses. She is a Pinterest freak, so we're always looking at design for the house. We're always drooling over the house that's too expensive.
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