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Ex-Talking Heads Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz have made their groove-driven "other'' band, Tom Tom Club, an influential force in music.
By GINA VIVINETTO
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 27, 2001
It's interesting how an obscure band such as the Tom Tom Club has connections to so many current events in pop culture. But consider that Tom Tom Club's rhythm section is former Talking Heads Tina Weymouth on bass and her husband, Chris Frantz, on drums.
The duo, each of whom is 50, has been in the business for nearly 30 years. Early on it gave props to James Brown in song. Their love of reggae has found Weymouth and Frantz producing albums for Ziggy Marley. High Times magazine recently nominated Tom Tom's The Good the Bad and the Funky for best reggae album.
And there are the legendary legal battles with former Talking Head czar David Byrne.
Even troubled chanteuse Mariah Carey figures into the Tom Tom radar. In 1995 Carey scored a huge hit with Fantasy, due in large part to its clever sample of Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love.
Frantz and Weymouth, who studied with Byrne at Rhode Island School of Design, got their musical start in New York. That's where Talking Heads made its initial splash in the late 1970s, performing at CBGB and other clubs with other arty punk bands, including Blondie and Television.
How is the couple handling the recent terrorist events in their beloved adopted hometown?
"The impact is still sinking in," Frantz said from their home in Connecticut. "I haven't actually been into New York since it happened. The other night we played in New Haven, and these two New York City cops who are fans of the band, believe it or not, came up to our show because they knew the one in New York had been canceled. They were ready to have a good time, that's for sure, but they were kind of at a loss for words. They had been in there trying to remove rubble and stuff."
Is the Tom Tom Club keeping watch on Ms. Carey, who was hospitalized with a much-publicized breakdown?
"We met her one time, and she was completely nice. A real sweetheart," Frantz said. "I feel for her. There is a lot of pressure just being in a rock group that is semisuccessful, but being one of the biggest-selling recording artist of all time? There are a lot of demands made on you."
For a middle-aged married couple in Connecticut, Frantz and Weymouth sure know how to get funky. Tom Tom Club's music is full of reggae, African beats and sheer sweaty grooves. What's their secret?
Frantz laughed. "Well, we've had a lot of practice. Let's put it that way. When we first started playing music, we were inspired by people like Lou Reed and David Bowie, the Stones and the Beatles, but also by people like James Brown and Al Green. As time went on, we started playing more and more in a rhythmic style. Over the years we just listened to enough Lee Perry records, we got funky."
Talking Heads raised eyebrows by incorporating exotic world music, which later caught on with many pop acts. Does Frantz feel responsible?
"We could take credit for it," he said. "When we stopped working, you saw a lot of people picking up our schtick, like Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, and a lot of other groups. If there were no Talking Heads, there would be no Radiohead. Radiohead named themselves after a Talking Heads song."
After playing together for so long as a rhythm section, one could surmise that Frantz and Weymouth have got to be the hottest couple on the dance floor at any wedding or bar mitzvah.
"Tina is an excellent dancer," Frantz said, laughing. "I wouldn't say that about myself. I like to dance. I like to shake it. But I'm not the best dancer."
Weymouth is routinely listed among the pioneers of women in rock, even placing in the VH-1 top 100 female artists of all time. Is it a honor she relishes?
"I think she feels gratification for being acknowledged," Frantz said. "In fairness to her, she was one of the first women in rock to be an instrumentalist. She's the queen of all bass players."
Does the duo keep up with any of the New York punks with whom it made musical history?
"We still see a good deal of (Television guitarist) Richard Lloyd, who is a changed man since those times. Now he's a family man. He's completely off the hard stuff," Frantz said. "And Debbie Harry. We were very friendly with the Ramones until they retired, and of course, Joey is not around anymore. We're friendly with Richard Hell. He's a pretty cool guy. He collects old Mopar cars."
Lastly, for the record, is Byrne a jerk?
"Um," Frantz said, giggling, "he was to us."
Tom Tom Club performs at 9 p.m. Saturday at the State Theater, 687 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. Tickets are $15. (727) 898-2100.