Tim Fite to release new effort and tour

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 - 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

Fair Ain’t Fair tracklisting:
1. Roots Of A Tree
2. Trouble
3. The Barber
4. Big Mistake
5. Inside Man
6. Rats And Rags
7. Yesterday's Garden
8. Thought I Was A Gun
9. The Names Of All The Animals
10. Motorcade
11. More Clothes
12. Harriet Tubman
13. My Hands
14. Heaven Is War
15. Sing Along
16. Line By Line