With their sixth studio album and a brand new tour on the way (with the first stop at Humphrey’s, with Ax And The Hatchetmen), we had an inspiring conversation with Noelle Scaggs of Fitz And The Tantrums to learn more about creating, touring, and all things Man On The Moon.
ListenSD: As Fitz And The Tantrums, y’all have produced an LP every three summers or so and now here comes Man On The Moon, right on time! Did your writing and recording processes follow your usual established patterns (as a recording band) or did they differ from previous sessions?
Noelle Scaggs: The easiest answer is that we’re kind of workaholics in the sense that we have to be creating all the time. So a lot of these songs are a manifestation over sometimes a year of work, going back and forth with ideas, or Fitz working with other creatives and putting aside songs that he thinks are for The Tantrums and sending them to me.
This project was really different because of the fact that I live in a different state completely and have for the last 15 years, so we do a lot of remote kinds of creative stuff and sometimes I’m working with different people and often Fitz is as well, and, of course the band has stuff. So we’re always formulating all of these ideas from different places and with different experiences happening to all of us at the same time. Definitely since More Than Just A Dream and the Fitz and the Tantrums record, we’ve learned how to be this kind of remote creative entity and really trying to find the songs that work for us in our lives at that moment.
For instance, I live in Nashville; I travel a lot. I actually wrote Young Days (from the forthcoming Man On The Moon LP) across four different countries. And it’s been this kind of a process, putting this song together: the lyrics kind of popped in my head while I was on a train in Paris and then I took it to a closet in Nashville and then I was in Bucharest working on other things and wanted to get the song idea out. And that’s kind of how the process was, we’re always doing that.
LSD: What themes or messages do you feel are conveyed through the new album? There are some of the classic Tantrums themes of heartache and the ups and downs of relationships (Withdrawals, for instance), but there’s also a sense of wistful nostalgia echoing through a lot of the songs. What else shines through for you?
NS: A lot of it comes just from self reflection, for myself, I’ve had this incredible experience, I’m in my mid-40s now, and I’ve been in the music industry for decades, and all that has shaped my world viewpoint and really influenced the way I write and what I want to write about. Young Days, for instance, is a rebel song, a song about using your voice in the lightest way possible. Everybody has a voice, and we’re seeing that a lot with what’s happening in the world around us. Everybody’s using TikTok to talk about the things they care about and that’s moving and shifting and breaking away from this old identity where we had to carry and contain everything, when you worried about what people thought about you all the time. I think that narrative is really shifting.
And the song is really about that: moving towards the rebellious nature that’s breaking free of the dying entity, the old way of thinking. And that song is really empowering for me and I utilize it because it was also within me: I’m using my voice more about things that I care about as an artist and the world and how I see it. Other songs on the record also speak to that nature, you know, breaking away, having a good time, not worrying about the little things, getting your friends to be a part of it, having connections with people, there’s a lot of things within the record that speak to this
LSD: The new album has that signature timeless soul sound, however, some songs have more contemporary pop flair; what fresh influences do you think were mixed into Man In The Moon?
NS: We’re always kind of dipping and diving into the present and the future sounds. As you know, if you listen to a LOT of music, you’re always weaving it in, so we’ve woven in this sense of soul music meets alternative and pop, all influenced by whatever we’re listening to and then always making sure that we move in the way that Fitz And The Tantrums does, not necessarily trying to carbon copy anything that’s happening. What you’re hearing is what we’ve always done with our records, trying something new and weaving it into the Fitz And The Tantrums sound.
LSD: You’ve played intimate San Diego venues (like the Casbah and Winston’s) early on in the band’s career before packing arenas, amphitheaters, and festivals like Kaboo and Wonderfront with repeated appearances at the Del Mar Racetrack! How does it feel to land at one of San Diego’s most picturesque venues, Humphreys, one of the largest venues in the area that still feels like an intimate personal performance?
NS: We’ll play where people want us! If the promoter wants to promote a show somewhere and it makes sense for what we have going on in our career at the time, we’ll play there: we’ll play a tiny little club, we’ll play an arena! It’s really where the music takes us. That’s where we’re going to end up. And being from Los Angeles, San Diego is like our neighbor, right? Driving about two hours to San Diego, I mean, I used to go and just enjoy the beach, along with whatever else I got into in San Diego at the time!
But it’s really nice to also play a new venue, right? Because when you’ve been to a city so many times and you’re frequenting certain venues, it’s a breath of fresh air when we get to play in a different environment and our fans still show up. And new fans get an opportunity to see us that may not have heard of us two years prior or are just discovering the music. So I love new things. I’m looking forward to being there. Looking forward to having my friends who live in SD or anybody that wants to come down to check out the show to come and see us.
LSD: How excited/prepared are you for the upcoming Man In The Moon tour schedule? We counted 31 shows in 38 days! Do y’all get stronger as a tour goes on or do you have a special tour regimen to make it through the whole thing?
NS: Yep, I don’t look at the calendar: first rule of a touring artist is you don’t look until the day sheets start to show up! I’m just kidding, I have some idea of how long I’m going to be away, but I typically try not to get too far into the schedule until it’s getting closer to the date otherwise there’s a lot of anxiety. You know, you’re leaving home for six weeks, I’ve got my cuddly dogs that I have to leave back home, you leave your creature comforts and stuff.
But it’s literally an hour of bliss, being with fans that are singing back to you and giving and getting all that energy. And then you collapse in your bunk and then you move to the next show and eat all the good food in whatever city you’re in. So, as far as preparation is concerned, it’s just trying to be present, hoping for the best, hoping that the shows are great, that you can perform at your 110 percent. And I jump around a lot, so definitely walking the dogs a lot more before the tour starts!
LSD: After playing together for 15 years and well over a thousand shows, what feels the same and what feels different about taking the stage? Presumably there’s still a great love for performing and entertaining, hitting the road in support of your sixth album, what keeps it fresh every night?
NS: I think it is the love for what we do, you know what I mean? The minute we stop loving what we’re doing, we’re done. When we are kind of questioning why we’re here, we’re done with it. And that hasn’t happened, I love getting on stage! I’ve been performing for a really long time and at this point I’m a seasoned veteran, so to speak. It’s just going to be nice to get out there and perform new songs and see how people respond to them and then play the old stuff and see how people respond to that and just keep it moving.
LSD: Well we can’t wait until it moves on down to San Diego and Humphreys Concerts By The Bay! Thanks for much for your time and we’ll see y’all then!
The Man On The Moon Tour kicks off at Humphreys Concerts By The Bay on July 24th! Get your tickets here!
Or see Noelle and Fitz And The Tantrums at another of their upcoming tour dates!
July 24, 2025 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay*
July 25, 2025 – Costa Mesa, CA – OC Fair @ Pacific Amphitheater$
July 26, 2025 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort and Casino*
July 28, 2025 – Salt Lake City, UT – Sandy Amphitheater*
July 29, 2025 – Denver, CO – Denver Botanical Gardens*
July 31, 2025 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman*
August 01, 2025 – Sioux City, IA – Hard Rock Casino
August 02, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue*
August 03, 2025 – Fargo, ND – UP District Festival Field*
August 05, 2025 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee*
August 06, 2025 – Carmel, IN – The Palladium*
August 07, 2025 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre*
August 08, 2025 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall*
August 09, 2025 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre*
August 11, 2025 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues*
August 12, 2025 – Buffalo, NY – Artpark@
August 14, 2025 – New York, NY – Pier 17@%
August 15, 2025 – Harrisburg, PA – XL Live%
August 16, 2025 – Elora, ON – Riverfest Elora
August 18, 2025 – Boston, MA – House of Blues%
August 19, 2025 – Washington, DC – The Anthem%
August 20, 2025 – Richmond, VA – Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden%
August 22, 2025 – Fletcher, NC – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co Amphitheatre^
August 23, 2025 – Newport, RI – International Tennis Hall Of Fame
August 24, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle^
August 25, 2025 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium^
August 26, 2025 – St Louis, MO – The Factory at The District^
August 28, 2025 – Tulsa, OK – Cains Ballroom^
August 29, 2025 – Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall^
August 30, 2025 – San Antonio, TX – Stable Hall^
August 31, 2025 – Austin, TX – ACL Live @ the Moody Theater^
With special guests:
$Aloe Blacc
@Neal Francis
With support from:
*Ax and the Hatchetmen
%SNACKTIME
^Gable Price and Friends
Photos by: Matty Vogel
Interview by: Jesse Crossley
For more Fitz And The Tantrums from ListenSD, check out our reviews of their 2019 show at the Open Air Theatre and 2018 performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.