Tom Tom Club- The Christian Right Has Taken Over

As the rhythm section in definitive New York 70s band Talking Heads, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were they key characters to introduce a dance element to the otherwise rock dominated genre of punk. Going on to launch a more overtly danced based spin-off project called Tom Tom Club in 1981, they enjoyed worldwide hits with Wordy Rappinghood and Genius Of Love, which became their main focus when both walked away from Talking Heads in 1988.

15 years on (and 30 since they first met at the Rhode Island School Of Design) both are revered as Godfathers of punk-funk, the new rock/dance fusion that's bubbled up alongside electroclash as house culture's paused for thought. In London to headline Return to New York latest affair, the pair took time out between sound checking and grabbing a snack, to chat to Skrufff's Jonty, in their suite at the Great Eastern Hotel.


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): Punk-funk's taken off recently with bands like The Rapture, DFA, !!! and loads more, with both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club routinely being cited as definitive punk-funk originals . . .

Tom Tom Club (Chris): "Are we really-"

Tom Tom Club (Tina): "We haven't seen ourselves in the magazines yet though that's a pretty good description of what we are. We really like that whole keeping-it-raw vibe which people like Chicks On Speed or Peaches are doing, of bands using four track recorders to create music rather than slick studios and lots of samples. We still find that kind of music more exciting, creative and innovative than the imitators we have nowadays.It's horrible what's happened to the music business in America, it's become completely corporate and it's not interesting. The only interesting musical area these days is dance music, even punk is 20 years old now but at least it's being made by teenagers."

Skrufff: What do you make of musicians looking to the 80s for inspiration-

Tom Tom Club (Tina): "We like to support and encourage everybody involved in music because we understand that not everybody is going to be innovating immediately, they need to first learn what they're doing and the whole history of it, then eventually they understand it and maybe take it forwards. But what we've noticed is that young musicians are stymied in their ability to evolve because they're so quickly taken over by corporate aspects. You might get the chance to make two albums then that's it, you're finished, your career is over. There is no loyalty from the fanbase and definitely no loyalty from the record companies anymore. Though it's not that the record companies want to be like this, it's because the shareholders decide and they only want to make money, they don't care about making music. When artists criticise labels, we're not criticising the people who are working in them, who are wonderful and love the music, we're criticising the boards of directors who make decisions to sell."

Skrufff: Back in the 70s, when you were starting out with Talking Heads, were you thinking 'we're going to live our lives as musicians', did you consider the career aspect at all, during the punk era-

Tom Tom Club (Chris): "We were just living in the moment and were really excited about the fact that we were living in New York and playing music. We were particularly excited the day we were able to quit our day jobs and pay our rents by playing twice a month at CBGBs. We were thinking about the future to a certain extent, though at that time people didn't really talk in terms of having a career or making a lot of money, it was more about being a part of this exciting scene that was going on there. There was a lot of excitement going on mixing with people like Patty Smith, Debbie Harry, Television, Richard Hell and the Ramones. When Andy Warhol would come down to a show, that was way more exciting than if some record company guy would come down to the scene."

Tom Tom Club (Tina): "There was definitely a sense of commitment to li Tags