Tina Weymouth
Encyclopedia
Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (born November 22, 1950, Coronado, California
) is an American
musician, best known as a founding member and bassist
of the New Wave
group Talking Heads
and its side project Tom Tom Club
(co-founded with husband and Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz
).
heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school. As a bass guitarist, she combined the minimalist art-punk basslines of groups such as Wire
and Pere Ubu
with danceable, funk
-inflected riffs to provide the bedrock of Talking Heads signature sound. Her sound is often very syncopated
(i.e. reggae
/funk
) in feel, combining low fundamental notes with higher flourishes in clipped, staccato rhythms. Weymouth joined Talking Heads as bass guitarist at the request of then-boyfriend, Chris Frantz
.
, Weymouth and Frantz formed the Tom Tom Club
in 1980, which kept them busy during a fairly long hiatus in Talking Heads activity. When it became obvious that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne
had no interest in another Talking Heads album, Weymouth, Frantz, and Jerry Harrison
reunited without him for a single album called No Talking, Just Head
under the name "The Heads" in 1996, featuring a rotating cast of vocalists.
She also co-produced the Happy Mondays
' 1992 album Yes Please!
and has recently contributed backing vocals and percussion for the alternative rock
virtual band Gorillaz
; the backing vocals were provided for the character Noodle.
Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, resenting what she has felt was Byrne's cold treatment of other artists in his personal life.
Weymouth was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards
to support independent artists' careers.
Weymouth collaborated with Chicks on Speed
on their cover of the Tom Tom Club
's "Wordy Rappinghood
" for their album 99 Cents
in 2003 along with other female musicians such as Miss Kittin
, Kevin Blechdom
, Le Tigre
, and Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus
. "Wordy Rappinghood" became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number five on the Belgian Dance Chart
, and at number sixty-six on the UK Singles Chart
.
Her older brother, Yann Weymouth, was married to Lally Weymouth
, a daughter of Katharine Graham
, a publisher of the Washington Post for many decades. Her niece, Katharine Weymouth
, currently serves as publisher of the Washington Post.
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician, best known as a founding member and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
of the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
group Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
and its side project Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
(co-founded with husband and Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
).
Profile
Weymouth is of FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school. As a bass guitarist, she combined the minimalist art-punk basslines of groups such as Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
and Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu (band)
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite many long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant...
with danceable, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-inflected riffs to provide the bedrock of Talking Heads signature sound. Her sound is often very syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
(i.e. reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
) in feel, combining low fundamental notes with higher flourishes in clipped, staccato rhythms. Weymouth joined Talking Heads as bass guitarist at the request of then-boyfriend, Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
.
Life outside Talking Heads
Full members of the Compass Point All StarsCompass Point All Stars
The Compass Point phenomenon was designed to be to reggae-based pop/rock music of the 80s, what Nashville was to country music, or the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was to soul and R&B in the 60s: a recording facility animated by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producers and engineers, all...
, Weymouth and Frantz formed the Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
in 1980, which kept them busy during a fairly long hiatus in Talking Heads activity. When it became obvious that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
had no interest in another Talking Heads album, Weymouth, Frantz, and Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
reunited without him for a single album called No Talking, Just Head
No Talking, Just Head
No Talking, Just Head is an album by The Heads, a band composed of Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, joined by a variety of guest singers...
under the name "The Heads" in 1996, featuring a rotating cast of vocalists.
She also co-produced the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
' 1992 album Yes Please!
Yes Please!
Yes Please! was the last studio album that the British band Happy Mondays recorded before leaving Factory Records. Generally seen as their poorest work, it was released in 1992 and was produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads...
and has recently contributed backing vocals and percussion for the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
virtual band Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
; the backing vocals were provided for the character Noodle.
Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, resenting what she has felt was Byrne's cold treatment of other artists in his personal life.
Weymouth was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
to support independent artists' careers.
Weymouth collaborated with Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed is a multi-national musical ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, when members Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie met at the Academy of Fine Arts....
on their cover of the Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
's "Wordy Rappinghood
Wordy Rappinghood
"Wordy Rappinghood" is a song by the American band Tom Tom Club. The song was the lead single from the band's debut studio album, Tom Tom Club. It uses part of the 1971 Rolf Harris song "A Ram Sam Sam". In the United States, the song was released as a double a-side with "Genius of Love" and topped...
" for their album 99 Cents
99 Cents
A video clip for "We Don't Play Guitars", directed by Deborah Schamoni, is included....
in 2003 along with other female musicians such as Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
, Kevin Blechdom
Kevin Blechdom
Kevin Blechdom, born Kristin Erickson, is an American experimental electronic musician/performance artist from San Francisco, California.-Life and career:...
, Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
, and Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus
Nicola Kuperus
Nicola Kuperus is an American musician and photographer. She is a member of the band ADULT. with her husband Adam Lee Miller . ADULT. owns and manages Ersatz Audio, a record label based out of Detroit, Michigan...
. "Wordy Rappinghood" became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number five on the Belgian Dance Chart
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
, and at number sixty-six on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Personal life
Weymouth is the daughter of Vice Admiral Ralph Weymouth (USN, Retired) and Laure "Lo" Weymouth. She and Frantz have been married since 1977. They live in Fairfield, Connecticut and have two sons, Robin and Egan. Tina Weymouth has six other siblings, including Lani and Laura Weymouth, who are collaborators in The Tom Tom Club.Her older brother, Yann Weymouth, was married to Lally Weymouth
Lally Weymouth
Elizabeth Morris "Lally" Graham Weymouth is an American journalist who serves as Senior Associate Editor of the Washington Post...
, a daughter of Katharine Graham
Katharine Graham
Katharine Meyer Graham was an American publisher. She led her family's newspaper, The Washington Post, for more than two decades, overseeing its most famous period, the Watergate coverage that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon...
, a publisher of the Washington Post for many decades. Her niece, Katharine Weymouth
Katharine Weymouth
Katharine Bouchage Weymouth is the publisher of The Washington Post and chief executive officer of Washington Post Media.-Family:...
, currently serves as publisher of the Washington Post.
Equipment
- HöfnerHöfnerKarl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments....
500/2 Club Bass — Two pickup with single-cutaway hollowbody, purchased in 1978 - Veillette-Citron Standard 4 String — Neck Through, teal green
- Fender Mustang Bass — Used in early Talking Heads performances
- Fender Jazz BassFender Jazz BassThe Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
— Used for Tom Tom Club live performances - SteinbergerSteinbergerSteinberger refers to a series of distinctive electric guitars and bass guitars, designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger. The word Steinberger can be used to refer to either the instruments themselves or the company that produced them...
L-Series Bass — Seen during Little CreaturesLittle Creatures (album)Little Creatures is the sixth album by Talking Heads, released in 1985. The album examined themes of Americana and incorporated elements of country music, with many songs featuring the steel guitar...
period - Fender SwingerFender SwingerThe Fender Swinger was a short-lived electric guitar model released by Fender in 1969, with few made...
— Seen in Stop Making SenseStop Making SenseStop Making Sense is a concert movie featuring Talking Heads live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for...
during the performance of This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"This Must Be the Place " is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their fifth album Speaking in Tongues...