Teen-Beat. The Fontaine Toups/T.F.T.

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EGGS, Andrew Beaujon, Evan Shurak, Rob Christiansen, band

The Fontaine Toups.

MEMBERS

Andy Cheng,

John Sullivan,

Fontaine Toups

HOMETOWN

Brooklyn, New York

MOST POPULAR

T.F.T.

GREATEST HITS

Ave. A
I Don't Like What You're Saying
When I Wake Up
Who Told You

DESCRIPTION

The Fontaine Toups (now T.F.T.) is a Brooklyn, New York band led by Versus' singer and bassist Fontaine Toups.

RELATED ARTISTS

BLACK GRASS (John)

CONTAINE (Rob)

JOSE FLAT FIX (John)

SEA DEVILS (Andy)

VERSUS (Rob)

Sea Devils), John Sullivan (who plays in Black Grass, Jose Flat Fix

Teen-Beat's 20th Anniversary Commemorative

Teen-Beat's 20th Anniversary Commemorative album

THE FONTAINE TOUPS, band, Andy Cheng, Janet Fontaine Toups, John Sullivan

Andy, Fontaine, John [L to R]
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
[download high resolution file]

BIOGRAPHY

If you ever saw the indie-rock powerhouse known as Versus, then you saw Ms. Fontaine Toups. She's the "chick factor" in the band, the super-cool bass player and singer who had some serious stage moves, languorous bass lines, and a smoky-sweet voice to die for. Versus made five albums, toured the states and Europe, and conquered pretty much everything an indie band could conquer. She also starred in the sultry girl duo called Containe with her pal Connie Lovatt - they released two ace, critically acclaimed records and played shows with bands like Yo La Tengo and Belle & Sebastian. Since her Versus-mate Richard Baluyut moved out West, Fontaine started her own band back in her hometown of ever-trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

So what is her new band, The Fontaine Toups, all about? She says: "It's not Versus, it's not Containe. The most important part of this project is that I'm doing it my way. I'm the leader, and it's challenging. I don't have someone else telling me what I should be doing."

Where Versus were masters of loud-quiet guitar pop and Containe were more whispery and folksy, T.F.T. have a sunnier, classic pop approach. They're currently recording their debut album in Brooklyn, and while they don't sound like any of these folks, they've acknowledged being influenced by 4AD Records, Phil Spector, Brazillian music, shoegazing giants like My Bloody Valentine, and of course, the Brit invasion titans (Who, Beatles, et cetera.) The Fontaine Toups played their first show in February 2002 at the Teen-Beat Anniversary Party in D.C. The band has morphed a bit since then, but now it's Ms. Toups along with Andy Cheng (who also plays in a surf band called Sea Devils), John Sullivan (who plays in Black Grass, Jose Flat Fix, among others), and newcomer Steve Choo on bass. T.F.T. has big plans for touring to support their new album, and Fontaine is writing music for a forthcoming children's television show called Turtle Soup. Their debut album, The Fontaine Toups (or T.F.T.) was recorded in Brooklyn by Adam Lasus, who also recorded Versus' debut album The Stars Are Insane.

She may have be reluctant to take charge at first, but she is settling into her role as leader quite comfortably: "This whole process seems to be a lot about me, being a woman in rock, doing it on my own," says Toups. "It's real important for me to do this and I think it's important for other women too. Normal women like myself."

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