Timothy Sullivan, also known as Tim Fite is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, living and working in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
. His past releases have run the gamut from
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
to
alternative to
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
to
hip hop.
Life and career
Fite was born and raised in rural New Jersey, where he developed a certain fascination with guns and social value systems that can be found in his music, art and the illustrated stories he also creates.
Fite is known for using
samples from long-forgotten records to amplify his mixed-genre approach to music. On his
Anti- Records
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel ( Mavis Staples), country ( Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The ...
debut ''
Gone Ain't Gone'' he set a self-imposed limit of using only samples from records bought for less than a dollar.
During the early 2000s, Fite was one half of hip hop duo
Little-T and One Track Mike
Little-T and One Track Mike (sometimes Little T & One Track Mike) was a hip-hop duo from New Jersey, USA.
History
Timothy Sullivan was given the nickname "Little T" as a child by his older brother. While attending Rutgers University in New Bru ...
,
who are mostly remembered for their only hit "Shaniqua", which was popular on music channels such as
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. After that group went on an indefinite hiatus, Fite signed with
ANTI- Records
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel ( Mavis Staples), country ( Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The ...
and started releasing solo albums.
In 2006, Fite released a full-length, web-only, free hip hop record, ''Over the Counter Culture'', which was a critique of modern culture of
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the ...
and greed. Critics from the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' to the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' to the ''
Chicago Sun Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' placed it in their top 10 for 2007, yet in deference to the subject matter, Fite decided not to release it commercially. Fite has continued to release albums free of charge through his website, most recently 2010's
Under the Table Tennis.
Fite's ''Fair Ain't Fair'' was released May 6, 2008, which was followed by a tour with
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
's
Man Man
Man Man is an American experimental rock band from Philadelphia currently based in Los Angeles. Their multi-instrumental style is centered on the piano playing of lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist Honus (Ryan Kattner). Honus is accompanied ...
.
Tim released ''Ain't Ain't Aint'', the final installment of his "Ain't" album trilogy, on March 6, 2012.
In 2014, Tim parted ways with ANTI records and took a more direct approach to distributing his work, by launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund his next album called IBEENHACKED. His ambitious goal was to create not only an album but a "unified body of artwork surrounding the theme of an album" that would become a "multi-media exploration of how digital living, digital dependence, and digital thinking effect our everyday lives in terms of productivity, creativity, privacy, and self-realization." The album had limited release to his kickstarter backers in August 2014, and a full release is scheduled for September 2014.
He often collaborates with
Ryan Foregger for his music videos.
In 2019, he toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland as
Bonaparte's opening act.
Discography
Albums
*''
Gone Ain't Gone'' (2005)
*''2 Minute Blues'' (2006)
*''Over the Counter Culture'' (2007)
*''
Fair Ain't Fair'' (2008)
*''Change of Heart'' (2009)
*''
Under the Table Tennis'' (2010)
*''Ain't Ain't Ain't'' (2012)
*''iBeenHACKED'' (2014)
*''Roar Shack'' (2020)
EPs
*''
It's Only Ketchup'' (2007)
*''Ding-Dong DITCH!!!'' (2008)
*''Watch Your Mouth'' (2009)
Collaborations
*See
Little-T and One Track Mike
Little-T and One Track Mike (sometimes Little T & One Track Mike) was a hip-hop duo from New Jersey, USA.
History
Timothy Sullivan was given the nickname "Little T" as a child by his older brother. While attending Rutgers University in New Bru ...
for his previous band efforts
*''The Water Island'' with
Danielle Stech-Homsy (2006)
*"Black and Costaud (Tim Fite Redux)" with
My Brightest Diamond
My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States.
Histo ...
, released on ''Inside a Boy'' (2008)
*''Just for You'' with Dr. Leisure (2008)
*"Not Today" with
The Grates
The Grates were an Australian indie rock band that formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 2002. They were brought to national attention in 2004 when a demo of their single "Trampoline" received airplay on radio station Triple J. Their first two albu ...
, released on ''
Teeth Lost, Hearts Won'' (2008)
*"Porke Yorach" with
DeLeon (2008)
* Produced ''The Low Hanging Fruit'' by The Wailing Wall (2010)
*"What to Do" with Diwon (2013)
*"Me So Selfie" with
Bonaparte, released on ''
Bonaparte'' (2014)
Compilations
*''Kemuzik One'' (Kemuzik, 2010) "Where Is MY Woman"
*''
Four-beat Rhythm: The Writings of Wilhelm Reich'' (Workshop, 2013)
Filmography
Music videos
* "Away from the Snakes" (2005)
* "Camouflage" (2007)
* ''Fair Ain't Fair'' teasers
** "Yesterday's Garden" (2008)
** "Piece of Cake" (2008)
** "Rats and Rags" (2008)
** "Thought I Was a Gun" (2008)
* "Big Mistake" (2008)
* "Hold Me All Night" (2013)
Short films
* "The Day I First Seen Tim Fite" (2006)
* ''GunShow'' episodes:
** "Teaser" (April 30, 2007)
** "Living with Tim Fite" (Part 1) (May 22, 2007)
** "Where's Your Beard" (May 29, 2007)
** "Wrong Side" (June 5, 2007)
** "Penny Candy Taste Test" (June 12, 2007)
** "Living with Tim Fite" (Part 2) (June 19, 2007)
** "Good Cop Bad Cop" (June 27, 2007)
** "Shame On You" (July 3, 2007)
** "Wrecking Ball" (July 10, 2007)
References
External links
Official websiteTim Fiteat YouTube
Tim Fiteon
ANTI-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The C ...
Records
Kickstarter Campaign Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fite, Tim
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
People from Warren County, New Jersey
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Anti- (record label) artists