Fitz and the Tantrums were picked as a "band to watch" in an April 2011 profile in Rolling Stone.

[1] Their 2010 debut full-length album Pickin' Up the Pieces received critical acclaim and reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Michael attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, studying vocal music and then experimental film at the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita,[5] where he met fellow band member James King.

One concession, however, was being allowed to listen to a local oldies radio station in the car driving to and from school.

[8] In late 2008, Fitzpatrick received a call from an ex-girlfriend to tell him about a neighbor who needed to unload or sell a church organ for $50.

[1] Fitzpatrick decided to form a band, and contacted friend and saxophonist James King.