Tricia Fitz plays by her own rules. If she even has any. The Brazilian-born Toronto singer-songwriter’s sound is a wildly adventurous, gleefully colourful and irrepressibly mischievous blend of pop, rock, metal, punk, musical theatre and much more — all topped with powerhouse vocals and razor-sharp, often-hilarious lyrics. If you didn’t already listen to the musical maverick’s wonderfully weird album Epic Penguin Sharks when I put it in the spotlight HERE, or watch her Millennials video when I showcased it HERE, you should definitely get up to speed. You should also put together a cheese platter and tag along while the personable artist takes a spin through my dumb questions.
Introduce yourself: Name, age (feel free to lie), home base and any other details you’d care to share — height / weight / identifying marks / astrology sign / your choice.
I was born named Patricia, thriving at age 30, from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. I’m pretty much average size everywhere, and I am the worst Scorpio you’ll ever meet.
What’s your latest project?
My latest project is Epic Penguin Sharks, a super cool album that has something for everyone, and you can listen to it on every online platform available!
What truly sets you apart from other artists?
I find it’s the combination of casual image + epic music. I have that girl-next-door approach, but then you realize the girl next door has a laboratory in the basement and you don’t know whether to be intimidated, intrigued, or just plain running the other way … and I like it like that!
How will my life improve by listening to your music?
You’ll receive a friendly reminder to let loose and have fun. I feel like a lot of people are forgetting about that nowadays and I don’t blame them. I’m here to remind you that perspective is everything and you have total power to be happy!
Tell us about the first song you wrote and / or the first gig you played.
I was maybe 5 or 6 years old when I wrote Little Flower in the Sky. I had just started piano lessons and played only two notes to accompany myself. It’s about a flower in the sky and how it was flying. It’s like 15 seconds long. A true masterpiece.
What is the best / worst / strangest / most memorable performance you have given?
I participated in a battle of the bands when I was 18. We had about 300 people in the audience and the energy was amazing. In the heat of the moment, I decided to stage dive and thankfully they caught me! It was AWESOME! My band got third place, and I won overall Best Musician of the competition, which, as a newbie, was a huge surprise to myself and everyone else. There’s a video on YouTube somewhere. Definitely the most memorable!
What is the best / worst / strangest / most memorable performance you’ve seen?
I saw Tool when they toured a couple of years back, and that was the strangest yet most amazing concert I’ve ever experienced. Their vocalist (Mr. Maynard James Keenan) sang the entire time from a dark corner and I think it took me like three songs in to find him. Not to mention that the images they project in the background are something that no one is prepared to witness. Someone I know who also went to see them said they walked out at one point because it felt too much like a cult meeting. It was awesome.
What living or dead artists would you like to collaborate with?
Devin Townsend, if you’re listening, I would like to collab with you, pretty please.
What artist or style of music do you love that would surprise people?
I don’t know how much of a surprise it is, but I love classical music. I grew up with my dad playing Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven pieces on piano so it’s very nostalgic music to me. I can now play some of them myself and it’s honestly one of my favourite ways to relax.
What words do you hope people use when they describe you?
Intriguing, Fearless, Creative, Interesting … a girl can dream.
What useful (or useless) skills do you have outside of music?
I can drive pretty well! Nailed the driving exams on my first try, can parallel and reverse park, never got a ticket in my life, and respect all the road rules like a good citizen. Once upon a time I thought about being a stunt car driver, but I got talked out of it really quickly. Long story short, my track record shows that you can trust me with your car.
Who can you do an impression of?
One would think I would be great at impressions but I’m actually terrible at them. But I can meow pretty realistically.
What are your pet peeves?
Jaywalkers, people who park crooked, anyone who posts photos of stew (I’m sorry, but as good as you say your stew is, it looks like poo), when the microwave timer isn’t reset (c’mon guys it takes literally one second), and Drake at a Raptors game. Sorry.
What’s your greatest regret?
As a teen, I wish I took less pictures at concerts and just enjoyed the moment instead. I have no idea where those pictures are today (and they are probably blurry as heck) and all I have are memories of watching shows through a camera. Gonna definitely change that from now on.
What are you afraid of?
Praying mantises. With the eyes, and the claws, and that they eat their mates (what’s up with that?) and the flying; I get incredibly uncomfortable. Also, my sisters used to prank me when we were young and grab them from our yard and set them in my bed and I just haven’t been the same since. I get shivers just thinking about it.
What’s your motto?
“How far can you go, and will you go?”
What’s always in your refrigerator?
Cheese. I need my cheese. All kinds of cheese from brie, to bleu, to mozzarella, but most importantly, parmesan cheese. Parmesan is life! It’s very important. Except before a show; no cheese before a show. BUT, afterwards, gimme my cheese.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wish I were better at math. I’ve tried so hard to understand it better but I am just not quite wired to process numbers in my head … or on a calculator. It’s sad.
What world record would you like to break?
I’d like to own the world’s oldest cat. I know that’s not technically me breaking the record, but I would get some of the credit for being a good cat owner and I really like the thought of that.
What’s the best and / or worst advice you were ever given?
“You don’t wanna be 25 and out of your prime when you’re doing music” … said to me when I was 25. Yeah, I chose to ignore that piece of advice almost immediately.
Watch her videos above, listen to the intriguing, fearless, creative and most definitely interesting Epic Penguin Sharks below, and keep up with Tricia Fitz on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
