Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (born on November 22, 1950 in Coronado, California) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the influential New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club (co-founded with Talking Heads drummer and husband Chris Frantz).

Profile

Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. In her youth, Weymouth was a cheerleader. 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 funky 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, and, in fact, according to the liner notes for the Talking Heads collection "Sand in the Vaseline", learned to play the bass guitar for this reason.

Life outside Talking Heads

Full members of the Compass Point All Stars, 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.

They also produced the Happy Mondays' 1992 album Yes Please! and have recently contributed backing vocals and percussion for the hip hop formation Gorillaz.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.

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. Her older brother, Yann Weymouth, was married to Lally Weymouth, daughter of longtime Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. Her niece, Katharine Weymouth, currently serves as publisher of the Post.

Equipment

• Höfner 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 Bass - Used for Tom Tom Club live performances
• Steinberger L-Series Bass - Seen during Little Creatures period
• Fender Swinger - Seen in Stop Making Sense during the performance of This Must Be the Place

Notes

1. Independent Music Awards - Past Judges