Behind the vintage glamour: Postmodern Jukebox singer Tatum Langley

Vocalist Tatum Langley is born and raised in Chicago, specialising in jazz and musical theatre. With a string of performances everywhere from intimate jazz clubs to large performance spaces such as the Royal Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House, Tatum is currently touring with Postmodern Jukebox. We had the opportunity to ask Tatum a few questions ahead of their New Zealand tour.

Postmodern Jukebox performances often feel like stepping into another era — not just musically, but visually and emotionally. When you step on stage, are you becoming a character, revealing another side of yourself, or somewhere in between?

Tatum: I would definitely say somewhere in between. My background in performing is deeply rooted in musical theatre, so naturally I love to embody a character onstage. I think Postmodern Jukebox as a live show sits somewhere in between theatre and concert, so I find that being a more theatrical version of myself is the perfect middle ground. The Tatum you see on stage is changing song to song with every new costume, vibe, and feel… but it is always a very honest version of me.

A lot of singers focus on making a song their own, but PMJ often asks artists to almost “translate” a song into another time period. How do you approach finding the emotional core of a modern song before transforming it into something vintage?

Tatum: For me, no matter what circumstance I am performing under, it is all about delivering the story of the song. Whether it is with PMJ, a show at a jazz club, or one of my original cabaret shows, I am not so much focused on making a song “my own”, but more so focusing on what story am I trying to deliver through this song. As a result, it becomes my own. For example, in the PMJ show I sing a song called “Die For You” that is originally by The Weeknd, but we have taken the musical style of the song into a large dramatic James Bond-esque world. The story of the song accompanied by this change of music has evolved for me over the 3 years I have been performing it onstage. Some nights the story feels more vengeful, some nights what I am telling is more desperate and heartbroken. Whatever vintage style we choose to take a song in really helps inform me of the story I want to tell through it. That always helps me ground myself onstage too if ever I am feeling stressed, tired, under the weather, etc.

In your own cabaret show ‘A Walk Down 42nd Street’, you invite the audience to a different era of New York, one of jazz clubs, Broadway lights, and showmanship. What is it about this era which draws you in creatively?

Tatum: I am so heavily inspired by performers of that era: Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman, etc. Everything about it has such an allure to me, from the fashion of that era, big band instrumentation, supper clubs and dinner theaters, etc. I feel as though the demand and resources for live music and theatre was so much more abundant in that Golden Age of Broadway and jazz, and I really love to honor that in modern times as much as I can. One of my favorite albums of all time is the Rat Pack Live at The Sands in Vegas album, because not only is the band lush and powerful, Dean, Frank, and Sammy absolutely in their comedic & musical prime, but I always say that you can hear how present the audience was. I’m obsessed with old live recordings where you can hear the audience giggling, clapping, hooting, and where you can hear the clinking of forks on plates, maybe even the softest mutter of the mics picking up a waiter taking a drink order. It’s almost like you can tell that the audience wasn’t on their phones. They had an unspoken agreement with the performers onstage that for the duration of this show, they were all going to be in on the emotional and musical rollercoaster together. Ahhh, I just love it!!!

There’s a fine line between nostalgia and bringing something back to life. How do you make sure ‘A Walk Down 42nd Street’ isn’t just looking backwards, but creating something that feels alive in the present?

Tatum: I think as a musician, especially in the jazz & theatre spaces, it is very important to look back and learn from the greats of the Golden Age and make sure I am honoring those who came before me, who paved the way here, who put in the work to keep music evolving, growing, and connecting others. I think sometimes in the current day, it is easy to view music as just something instantly accessible via your phone and your headphones; a background for your workout, your shower, your meal, etc. I feel the responsibility (or perhaps have just made it my own little mission) to make sure the audience knows how important it is that they have taken the time out of their day to get dressed up, come to a live show, sit in a room with strangers, friends, family, and really take in music & performance in a much more intentional way. Music is wonderful in all forms, however there is something so wonderfully human about a live performance, and I think all the nostalgia for the olden days inherently floods the room whenever you extend one hand back to the past, and one hand out to the audience that is present with you.

Scott Bradlee’s arrangements often completely change the personality of a song. Is there a particular PMJ arrangement that surprised you the most when you first heard it?

Tatum: One of my favorite recent PMJ arrangements of all time is “Stayin’ Alive” featuring Will Bill. Although I already loved that song, after hearing the ragtime rockabilly spin PMJ put on it, it was like it was always supposed to sound like that. To this day, it’s probably my personal most listened to PMJ song!

The current tour is called “The Future Is Vintage” — which is such an interesting idea in a world where everything is becoming more digital. Why do you think audiences are still drawn to the feeling of something handmade, human, and timeless?

Tatum: I think audiences are feeling overwhelmed and burnt out by music being behind digital paywalls, shows being behind a streaming platform where you need a subscription to view a livestream, and the perfection that autotune, AI, and algorithmically-curated playlists offer us. Of course it is complicated since music & video streaming has been quite revolutionary when it comes to accessibility and that is all part of a much much larger conversation, however I think at the core of it all, the antithesis of AI and “the algorithm” is a live show where you TRULY are witnessing the product of hundreds and thousands of hours of practice and work that real humans have poured into their craft. When something is humanmade, you can see the work that went into it. I know I personally want to see the work that has gone into it! I love buying a handmade birthday card and seeing the slight discrepancy of the fold where the corners don’t meet quite perfectly. I love going to a live show and knowing there is a chance I might see a mistake onstage turn into something original and beautiful – it’s also something that helps me get over stage fright. Just the other night at the end of the PMJ show, there was a sudden issue with our bass player’s power adapter and we ended up playing our signature PMJ song “All About That Bass”…. without the bass! Where we could’ve let that entirely ruin the show, we instead talked to the audience, explained that we couldn’t fix the problem, and asked them if they instead would want to see us on the spot come up with a bass-less version of this song, and the cheers that came afterwards might have been the loudest of the entire night. THAT is where the magic of live music happens.

You’ve travelled the world performing music that connects different generations. Has there been a particular audience reaction or moment on tour that has stayed with you?

Tatum: There have been so many! Last year in Australia the band was out to dinner on our day off from shows, when a young boy approached our table to ask our drummer, Willie Ray Moore Jr., where he was from and what he was doing in Australia. We all were so touched by how earnest and brave he was to run right up to a table of strangers and strike up a conversation. We asked him if he could bring a parent over to the table with him, and when he came back with his family we explained that we were a band traveling from overseas and had a show the next night. To our surprise, the young boy had recently started taking music lessons himself. We invited the whole family to the show, and sure enough they showed up to the theatre dressed to the absolute NINES… I’m talking tuxedos, gowns, etc. We were able to share a brief conversation with them at the front of the stage after the show (and give a pair of freshly broken-in drumsticks to the little boy) and it reminded all of us of how powerful our show is, and how meaningful interacting with strangers of all ages and backgrounds can become. On the inverse, I once went to my local coffee shop while NOT on tour and ordered a pastry for takeaway, only to find once I got back home that someone had slipped a note inside the box saying they love Postmodern Jukebox and love my videos with them. It was such an unexpected moment that happened right in my own hometown at the coffee shop I have spent years going to. There really is joy all around us, and music really can connect us so deeply, even with just a single interaction.