I don’t feel quite up to the task of writing about Tim Fite, because Tim Fite is a really smart guy with a god-given way with words, and I am…well, not. I’m tempted to just transcribe a conversation I had with him today and let him tell his story, and the story of this record, thusly. Still, this is my job, and I love this new record Fair Ain’t Fair, so I guess I am compelled to man-up and give it a try…

I was also tempted to start by saying that Tim Fite has no history, mostly because of the dearth of biographical information my Google search turned up on him, and also because then I could make this clever reference to Athena springing fully formed from Zeus’ head, and the idea of Tim Fite arriving complete from anywhere tickled my fancy because he is nothing if not a work in progress, a constant evolution, a growing up on record. He followed his 2005 folky/indie/alt-country Anti- Records debut Gone Ain’t Gone with a hip hop record, for god’s sake! And then a Halloween record that was around for a single day. And in between those, some drawings and illustrated stories and lots of multi-media one-man shows. But after talking to him, I realized that Tim Fite has a history, as long as this continent and as deep as the fundamental conflicts that fuel the wars Fite concerns himself with these days. And in spite of references to his own bloodlessness (it’s a reoccurring theme), Tim Fite has the blood of us all running in his veins, and he carries the burden with an earnestness that is disarming and intimidating at the same time.