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Tsunami is an American
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band from
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, formed by housemates
Jenny Toomey Jennifer Gillen Toomey (born 1968) is an American indie rock musician and arts activist. Career Toomey was a member of the bands Geek, Tsunami (Virginia band), Tsunami, Liquorice, Grenadine (band), Grenadine, So Low and Choke, among others, a ...
and Kristin Thomson in late 1990 to play at New Year's party. They enlisted former housemate John Pamer to play drums and Andrew Webster from Bricks and Jenny's previous band
Geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...
to complete the line up.


Early days

Following their inception, Tsunami split their time between touring, recording various 7-inch singles and devoting time to Toomey and Thomson's
Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...
record label- from which Tsunami would release the majority of their own music. The band recorded their debut album, '' Deep End'' during the summer of 1992. However, due to manufacturing and mixing problems this was not released until early 1993. It was then that the band were invited to play the side stage at
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
, going on to play six shows with
Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his ...
,
Free Kitten Free Kitten is an American alternative rock band formed by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julia Cafritz. Originally performing as Kitten, they changed their name after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer perf ...
and
Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...
. After the release of the band's second album '' The Heart's Tremolo'', Tsunami completed two tours of the US, a tour of England, and an appearance at the Phoenix Festival on the
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
Stage. In 1995, Tsunami continued to tour the States and also managed to release their third album '' World Tour & Other Destinations''. The band subsequently had an official one year hiatus whilst John attended UMASS Amherst to complete his undergraduate degree.


Fresh Faces

Following his graduation in 1996, Pamer decided to stay in Amherst in order to save up so he could move to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. With this in mind, Tsunami enlisted the services of another Arlington drummer, Luther Gray. Having practiced with Gray for six months, the band recorded their fourth album at the Kingsize Soundlabs in Chicago. The result, '' A Brilliant Mistake'', was released in August 1997 on
Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...
. The band embarked on another US tour to promote the album, taking on new members, Amy Domingues (bass) and Bob Massey (guitar and keyboards).


Simple Machines

In 1998, Toomey and Thomson took the decision to call time on the Simple Machines record label and the band. The event was marked by the 'Simple Machines Finale party' at which the band performed. Whilst the end of the record label also marked the end of musical releases from Tsunami, they subsequently fulfilled a short East Coast tour in the same year. Toomey and Thomson joined up for two sets between 2001 and 2003 with a mixture of former members and guest musicians to perform at the Ladyfest festivals in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
Simple Machines had their own clothing line called Cog Wear, which sported their logo on different clothing items. Simple Machines ceased operations in 1997.


After Simple Machines

After Simple Machines was wound up in 1998, Toomey went on to become the executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, whose aim is "to ensure that musicians have a voice in the issues that affect their livelihood" through advocacy intended to establish a "balanced approach to music in the digital age — one that reflects the interests of all stakeholders, and not just the powerful few". She was to be joined by Thompson who became Education Director for the organization after completing a Masters in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
. Tsunami reformed in 2023 after reissues of their music courtesy of The Numero Group. 2024 saw the announcement of ''Loud As Is'', a compilation of the band's four albums and various other releases from their discography.


Members


Jenny Toomey


Kristin Thomson

Kristin Thomson left a position at the National Organization of Women in 1990 to co-lead the Simple Machines record label. She ran the label with partner Jenny Toomey until its closure in 1997. Simple Machines was the first self-made label in D.C. to be run by women. The label was initially based out of the Positive Force House in Arlington, but eventually relocated to another home in Arlington. Thomson and Toomey published four editions of the Simple Machine's Mechanics Guide, a booklet that attempted to demystify the process of giving music a physical form, and helped aspiring artists learn how to release their records as cassettes, CDs, or any other physical form that was prominent at the time. The booklet sold over 2000 copies, which correlated with the significant uptick in the quantity of new, small record labels in the area. Throughout her time working with Simple Machines, Thomson helped to organize female-oriented events and workshops with the other female characters and figures in the D.C. Punk scene. These events spread awareness about several different issues, and made a significant impact on the lives of thousands of women as well as the D.C. Punk scene as a whole. In the mid 2000s, Thomson was the nonprofit education, project, and research director for the Future of Music Coalition. In 2017, she became a director at the nonprofit Media Democracy Fund. She lives
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
with her husband, Bryan Dilworth.


Discography


Singles

* "Headringer" (
Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...
, 1991) * "Genius of Crack" ( Homestead Records, 1991) * "Teriyaki Asthma vol.7" ( C/Z Records, 1992) * "Beautiful Arlington" (IV (Australia), 1992) * "Diner" (Simple Machines, 1993) * "Matchbook" (Simple Machines, 1993) * "Be Like That" (Simple Machines, 1994) * "Poodle/Old City" (Simple Machines, 1997)


Albums

* '' Deep End'' (
Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...
, 1993) * '' The Heart's Tremolo'' (Simple Machines, 1994) * '' World Tour & Other Destinations'' (Simple Machines, 1995) * '' A Brilliant Mistake'' (Simple Machines, 1997) * '' Loud Is As'' (Numero, 2024)


Compilation appearances

* ''Tsunami/Velocity Girl split 7-inch'' (
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
, 1992) * ''Season's Greetings split 7-inch w/ Velocity Girl'' (Simple Machines, 1992) * ''Inclined Plane comp 7-inch '' (Simple Machines, 1993) * ''Teen Beat 100 comp 7-inch'' ( TeenBeat Records, 1993) * ''August Working Holiday split 7-inch w/Small Factory'' (Simple Machines, 1993) * ''Echoes from the Nation's Capital comp CD/CS'' (TWUnderground, 1993) * '' The Machines: Simple Machines 7-inchs (1990-1993)'' comp. (Simple Machines - SMR 19, 1994) Simple Machines: 1990-1993
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
* ''Monsters of Rock II CDw/Eggs & Rodan '' (Simple Machines, 1994) * ''
Working Holiday! ''Working Holiday!'' is a compilation album released on the Simple Machines label in 1994. It is a collection of tracks by American indie bands which were originally released on a series of 12 7" singles by Simple Machines as part of the Wor ...
Compilation Album'' (Simple Machines, 1994) * ''"Our Band Could Be Your Life" Minuteman tribute comp LP/CD'' (Little Brother, 1995) * ''Tsunami/Superchunk split 7-inch'' (Honeybear, 1995) * ''Compulsiv comp No. 3 7-inch'' (Compulsiv Records, 1996)


References


External links


Simple Machines Records , Tsunami

Future of Music Coalition , Education, Research and Advocacy for Musicians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunami (Band) Indie rock musical groups from Virginia Musical groups established in 1990 American indie rock groups American alternative rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2023 The Numero Group artists