Tsunami 1990 - present

Band members

Jenny Toomey: guitar, vocals 1990 - present
Kristin Thomson: guitar, vocals 1990 - present
Andrew Webster: bass 1990-1996
John Pamer: drums 1990-1996
Luther Gray: drums 1996 - present
Amy Domingues: bass, cello 1997-1998
Bob Massey: guitar, keyboards 1997-1998
Rob Christiansen: bass, present
Franklin Bruno: guitar, keyboards, present

Band bio here

Loud As Is

5 LP boxed set w/book, Numero Group, 2024

This five LP box set collects eleven 7"s, 4-track demos, 1993's Deep End, 1994's The Heart's Tremolo, plus the first-ever vinyl pressing of 1997's acclaimed A Brilliant Mistake. Drawing on the suitcase archives of their own Simple Machines Records, Tsunami's ambition – from all ages basement shows to the second stage of Lollapalooza – is captured in essays, photos, and ephemera, revealing the DIY history of the alternative music revolution.

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A Brilliant Mistake

Album, Simple Machines, 1997

After the release of The Heart's Tremolo in 1994 we spent two years honing skills, recruiting new converts, watching the zodiac and avoiding two of the most disgusting years of rock commercialism. Fourteen songs recorded in April 1997 with the fellas at Kingsize Soundlabs in Chicago, and, really the best sounding stuff yet. Gorgeous vellum packaging, and lots of lyrics to read.

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"Poodle" / "Old City"

7" single, Simple Machines, 1997

"Poodle" is a catchy number paying homage to a brave team of Poodles that competed in the Iditerod sled race (among other things), and "Old City" is a pop gem about stolen cars so insidious you'll be humming it all day long. Recorded during the Brilliant Mistake session at Kingsize, "Poodle" is also on the CD, but "Old City" is only found here! Not only good songs, but hand packaged in letterpressed sleeves, a limited edition of 1800.

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"Kicked In" / "She Cracked"

Split 7" single with Superchunk, Honeybear, 1995 (out of print)

World Tour and Other Destinations

Compilation, Simple Machines, 1995

With 19 releases, 6 American and 3 European tours, one Lollapalooza tour, 3 videos, and 9 t-shirt designs under their belt, Tsunami brings you a 70-minute, 22-song compilation CD of their hard-to-find singles, b-sides and compilation tracks from 1991-1997. Pretty prolific for a band that squeezed tours and practices between the full-time fun of Simple Machines, day jobs, various side projects and bands, and a drummer finishing his college degree 460 miles away from the hometown of DC.

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The Heart's Tremolo

Album, Simple Machines/Southern, 1994

The Heart's Tremolo is Tsunami's second full-length release, recorded by Brian Paulson during a Chicago pit stop on a 1994 US tour. Ten songs beautifully packaged in metallic silver, and this time lyrics are included! 

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"Newspaper" (live) and "Kidding on the Square"

On the Working Holiday compilation, Simple Machines, 1994

"Be Like That" / "Newspaper"

7" single, Simple Machines, 1994

The songs everyone asks about (and the one everyone listened to on their American Airlines headsets one summer) plus an unreleased track that's not on The Heart's Tremolo. Packaged in a full-color flags of the world sleeve that was featured in the 1995 American Institute of Graphic Arts' Design Annual - A16A and shown at the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design as part of the Mixing Messages: Design in Contemporary Culture exhibit. 

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Matchbook

Single, Simple Machines, 1993 (out of print)

Who could resist the giant matchbook 7"? Included "In a Name", "Not Living" and a remixed version of "Bossa Nova" recorded by John Loder in England, now only available on SMR 33 World Tour. The fabuolous packaging was created by drummer John Pamer and Steve Raskin, and was included in the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design as part of the Mixing Messages: Design in Contemporary Culture exhibit.

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