The Greatest Bands You've Never Heard 01.18.07: Tsunami Bomb
Posted by Shane Viars on 01.18.2007
Greatest bands you've never heard, and unfortunately for this band, you'll never hear again.
Hello everyone and welcome to the very first edition of The Greatest Bands (You've Never Heard). If you do not remember me, I am Shane Viars, writer of the former 411 Music column "The Selected Discography," as well as the short lived 411 Politics column "Sound Off." After an extended absence, as well as a shake-up to my life from what it once was, I have returned to 411Music, because of my mission to inform the public about a lot of bands that you may or may not have come across. I'll tend to write more about non-major label signed bands, or at least those who haven't gotten the recognition that they deserve. I am always open to comments, as well as YOUR ideas on who the column should be written on. If you can find me a great band to plug here that I haven't heard of myself, you'll get major props here.
For the inaugural edition of The Greatest Bands... I figured that it would only be appropriate to discuss with you a band that touched my life in a big way, but who is unfortunately no longer together, even though their original line-up wasn't whom they put the most music out as. Who am I talking about? Why those punk darlings of Kung-Fu records known as TSUNAMI BOMB.
Originally formed all the way back in 1998, Kristin McRory (vocals) Dominic Davi (bass) Oobliette Sparks (keyboards) Tim Chaddick (guitar) Rob Read (drums) were the bands original line-up, however it would be Emily Whitehurst who would be the bands singer for the duration of their existence, making up the nickname shed be most known as, Agent M. Dominic would leave in 2003, as the original members had all been gone, and the band broke-up back in 2005 after the release of their final album, "The Definitive Act," which released in 2004.
The band also released a few EPs as well as the full-length album "The Ultimate Escape," which was released in 2002. In 2000, the band released "The Invasion From Within," and while it featured many of the bands more popular songs, I don't consider 6 songs as a "full-length" album.
This band nailed everything in a way that will not soon be matched. They had a definitive punk rooted sound, with catchy guitar riffs and powerful vocals. I often hear people talking about how good of a singer Amy Lee is, but I feel her voice pales in comparison to that of Agent M. She has a great range, and sounds just as powerful belting out lyrics, or singing softly. This band really captured the essence of what good new-punk should be. It has substance, unlike what pop-punk consists of, and it was driven by a band who actually cared about their music and their fans.
I was lucky enough to have met the band on two occasions, the first of which was at Warped Tour in 2003, and although their signing time had officially ended, the band was really cool about hanging out to talk with me. They all signed a book I had, and Dominic drew a logo of a bomb with a tsunami wave in the middle. Being a great band isn't just about making the music, it's also about your attitude with the fans, and these guys were all top class in my eyes.
"The Ultimate Escape," really encapsulates a more aggressive sound, with a few softer gems hidden in the middle (tracks #6 & #7, "20 Going On," and "The Simple Truth," respectively) whereas "The Definitive Act" shows a matured sound, which makes it a shame that the band wasn't able to reconcile all of their differences to keep putting out great music. Both of the full-length albums are readily available at most record stores, and the earlier works are available at your average punk/ska/alt. music websites.
Since the break up, Dominic Davi has gone on to form the band Love Eausl Death, and Agent M and final Tsunami Bomb bassist Matt McKenzie went on to form the band The Action Design.
What really is the true shame of the break-up and line-up changes of Tsunami Bomb was their ability to put out great music and put on amazing live shows. These guys really cared about their music, and it shows in their recorded work. There is also an edition of The Show Must Go Off DVDs that feature one of the band's shows. If you want to see a great live performance, I suggest you pick this up as well, as those line of DVDs are all fantastic.
Well, that is going to do it for this week. Hopefully next week I'll get some e-mails (saint.of.the.lost.city@gmail.com), and I can answer your questions if you have any, or get back to you if you have any comments. I'd also like to thank 411Music for letting me come back to write for the site.
As I always tell everyone, don't shut yourself into one genre of music. Expand your flavors, and let the greatness influence further musical experiences. Until next time, thanks for reading!
