Joining us for this Indie Rock Hit Parade session is a group whose founding members have done immeasurable amounts of good for artists in all walks of life. Originally hailing from Virginia but closely associated with the Washington, DC scene, Tsunami was formed by housemates Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson in 1990. Thanks to previous bands, Toomey and Thomson were already known quantities in the region, but Tsunami’s formation wasn’t their only joint venture: the duo established an independent label, Simple Machines, to release their own material as well as an influential pamphlet to help newcomers navigate the music business. After a trio of albums and dozens of singles and one-off recordings, Tsunami parted ways in 1998, but Toomey’s and Thomson’s work was just beginning.
Frequently working together in Washington and Philadelphia, Toomey and Thomson translated their experience as gigging musicians and label founders into careers in arts advocacy. In 2000, they co-founded the Future of Music Coalition, which furthered the mission of their previously published guidebooks for independent artists. The duo continued to record and perform, and a pair of well-received reunion sets in 2002 and 2003 suggested that Tsunami wasn’t in the rearview for good. But it would take a few more decades for everything to fall into place.
In 2023, Tsunami played a festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of revered reissue label Numero Group. The following year, Numero released Loud Is As, a box set containing all of Tsunami’s original albums, bringing the band’s recorded output back to the spotlight. To commemorate the box set, Tsunami set out on a tour with longtime friends Ida, whose albums are also getting the Numero treatment. The current lineup features Toomey, Thomson, drummer Luther Gray, bassist Rob Christiansen, and guitarist/keyboardist Franklin Bruno. Before a show at Underground Arts, Tsunami visited our studios to perform a set of favorites in their first radio session in over 30 years.