Band Info
Band Name:	Tsunami Bomb
Official Website:
Origin:	Petaluma CA
Year Formed:	1999 - 2005
Band Members:	Emily Whitehurst (vocals), Jay Northington (guitar), Matt McKenzie (bass), and Gabriel Lindeman (drums)
Genres:	Punk, Rock

The Rundown: Tsunami Bomb was active from 1998 until 2005. During that time the band went through many line-up changes. The final lineup consisted of Emily Whitehurst (vocals), Jay Northington (guitar), Matt McKenzie (bass), and Gabriel Lindeman (drums). Tsunami Bomb released two studio albums, “The Ultimate Escape” (2002) and “The Definitive Act” (2004). After the band broke up, Emily Whiteshurst (who went by the stage name “Agent M”) and Matt McKenzie formed the band The Action Design, while Jay Northington and Gabriel Lindeman created the band Nothington.

[Tsunami Bomb actually has a very storied past, and I will do my best to try to condense it down, but condensing tends to leave out details, and I’m all about the details. So you might want to take a pee-break or grab something to snack on, this could take a while.]

Emily Whitehurst joined Tsunami Bomb towards the end of 1998, taking over for the original Tsunami Bomb lead singer, Kristin McRory. Emily had a brother, Logan Whitehurst, who was friends with Dominic Davi (bassist and creator of the band). After Kristin decided to quit, Davi brought in Emily to replace her.

Oobliette Sparks was part of the original lineup, playing the keyboards and being a backup vocalist. She left the band in 2001. Gabriel Lindeman played drums for the band from 1999 until the bitter end. I’m not sure who played the drums prior to Gabriel.

In 2003, Dominic Davi left the band that he had created, being replaced by Matt McKenzie. The remaining members of Tsunami Bomb said that there were “personality and creative differences”. According to posts made by Davi on his personal blog, he alleged that Tsunami Bomb had stolen his bass amp. The following year, Mike Griffen (who I believe replaced Brian Plink on guitar, but don’t quote me on that), who was the roadie for Lucky Strike and “stolen” from that band to play guitar for Tsunami Bomb in 2000, left the band and was replaced by Jay Northington. In 2005, the bottom finally fell out , and the band abruptly, and sadly, broke up citing troubles with the “business end of the music industry”.

If you followed along with that, congratulations. If you read it and couldn’t quite keep up, I feel ya. Try to read it again. It can be pretty complicated. In addition to the people I’ve told you about so far, Tim Chaddick, Rob Reed, Justin Brioso, and Brian Plink were also somehow a part of the band. I think Brian Plink was one of the original guitarists, but I’m not 100% sure about that. The roles the other people played I have no idea, and that information is apparently locked away and hidden somewhere. If I happen to come across it, though, I’ll update this.

Now that we have that incomplete history out of the way, onward to the music! Despite essentially having a rotating lineup their entire existence, Tsunami Bomb made some pretty kick-ass music. I was fortunate enough to get to see them live on two different occasions; once at Vans Warped Tour in St. Louis, and once at the Creepy Crawl, also in St. Louis.

Both shows were totally amazing, though I preferred the show at the Creepy Crawl because it was a smaller venue and I was able to stand, literally, inches away from the band as they rocked the free world. I was also able to talk with Agent M at each show, which was a real treat for me. She is quite a nice person to talk with, and funny to boot. Tsunami Bomb was definitely a band that you would have liked to see live. They were always full of so much energy and had a spectacular stage presence. The guitar players would jump around, Agent M would bounce around singing at the top of her lungs, and the drums would snarl at you as if they were some wild animal.

If I were to make a list of my favorite Tsunami Bomb songs, it would be a very, very long list. And it’s hard for me to say which I like the best. The obvious choice would be their most “famous” song, Lemonade. It is a great song. Although another obvious choice might be …Not Forever, or perhaps Say It If You Mean It. If put on the spot, I would pick Take the Reins as my favorite, though, to be honest, it really depends on what mood I’m in.

Tsunami Bomb’s sound was fairly consistent throughout. Some of their songs strayed a bit, for example, Mushy Love Song, Obligation, or The Simple Truth, but for the most part they were straight up punk. They played furious guitars, lightning quick drum beats, and the vocals were sharp, quick, and distinct. The first time I heard Agent M sing, I was amazed. Looking at her, you wouldn’t expect that kind of sound coming out. Tsunami Bomb was unique, they were amazing, and riddled with problems.

MarsBands.com praises Tsunami Bomb for making as many great songs as they did in the limited time they were allotted. I am grateful I was able to see this band live before they broke up, otherwise I would have been very upset. Check them out, you won’t be disappointed. Also, check out The Action Design. I haven’t done much research into them, yet, but I have found two of their songs that I am quite fond of.

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