Tsunami Bomb is back.
The band, which was founded in 1998, first became well-known in the early 2000s during the height of pop punk’s mainstream popularity. After 10 years of not playing together, the band reformed in 2015 to support the release of Trust No One, a collection of out of print songs. Originally, the band was only supposed to play a few shows together. However, after the reception the band received at those shows, bassist Dominic Davi, keyboardist/vocalist Oobliette Sparks, and drummer Gabe Lindeman decided to continue the band with two new members: vocalist Kate Jacobi and guitarist Andy Pohl. Oobliette was nice enough to answer a few questions about the band and its history.
Tsunami Bomb originally broke up shortly after the release of the Definitive Act, citing the business side of the industry as the reason. Why did Tsunami bomb reunite after all these years?
Dom and I had actually started talking about doing some side projects right before we decided to reunite and we were toying around with ideas. Then, Kung Fu Records approached us about doing a retrospective using some of the songs that were used on small productions — like the vinyl EPs — some of which we did 500 of.
There weren’t a ton and they weren’t available anymore, so we got those remastered and doing that we had to contact all the old members just to see how they felt about it and get their support before we went forward.
Brian Plink, who was the guitarist on most of those recordings, started talking about how he wanted to play with us again. We realized with releasing this that we at least wanted to do a show or two just to support the album, and so that people could see us live again.
Then we were talking about doing this other band and Brian said “I don’t understand why you would call it anything but Tsunami Bomb. It is Tsunami Bomb. We are the people who started it and doing the initial writing and did the initial legwork that got us our fanbase and grew the band.”
We mulled it over for a really long time because it was a super tough decision. We didn’t want to piss anyone off and we didn’t want to seem like a retro act. Also, there was the fact that Emily didn’t want to be involved anymore. It was rough. With Brian what said and with what a lot of the fans we were still in contact with started saying, we were like ‘Fuck it we are Tsunami Bomb regardless of whether or not Emily can be with us at the time or not.‘
You mentioned Emily Whitehurst, who during her time with Tsunami Bomb was credited as Agent M She decided not to rejoin the band to focus on Survival Guide. Kate Jacobi has taken her place on lead vocals. Where did you find Kate? And how did you decide she was the right person for this?
It was funny. Initially Brian said, “I work with someone. I think she’d be great.” We asked him for more information. He said she had never really performed on stage before so immediately Dominic and I were kind of like “nope.” And we kept looking. Dominic sent out some feelers and there were a few different people we talked to. A lot of people didn’t want to touch it. They were like, “It would be a dream, but I don’t feel like I would be as good. I’d always be compared to M and rightfully so. It was kind of scary.”
We had a couple of people who were really interested. We had them try out or send us recordings. Stylistically it was so completely different and it just wasn’t going to work. We didn’t want a clone of M. We wanted someone to be themselves. We wanted a natural progression that still sounded like Tsunami Bomb. So we came back full circle and we told Brian to bring Kate to practice.
I don’t live in California. [So] I was just hearing the emails of people trying out solo. [When it came Kate,] Dom wrote me, “I know it seems like a really bad business decision putting all of our eggs in one basket with someone without any performing experience, but the moment I met her I got alone with her. She’s amazing. She grew up loving the band. She loves the band. She loves M and what she did. And she’s just good.”
She’s the best that’s tried, so he convinced me. I have to say I was still really apprehensive. I didn’t meet her until about three hours before we played our first show. I got off a plane and went straight to a practice space. I hadn’t played with them in 15 years. She said hello, gave me a hug, and started practicing. First time playing keyboards with the rest of the band in 15 years and we went straight from there to the show.
I admit that I am not someone who gets along with very many people initially, but I immediately loved Kate. I felt like we were kindred spirits. She’s like my kid sister. Everything about her, I loved. I’m super super happy that she’s part of the band. I think she deserves to be a part of it and despite her lack of experience she can throw down with the rest of them.
Dominic mentioned that you were originally supposed to play on The Ultimate Escape and that didn’t happen. Do you mind talking about why?
A: About the time that we had written most of the album, I had actually started dating someone who was in Southern California. I was young, and I think that I had my mind on moving away. The band, for me, was going in ways that I didn’t want it to go. In particular, during the time that we were writing “El Diablo” we would go in the studio we wrote what, to me, one of the first songs where I was like, “Wow. This was really different, really cool.”
There was some awesome instrumental parts and all kinds of crazy changes. Then when we had written it and gotten it to where we needed it to be. At this point, there was all sorts of other things going on with that band logistics-wise that I was young and getting tired. On top of it, at that point, we had just gotten managers, and a new booking agent. We were getting into the realm of where people were, not necessarily telling you exactly how to dress, but were starting to talk about branding yourself. I was younger than anyone so I was like “Fuck that. I’m exactly who I am. This shit’s not changing.”
We were writing “El Diablo,” a couple days later and M came back and was taking notes and she was like “Can you change this part and this part.” We were kind of like “Yeah.” We’d play it again and all talk. Then change another part and then another part. Finally, she’s like “Yeah, yeah. This is how I want it.” Dom kind of agreed. There was some banter back and forth between which of us liked it this way and which of us didn’t. I was like I mean it’s good, but to me it’s the same pop format as a lot of our songs. I know things should be catchy, but I feel like we should try to work with the original. We’re doing something different with this, and yeah, it may not be the most radio forward song, but I think it’s a song that musicians would listen to and be like “Holy shit.” I got voted down.
At the time, whenever we wrote songs, I had a music notebook where I would write the format down and I looked and it was like an identical format to a million other of our songs. I showed them it’s the same verse, chorus, verse, chorus bullshit. Let’s try something different. I don’t know why, but I think that was the moment, for me, just being stubborn and young and everything else that I was like fuck this.
It was maybe a couple days after that I talked to them and said I’m going to move to Southern California. Do you guys want me to stay? I’ll stay. I’ll come up to practice. At that point, Mike the guitarist was talking about moving to Southern California too, so I was like we could come up together, still practice. hey called me a couple days later. They were like “No, I think we’re just going to go on without a keyboardist.” That was it.
Looking back, it was a little bit immature. I started in Tsunami Bomb when I was barely 16. I think it was just my time to go and be an adult. I think I felt I had too much on my plate at such a young age. We really were starting to get bigger at that point, a lot more things, and I think just all at once and because it wasn’t the ideal circumstance I wanted it to be I was just like screw this.
Tsunami Bomb’s sound can broadly be called pop punk, but there’s still something unique about it. I still haven’t found another band where I can say “Oh yeah, they’re copying Tsunami Bomb.” What inspired that sound?
When we first first started, it was me, Dominic, Gabe (who,was only a fill in drummer, because he didn’t think he could be in the band at the time), this guy, Tim (who was super super rockabilly), and then our singer Kristen (who was really getting into the Pacific Northwest emo scene when it was starting up). So we were incredibly eclectic. And our first few songs we wrote, “Lemonade” included, kind of showcased that.
When they left and M and Brian came in, they were super pop punk and I was really into industrial, heavier punk, darker creepier stuff. And then Dom had this in between creepier, but kind of ska background. He and I both had a lot of 80s type stuff. I really feel like a lot of stuff through The Ultimate Escape came from that. Dom and I having not written together in years, when we started writing together again, it instantly clicked. He came up with the base line and send it to me.
I’d do something weird and fucked up on the keyboard, so it’s a completely different type of song. Then we’ll send it off to get guitars and before you know it. When Dom and I write together I always feel it has that kind of feel to it. I don’t know if it’s that we both have an appreciation for the darker minor keys, 80s, and an old school ska influence.
I actually agree I have never heard a band where I’m like, “huh that kind of sounds like us.”
Fans have already heard “Tidal Wave Explosive Device” and “Lullaby for the End of the World.” Do you know when fans will hear more songs or possibly get a studio recording of those?
These upcoming shows, we will have at least one more new song to add to that. Hopefully, two more new songs. Right now we are trying to refine everything to get ready to record in the spring.
There’s been a lot of personnel changes over the years. How has that affected the band?
A. When M and Brian came in, they had been in a band called Plinky together. Tsunami Bomb first 7 inch, B-Movie Queens, was actually a split with their band, Plinky. They definitely had that more pop punk influence, which I think helped us go more in the punk route with Dom and I’s darker style. Especially at that time with more horror oriented stuff.
You can always hear the changes. “Take the Reigns” was kind of Mike’s audition song. Once he came up with that riff, we were like fuck yeah. When he joined the band, Brian actually learned guitar for Tsunami Bomb. He was a drummer before that, so a lot of his stuff was super straightforward pop punk like some really cool finger picking stuff. Mike came in you can definitely tell he came from a more metal and harder background because in a lot of the songs he’s doing these heavy metal style riffs on. The Definitive Act, for me, you can definitely tell because stylistically it is the most different of all the recordings.
If you listen from the beginning to the end, everything has minimal progression, but still in the same vein. I think with The Definitive Act they went in a new direction. There’s a few songs that throwback to the sounds before it. When I listen to it, I can listen to each album and tell who was writing music.
Is there anything else fans should know?
Honestly, the main reason after the release of Trust No One, we were originally only supposed to play a couple shows to support that. We really just decided to do this because of the fan response. If it wasn’t for them, then we wouldn’t have started doing it again. We’ve had such a warm reception back. It was honestly so nice for us to be with each other again and realize that we are all still such great friends. And to realize that all of our old fans were still there and we have so many new fans we never knew about. We try to get to know them as best as we possibly can. It’s our heart in it and the reason we’re doing it.
I know you are going to be in Philly and New York. Is there any chance we can get you back in New Jersey?
Definitely. We’re actually trying to work on it right now.
For those who want to see Tsunami Bomb live, the band will be performing at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia on May 16 and El Cortez in Brooklyn on May 19.
all photos in this article were provided by the band.
