Tommy Walter (born October 30, 1970 in Pasadena, California), is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his Alternative rock band, Abandoned Pools, as well as being the former bassist and one of the founding members of Eels.
Early Years and the Eels
Tommy Walter was born in Pasadena, California in 1970 on October 30. His father was an airplane pilot; his mother a stewardess 20-30 years his father's junior. Tommy's father was 50 when he was born. He grew up in a modest, middle-class household. He began playing bass at a young age, and was formally trained on the french horn in college. He attended the University of Southern California, followed by Pacific University. He began teaching classical music theory, and worked with local Los Angeles area musicians.
He met with singer-songwriter E, and John "Butch Norton" and officially formed Eels. Prior to their founding, E had already released two records by himself, under his single-letter pseudonym, and their name was decided upon so that their music would be placed next to E's solo works. However, it was in retrospect that they realized that there were bands that would be placed in between, such as The Eagles.
Their collaborations led to refining songs that E had previously written, as well as creating new material. They released their debut album, Beautiful Freak, in 1996. However, after a year of touring, Tommy quit the band. In an interview, he stated his dissatisfaction with E's personality, and the loss of the amount of creative input that both Butch and himself had prior to the success of Beautiful Freak.
Soon after, he formed a band called Metromax. They shortly changed their name to Tely, and released an album over the internet. However, the band didn't garner much success, and it soon evolved into Tommy's solo project, Abandoned Pools.
Humanistic (2001-2004)
Tommy, using new material, as well as several songs he'd worked on beforehand in both Tely and Metromax, composed, recorded, and released his solo album, Humanistic, in 2001 on Extasy Records. While being the creative force behind the project, other musicians contributed to the project, such as Angie Hart of Frente!, who sang backing vocals to "Start Over," "Ruin Your Life," "Sunny Day," and "Seed."
Although a solo project, he recruited a touring band, featuring Leah Randi and Bryan Head filling out the ranks of bassist and drummer, respectively. They had several successful tours, going across the country and headlining with acts such as Garbage and Lenny Kravitz. They also appeared on Craig Kilborn and two videos, "Mercy Kiss", and "The Remedy", were released. Monster, another video, was composed of shots taken while on touring, but wasn't released for years, via MTV's website.
In 2002 they performed the theme song for the short-lived Teletoon (also broadcast on MTV) animated series Clone High. Many of their songs can be heard in the background during the show. Tommy also voiced himself in a brief appearance in the final episode. After Clone High was dropped by MTV, however, the band stopped its touring (largely due to the dissolution of their label, Extasy Records).
Armed to the Teeth (2005-current)
While keeping in touch with his fanbase and caring for his sick cat, Iggy, Tommy began working on material over the next few years, preparing to release another album. After a relationship of his came to a rough conclusion, he was picked up by Universal, and wrote several new songs for his next album, citing his personal life, as well as politics, as his main inspirations.
Teaming up with Bryan Head once more and bringing in guitarist Sean Woolstenhulme, Tommy started work in 2004 to record his next album. In June 2005 they released an EP, consisting of a few songs from the new album along with b-sides and demos, called The Reverb EP. This was followed by the full album, Armed to the Teeth, in September 2005
In January 2006, Walter wrote in his online journal that Universal Records had stopped promoting the album. He subsequently quit the label, also noting that Abandoned Pools is once again a one-man project. He also began working with Ross Golan of Ross Golan and Molehead, forming an alternative and electronica duo, called Glacier Hiking, which was signed to Lionsgate Records in early 2008. While working with Ross Golan, Tommy wrote several new songs, promising to Abandoned Pools fans a third album. Glacier Hiking, however, has become his main focus, and he also collaborates with several other artists and friends in the Los Angeles area, such as Charlotte Martin and Graham Colton. He also started another project with Rie Sinclair, called Oliver the Penguin.
A little known fact about Tommy is that he worked as a Mac Genius at the Grove in Los Angeles while forming Abandoned Pools and Glacier Hiking. No doubt oblivious fans may have had their Macs fixed by him at the Genius Bar without ever knowing who he really was.
Discography
See also
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