Tennessee Thomas

Tennessee Thomas
Tennessee Thomas in 2006
Born (1984-12-17) 17 December 1984 (age 40)
London, England
EducationMarymount High School
PartnerBenjamin Goodman (2016–present)
Children1

Tennessee Thomas (born 17 December 1984) is a British drummer. She is best known as the drummer of bands The Like and Nice as Fuck. As an actress, she has played drummers in fictional bands.

Early and personal life

Thomas is the daughter of Pete Thomas, drummer for Elvis Costello and the Attractions,[1] and first started playing the drums at the age of 13.[2] She was raised in both London and Los Angeles, forming band The Like when she was in high school in LA.[3] She was dating Mark Ronson in 2009.[4]

Career

Thomas was a founding member and drummer of the indie rock group The Like.[5] The band formed in 2001, when the group were teenagers; all three of the founding members are daughters of music industry veterans.[6] She deejayed at the Rachel Antonoff show at New York Fashion Week in 2011.[7] By 2014, The Like were taking a "seemingly permanent hiatus".[3]

With a group of female activists and artists, including Lena Dunham, Alexa Chung and Alia Penner, she performed to the song "You Don't Own Me" in 2012 as a PSA on women's rights in political spaces, because of growing misogynistic sentiment being emitted from the Republican Party.[8] She made this as one of many PSA's through the activism group Department of Peace. After finishing touring with The Like and settling in New York City, Thomas worked on campaigns as part of Department of Peace.[3] In 2013, Thomas opened a pop-up in Manhattan's East Village, which turned into her permanent boutique shop and club, the Deep End Club. A performance space, the shop also sells work by local artists with a "graphic '60s vibe".[9]

In 2016, she joined Jenny Lewis and Erika Forster to form the "supergroup" trio Nice As Fuck.[10][11] Thomas continued her activism, campaigning for Bernie Sanders and turning the Deep End Club into a headquarters for this cause.[12]

She has had two acting roles. In 2010, she portrayed Lynette Guycott in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on the Scott Pilgrim comic book series.[13] Lynette is the drummer of the band The Clash at Demonhead, fronted in the film by Brie Larson as Envy Adams and Brandon Routh as bass player Todd.[14] Thomas only appears to play the drums, with her character's role significantly downsized from the comics.[15] In 2014, she appeared in the music video for Jenny Lewis's "Just One of the Guys" as the drummer for Lewis's fictional band, fronted by actresses Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway and Brie Larson cross-dressing.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "PopGurls Interview: Tennessee Thomas of The Like".
  2. ^ Chamberlain, Rich (13 July 2010). "Tennessee Thomas: 'Not enough female drummers'". musicradar.com. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Tennessee Thomas: the Evolution and Roots of a Creative Citizen". Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  4. ^ UK, POPSUGAR Celebrity (24 March 2009). "Mark Drinks With His Drummer Date". POPSUGAR Celebrity UK. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  5. ^ Keith Bruce (7 September 2010). "A girl band the like of which the sixties never had". HeraldScotland. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  6. ^ McDonald, Seven. "Kids Rock". LA Weekly.
  7. ^ Mason, Nicolette (10 September 2011). "Big Girl in a Skinny World: Fashion Week Diary Day 2". Marie Claire. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. ^ Franke-Ruta, Garance (23 October 2012). "The Best Lady GOTV Video of 2012, Starring Lena Dunham and Lesley Gore". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Inside Drummer Tennessee Thomas' Vintage NY Boutique". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. ^ Ysteboe, Taylor (20 July 2016), "Watch Nice As Fuck Make Their TV Debut on Colbert", Paste.
  11. ^ Main, Coup De. "Tennessee Thomas". Coup De Main Magazine. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Tennessee Thomas". Double or Nothing. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World notes" (PDF). Scott Pilgrim vs. the World official website. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  14. ^ Goldberg, Matt (15 July 2009). "Video Blog 10: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD". Collider. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Lynette Guycott (Character)". Comic Vine. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. ^ Lara, Maria Mercedes (15 July 2014). "Here Are Kristen Stewart and Anne Hathaway Dancing in Drag Together". POPSUGAR Celebrity UK. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  17. ^ Mcready, Rachel (15 July 2014). "Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway Dress in Drag in Jenny Lewis' Music Vid". usmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 July 2014.