Tomato (musician)

For other uses, see Tomato (disambiguation).
Tomato
Chris "Tomato" Harfenist Spin Studios, NYC
Chris "Tomato" Harfenist Spin Studios, NYC
Background information
Birth nameChris Harfenist
Also known asTomato11
GenresAlternative rock
Occupation(s)Drummer, singer, songwriter
Years active1998 - present
LabelsRCA Records
Hybrid Recordings/Chocodog Records
Steven Records

Tomato (born Chris Harfenist August 17, 1969) is an American musician who is best known for being the lead singer and drummer for the alternative rock band Sound of Urchin. Tomato was born in New York City, grew up in Rockland County, NY, and presently resides in Brooklyn, NY. He also plays drums in The Moistboyz[1] as well as Dave Dreiwitz from Ween's "Crescent Moon". Tomato was mentored by Gary Chester,[2] author of Modern Drummer publication's drum book "The New Breed". Tomato has played drums for Ween, as well as for Ellen Foley and the Dirty Old Men, and recorded drums with Tenacious D for the Comedy Central Crank Yankers version of "The Friendship Song". Tomato also appeared on an episode of the Nickelodeon kids' show The Naked Brothers Band (TV series) as a guest drummer along with Questlove and Claude Coleman, Jr.[3] Tomato is also married to internet celebrity Lori Harfenist, host of The Resident.[4]

In 2009, in addition to playing with Sound of Urchin, Tomato opened his own after school music program in New York City entitled "Tomato's House Of Rock" [THOR].[5] Previously Tomato was the music director for the NYC branch of the Paul Green School of Rock.

On April 30, 2010, the formation of DiamondSnake was announced. The heavy metal band's members include Tomato as well as Moby, Dave Hill (Valley Lodge) and Phil Costello (Satanicide, Valley Lodge).[6]

In April 2012, Tomato opened a second branch of Tomato's House Of Rock in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, NY. As stated in the Village Voice: "New York City is a bastion of educational institutions, but one of its most innovative educators doesn't even have a teaching certificate. What he does have is a lifetime of experience as a rock musician, a passion for imparting real-world skills to kids, and two schools—one in Hell's Kitchen and one in Brooklyn. He goes by Tomato. His school: Tomato's House of Rock, or THOR."[7]

In Fall 2012, the first season of the Louder Education web series debuted on the Metal Injection website, with Tomato and Alex Skolnick as hosts.[8]

Bands

Discography

Early pre-official SOU 4-track albums (1994-1998)

Year Title Label
1994 Four Fours From A Calendar Fan Steven Records (originally released on Mighty Monster as cassette only)
1995 Springtime Makes Me Feel Steven Records
1996 Approval – Cob 9 Steven Records
1997 Earth Blanket Steven Records
1998 Willow For Gasoline Alley Steven Records

Official SOU Studio albums (1998–present)

Year Title Label
1998 All That And A Brandy Alexander Steven Records
2000 The Orange E.P. RCA Records
2001 The Jack And Diane E.P. RCA Records
2002 You Are The Best RCA Records
2002 Blame Canada – Live In Toronto RCA Records promo only
2005 The Diamond Hybrid Recordings
2008 Rejoice CD-Only release Self-Release To Fans Only
2014 Black Castle Vinyl-Only Release Baby Gas Mask Records
2015 The WoozyFly Sessions Baby Gas Mask Records
2017 The Diamond Deluxe Steven Records
2017 Jack And Diane Deluxe Steven Records
2019 Rejoice Official Extended Release Steven Records/Baby Gas Mask Records
2019 Rock n' Roll Is True E.P. Steven Records
2019 Black Castle Official Extended Release Steven Records/Baby Gas Mask Records
2019 The Crypt E.P. Steven Records

Moistboyz

Year Title Label
2010 Live Jihad Moistboyz

References

  1. ^ nytimes.com
  2. ^ http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Gary_Chester[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Tonight's TV Hot List: Saturday, June 13, 2009 - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  4. ^ "Lori Harfenist, NYC Uberchic". Ask a New Yorker.com. May 2009. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  5. ^ Tomato's House of Rock THOR Website
  6. ^ Moby gets back to his roots with Diamondsnake
  7. ^ Leseman, Linda (2012-12-18). "THOR: The House That Rock Built - Page 1 - Music - New York - Village Voice". Archived from the original on 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  8. ^ Rosenberg, Axl (2012-09-12). "GET A LOUDER EDUCATION FROM METAL INJECTION". MetalSucks. Retrieved 2023-03-27.