Chris Tomson

Christopher William Tomson (born March 6, 1984)[7] is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the drummer for New York-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend. He is also the lead vocalist and guitarist for a side project called Dams of the West, for which he writes and records the entirety of its music.

Chris Tomson
Chris Tomson performing with Vampire Weekend in Hamburg, November 2, 2007, the band's first gig in Europe
Background information
Birth nameChristopher William Tomson
Born (1984-03-06) March 6, 1984
OriginUpper Freehold Township, New Jersey, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2006-present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitehttp://www.vampireweekend.com/

Background

Tomson grew up on a farm in the Imlaystown section of Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey, and later recorded parts of Vampire Weekend's first album there.[8] His father is an engineer whose family is of Irish and Ukrainian heritage (he studied abroad in Ireland in college). His mother is an administrator whose family is of English and German heritage. Tomson's full name is Christopher William Tomson. He graduated from the Peddie School as a salutatorian and then from Columbia University where he studied economics and music. Tomson enjoys photography and is an avid soccer fan; his favorite club is Tottenham Hotspur.[9] Tomson is also a huge fan of Phish, The Band, and the Grateful Dead.[10] After living in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn for several years, he moved to Los Angeles in 2019. In 2008 he was involved in a hit-and-run incident in London after the Shockwaves NME Awards. He was taken to hospital to be treated for neck injuries but was released with no notable injuries.[11]

Musical career

Prior to forming Vampire Weekend, Tomson played with Ezra Koenig in the "serious"[12] rap group called L’Homme Run.[13]

Tomson met the members of Vampire Weekend while attending Columbia University—he took music classes with Rostam Batmanglij and started the group in their senior year. The name of the group comes from the movie of the same name that Ezra Koenig and his friends made over a summer vacation.[14] They self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs (Tomson worked as an archivist for a record label). Their next three albums – Contra (2010), Modern Vampires of the City (2013), and Father of the Bride (2019) – all reached number one on the US album charts.

In February 2017, Tomson released his first solo album, Youngish American, under the pseudonym Dams of the West.

References
  1. Clark, Tyler (May 8, 2019). "Did Vampire Weekend Win the Indie Rock Age?". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  2. Edelstone, Steven (January 25, 2019). "The 10 Best Vampire Weekend Songs". Paste. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  3. Haider, Arwa (January 3, 2018). "The most exciting music of 2018". BBC. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  4. Swhear, Alex (May 6, 2019). "Vampire Weekend's Freewheeling Pop Rock and 11 More Albums for Heavy Rotation". Noisey. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  5. "New music review: Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend (XL)". May 12, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  6. Zellner, Xander (May 14, 2019). "Vampire Weekend Becomes First Act With Three No. 1 Albums & No Hot 100 Hits". Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  7. Danity (2010-03-06). "Birthday Bitches, Bubba Sparxxx Turns 33". Celebrity VIP Lounge. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  8. Daniel, Jayanthi. "A Weekend on the Upper West Side", The New York Sun, June 1, 2007. Accessed August 16, 2012. "The band, which plans to release 1,000 copies of a new EP on June 16 before launching a month-long national tour in July, records its songs on a laptop in friends' basements and at Mr. Tomson's parents' house in Imlaystown, N.J., — not far, as Messrs. Koenig and Baio pointed out separately, from the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park."
  9. "BBC Sport - Mark Lawrenson's predictions". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  10. Greenhaus, Mike, https://jambands.com/features/2012/08/24/moving-full-circle-with-vampire-weekend-s-chris-tomson-tri-phish-and-old-school-geeking/ Jambands.com
  11. "Vampire Weekend set to leave hospital". Nme.Com. 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  12. "Video Hits Interview Vampire Weekend". YouTube. 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  13. "Ezra Koenig". AskMen. 1985-05-26. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  14. "Vampire Weekend Trailer". Vimeo. 2005-12-20.

Chris Tomson on Twitter

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