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]
Tomato | |
|---|---|
 Chris "Tomato" Harfenist Spin Studios, NYC | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chris Harfenist |
| Also known as | Tomato11 |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer, singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1998 - present |
| Labels | RCA Records Hybrid Recordings/Chocodog Records Steven Records |
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
edit- Sound of Urchin
- Moistboyz
- Crescent Moon
- DiamondSnake
Discography
editEarly pre-official SOU 4-track albums (1994-1998)
edit| 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)
edit| 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
edit| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Live Jihad | Moistboyz |
References
edit- ^ nytimes.com
- ^ http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Gary_Chester[permanent dead link]
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Lori Harfenist, NYC Uberchic". Ask a New Yorker.com. May 2009. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ Tomato's House of Rock THOR Website
- ^ Moby gets back to his roots with Diamondsnake
- ^ 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.
- ^ Rosenberg, Axl (2012-09-12). "GET A LOUDER EDUCATION FROM METAL INJECTION". MetalSucks. Retrieved 2023-03-27.