Abandoned Pools

For singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tommy Walter, the name of his musical alter ego, Abandoned Pools, once more seems to fit his situation like a well-worn glove.He began playing music at a young age, first with the bass guitar and then the French horn. Teaching classical music theory, he began working with various Los Angeles-area musicians. But teaching didn't fulfill Tommy`s desire to play rock music. A collaboration with area singer/songwriter E led to the band Eels, but Tommy left the project despite the promise of Eeels' 1996 debut Beautiful Freak.On his own again, he holed up in his apartment and began writing and recording original material. Tommy formed a band, Tely, who released a CD that was distributed on the internet. He was also in the touring band for the Ken Andrews solo project ON.Later he form Abandoned Pools.On Humanistic, his 2001 debut, it referred to his leaving behind a seemingly carefree upbringing in the L.A. suburb of Westlake Village to pursue a career in rock. Humanistic actually features a couple of songs that were once performed by Tely, like "Start Over". Angie Hart of Frente! contributed vocals to "Start Over," "Ruin Your Life," "Sunny Day," and "Seed." Although a solo project, Tommy recruited a touring band, featuring Leah Randi and Bryan Head filling out the ranks of bassist and drummer. That first album went on to sell almost 100k, thanks to the Modern Rock hit, "The Remedy" and tours with the likes of Remy Zero, Garbage, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Corgan and A Perfect Circle, but after the demise of his label, Walter found himself back where he started.It took the dissolution of an intense romance for Tommy to throw himself back into his music, once again recording demos in his home studio. Produced by Gareth Jones and mixed by Ken Andrews the new five-song EP serves as a preview for Abandoned Pools' upcoming full-length album, Armed to the Teeth, once again showcasing Walter's ability to combine the macro and the micro, contrasting his despair with the world situation and his own personal heartbreak.In January 2006, he wrote in his blog that Universal Records had stopped promoting the album. Tommy subsequently quit the label. He also noted that Abandoned Pools is once again a one-man project. Since then, he's mostly put Abandoned Pools to the wayside, having been working with Ross Golan of on a side-project called Glacier Hiking. He has worked on new songs, though, and has promised a third album to his fans.