By MLe McWilliams
Equal parts social justice and rock ‘n’ roll, TOMBOi is not your average indie electronic band. Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, bandmates Paige McMullen (guitar), Alex E (vocals/beats), and Summer Wood (drums) use music to share their personal experiences as queer women in the South, promote social equality, and to give back to their community through volunteerism. “We want to be allies and make space for our queer, trans, PoC family and friends, and to create music and share our truth,” they say.
TOMBOi gives off a sense of authenticity and vulnerability that keeps audiences coming back for more. The crew opened up to Spectrum South to discuss their music, journey as a band, and their mission to create a safe space within the music arena.
How did y’all first meet?
We had been friends for years through the local music scene in Jacksonville, Florida. Our bands practiced at the same space (Warehouse Studios) and we volunteered together with Girls Rock Camp Jacksonville. Then, four years ago, Summer threw a house show for Paige’s birthday. The following day, the three of us got together to combine musical forces. French fries were involved.
How do you navigate your queerness in the music scene?
We stay true to ourselves day to day. We practice our craft together, then show up for the shows we’ve booked. We come as ourselves, do our best, and hope to connect with the folks we’re sharing our music with. When booking out-of-town shows where we’re unfamiliar with the music scene, we usually reach out to bands or promoters that have been referred to us by our friends. For cities that we return to, we’ve cultivated relationships with the folks that we’ve worked with before, we revisit those relationships, and make friendships/family. Our queerness is who we are so, in a way, we just show up and always try to do our best.
How have other musicians and audiences responded to your music?
We’ve been lucky and had a variety of people respond positively to our music. It can be vulnerable. That’s the real reward—making something so deeply personal and having total strangers relate to you and, most importantly, empathize with you.
What inspires your music?
The songs from our last album were inspired by the social and political climate of growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as the national dialogue of what it feels like to be queer (just from our perspective). The album name, Spectrum, was partly inspired by the youths of the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts’ Gay Straight Alliance and their “Spectrum” showcase.
How do you aim to change the music scene?
We’re very proud of being a DIY band and sharing the resources we’ve accumulated with other artists and using our platform to elevate artists who are working in our community. Being a musician in the digital age presents a lot of challenges as well as opportunities. Technology provides us the ability to connect quickly with a larger audience, but it invokes the issue of our time: How do we escape the wheel of the “highlight reel” that social media creates and strip down to the raw human connections we all yearn for? Ultimately, as musicians (and beyond), we strive for the latter. We want to see music return to its roots—a living art that is co-created by the musicians and those experiencing the music.
What’s next for TOMBOi?
We’re interested in working on new music and making plans for the summer in regards to booking. We will be playing the Jacksonville Magazine Fashion Project show in May. This will be our third year providing entertainment for the event. It’s a different style than a traditional show, which is cool, because we are starting to branch out creatively and perform in new ways as musicians.
You can check out TOMBOi’s latest album at tomboiband.bandcamp.com, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
