Draft:Bam Bam (Seattle band)

Bam Bam were a Seattle rock band, founded in 1983 and fronted until 1990 by vocalist and songwriter Tina Bell. After her departure, the remaining band members continued through 1994 as an instrumental trio. They were pioneers of the form of rock music that later became known as grunge; their original drummer Matt Cameron went on to play in Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and later Pearl Jam. They released an EP "Villains (Also Wear White)" recorded at Reciprocal Recording in 1984 and a music video for their song "Ground Zero."

History
Tina Bell and Tommy Martin, a married couple, formed Bam Bam in 1983. Bam Bam is an acronym for Bell and Martin twice, with the band also liking the "punchy percussive sound" of the name. Martin put out an ad in the Seattle music paper The Rocket, looking for a bass player, which was answered by bassist Scott Ledgerwood. The three quickly started writing music together, combining extremely diverse influences that included punk music, heavy rock, and soul music. They then put out an ad in the Seattle music magazine The Rocket for a drummer and found Matt Cameron.

With Bam Bam's lineup complete, the band started playing underground clubs in Seattle, quickly getting noticed by the local press. In an October 1983 article, The Rocket simply stated: "Watch out for Bam Bam - they're good." Cite. playing with a number of local bands, including the Melvins.

1984 was a particularly active year for Bam Bam. Cameron was replaced by drummer Tom Hendrickson, who would end up playing on most of their early recordings. They became the first Seattle band to record at Reciprocal Recording￼ and recorded an album's worth of material with producer Chris Hanzsek. They were courted by C/Z Records, a label established by recordings from the studio, but ended up releasing their EP "Villains (Also Wear White)" independently. Despite having enough material for an album, they released only the EP due to cost constraints. .

However, they did take the unusual step of recording a video for the song 'Ground Zero,' which was not on the EP but also recorded in the Reciprocal Recording sessions. The song was inspired by cold war fears of nuclear war, and the awareness that the band was living across near several military facilities that would presumably be targeted in a war. Filming the video involved the band trespassing on Bangor, the US military submarine base, and being asked to leave by US military personnel.

The Bell/Martin/Ledgerwood/Hendrickson lineup lasted until 1985, when the rhythm section left the band, and Bell and Martin continued a revolving cast of bassists and drummers. The band moved to Europe for 2 years in the latter half of the 1980's, hoping to achieve the success that had eluded them in Seattle.

By 1990, the band had moved back to Seattle. In the same year, Bell quit the band, citing exhaustion with the racism she experienced as a Black person fronting a band and with the band's lack of success. The band then continued playing in the early 1990's as a 3-piece instrumental band. The 3-piece lineup put out a few releases in the early 1990's, and then added vocalist Brad Mowen and became Mommy.

After their breakup, Martin continued his involvement with the Seattle music scene as a soundman and player, and he and Ledgerwood reunited in the band Called in Sic in 2010. Bell passed away in 2012, and Martin in 2019.

Legacy
In the late 2010's and early 2020's, there was a resurgence of interest in Bam Bam and in Tina Bell in particular, fueled partially by the Black Lives Matter movement, with a number of online articles published about her and the growing perception that the band were early, unsung pioneers of the grunge genre. CBS News did a segment on the band in 2021, describing Bell as an African American woman who led a grunge forerunner. . A concert was organized at Seattle's Central Tavern to play the music of Bam Bam, with a group of musicians who included founding drummer Cameron. . Seattle Community College exhibited a series of portraits of Bell, and is planning a mural and a statue of her to be erected across the street from the Jimi Hendrix statue on Broadway on Seattle's Capitol Hill.