User:EllenZoe/sandbox/Tina Bell

Tina Bell was the singer, songwriter and front woman of the Seattle, Washington-based band, Bam Bam. The band with Bell was considered one of he founders of the grunge music scene. She was an African American woman in a predominately white, male community of rock bands from the area.

Early life
Bell was born and raised in Seattle, the eldest of 10 siblings. She eventually met and married guitarist Tommy Martin, and the couple had a son, TJ, who, in 2011, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the film, Undefeated.

Music career
Bell and Martin formed the band called Bam Bam in 1983. The band also included bassist Scott Ledgerwood, and drummer Matt Cameron (the latter went on to join Soundgarden and then Pearl Jam). Bell's diminutive frame–she was 5'2–belied her low smoky voice that was called "unapologetic".

According to Seattle Times: "The legacy of Bell, a Black woman, has often been overlooked in a genre typically associated with long-haired white guys." These include Seattle breakout bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and others of that ilk. She was often the victim of racial attacks while on stage, but the Bell-led Bam Bam was popular with local audiences. Future Nirvana founder Kurt Cobain was once a roadie for the band.

Although Bam Bam were courted by punk rock label C/Z Records, they opted instead to independently release their EP Villians {Also Wear White) in 1984. This was the first grunge record made at Reciprocal Recording studio, the location where later Nirvana made their demos for the Bleach and Incesticide albums. Villians predated the better known grunge recordings by about a year.

Later that year, with songs written by Bell and Martin, including the singles “Ground Zero” and “Show Me What You Know”, Bam Bam released the album House of Demo'84. Eight of the tracks were remastered and released in June 2019 as Free Fall From Space, produced by Martin and Chris Hanzsek (the latter producer of albums by Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Melvins, and others in the Seattle music scene).

Eventually Bell and the band left Seattle for London in the late '80s, hoping for success in Europe. Bell left Bam Bam in 1990, and eventually quit music entirely.

After her personal split from Martin, she eventually moved into assisted living and was an occasional volunteer at a local church until she died from alcoholism-related cirrhosis of the liver in 2012.

Tribute
On July 9, 2021, Seattle musicians formed a tribute band and played a show at Central Saloon to honor Bell's legacy. Om Johari, singer for Bad Brains tribute band Re-Ignition, had the idea for the show after CBS News' Gayle King contacted her to do a story on Bell. The Bam Bam tribute band included musicians such as Cameron, guitarist Kendall Jones of Fishbone, guitarist Ayron Jones, and bassist Jenelle Roccaforte. Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard also participated, as did black women Johari selected who were influenced by Bell's music. This included Eva Walker of The Black Tones, Shaina Shepherd of BEARAXE, Dmitra Smith of Ex’s With Benefits and Dejha Colantuono, songwriter. The band played a selection of Bam Bam songs at the show.