Meet the Musician: Jenny Thomas

This post profiles Jenny Thomas, one of the Flashband musicians. She's performed in 5 showcases, and her band Ménage À Garage (formed through Flashband) is having their first post-Flashband show at Velvet Lounge on Thursday June 4. 

I work in the arts and entertainment industry, so music is central to my work. I'm very lucky. (My career crush is NPR's Bob Boilen.) Playing music is a hobby, a social and creative outlet.

I’m a California native via New Orleans. A lifelong fan of live music, I’ve had seminal experiences seeing bands like Roxy Music and Suicidal Tendencies (not on the same bill) in my teens and many other bands "before they got big."

 I’ve been in two bands, Echo Seven and Sugarpants, while living in Salt Lake City. Both were primarily local, but with Echo Seven we had a manager and traveled once to a tiny college in Idaho to perform. We were paid $1,000 and treated like rock stars. That counts as touring, right?

 My favorite style of music to play is loud and fast. My origins are in indie rock and punk music. However, I don't discriminate. I listen to a little bit of everything: world music, jazz, Zydeco, you name it.

 In Flashband, I play bass guitar, backing vox, and (apparently) the drums. I’m also classically trained in flute. I performed in my first Flashband last summer, and now I’m hooked. It's a commitment to put on a great show without the commitment of a long-term band relationship. The camaraderie, the built-in community, the beauty of gelling with people musically… it's never a dull moment.