Jennifer "Jenny" Gillen Toomey (born 1968) is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

musician and arts activist.

Career

Toomey was a member of the bands Geek,

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

, Liquorice,

Grenadine Grenadine is a commonly used nonalcoholic bar syrup characterized by its deep red color. It is a popular cocktail ingredient renowned for its flavor as well as its ability to give a reddish or pink tint to mixed drinks. Grenadine is traditiona ...

, So Low and Choke, among others, and has also recorded under her own name. In 1990, Toomey co-founded the

Simple Machines A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refer ...

record label with a housemate who left the project soon after. Toomey ran the label with Kristin Thomson from 1990 to 1998 out of their house in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. Along with

TeenBeat Records Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest ...

and

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idle ...

, Simple Machines helped document the D.C.

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

scenes. Tsunami was also greatly influential in the do it yourself (D.I.Y.) movement among the punk, grunge and indie communities. Among the artists released on Simple Machines are Tsunami, Grenadine,

Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for o ...

Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

Scrawl Scrawl was an American indie rock trio based in Columbus, Ohio, and active from the mid-1980s. History The band formed in 1985, originally under the name Skull. The founding members were Marcy Mays (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Sue Harsh ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

(recording under the name Late!) and Retsin, among others. Through Simple Machines, Toomey and Thomson released The Mechanic's Guide, a DIY music guidebook which was influential in the independent music scene of the 1990s. In 2000, Toomey founded the Future of Music Coalition, a Washington, D.C.

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

that translates the complex issues at the intersection of music, policy and law, aiming to help (primarily independent) musicians, including

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, health insurance, and the effects of corporate consolidation of radio and the music industry. She was the founding executive director. As part of her advocacy work, Toomey participated in many conferences, including the Future of the Music Industry forum held at Georgetown University in January 2003, among others. In November 2007, she was appointed Program Officer for Media and Cultural Policy in the Media, Arts and Culture Unit at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

, where she would later serve as Director, Internet Freedom, and where she is currently the International Program Director, Technology and Society.

Discography

with Choke * ''Kingdom of Mattresses'' (1990) with Geek * ''Wedge (Various Artists)'' (1990) * ''Three's Company (Various Artists)'' (1990) * ''Screw (Various Artists)'' (1991) * ''Hammer'' with My New Boyfriend * ''Pulley (Various Artists)'' (1991) * ''Supersaw'' with Slack * ''Neapolitan Metropolitan (Various Artists)'' (1992) * ''Bates Stamper'' with Grenadine * ''Goya'' (1992) * ''Trilogy'' (1992) * ''Don't Forget the Halo'' (1993) * ''Nopalitos'' (1994) * ''Christiansen'' (1994) with Tsunami * ''Deep End'' (1993) * ''The Heart's Tremolo'' (1994) * ''World Tour and Other Destinations'' (1995) * ''A Brilliant Mistake'' (1997) with Liquorice * ''Stalls'' (1995) * ''Listening Cap'' (1995)

Solo

* ''Antidote'' (2001) * ''Tempting'' (2002)

References

External links

*
Jenny Toomey
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toomey, Jenny 1968 births Living people American activists American feminist writers Copyright activists American indie rock musicians American women rock singers Georgetown College (Georgetown University) alumni Misra Records artists 21st-century American women