Tommy Walter
Thomas Edward Walter (born October 30, 1970) is an American musician, best known for his alternative rock band Abandoned Pools and as the former bassist and one of the founding members of Eels. Early years and Eels Tommy Walter was raised in Westlake Village. His father was an airplane pilot; his mother a stewardess. His father is from Canada, and was almost 47 when Tommy was born. He grew up in a modest, middle-class household. He began playing bass at a young age, and was formally trained on the French horn in college. He attended the University of Southern California, followed by Pacific University. He began teaching classical music theory, and worked with local Los Angeles area musicians. He met with singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett (known as E), and Butch Norton and formed Eels. Prior to their founding, E had already released two records by himself, under his single-letter pseudonym, and their name was decided upon so that their music would be placed next to E's solo works. However, it was in retrospect that they realized that there were bands that would be placed in between, such as Eagles. Their collaborations led to refining songs that E had previously written,