Damion Suomi
{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Damion Suomi
| origin = Cocoa Beach, FL United States
| genre = Indie Rock
Folk
Drinking Songs
| years_active = 2007 - present
| label = P Is for Panda/Hopeless Records
| website = [http://www.damionsuomi.com/ www.damionsuomi.com]
| current_members = Damion Suomi
}}
Damion Suomi is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He currently resides in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Music career
Suomi began singing in church as a child{{cite web |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/getting-to-know-damion-suomi.html |title=Getting to Know... Damion Suomi :: Features Music :: Articles :: Paste |website=www.pastemagazine.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620065304/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/getting-to-know-damion-suomi.html |archive-date=20 June 2009 |url-status=dead}} and later took up the guitar after his parents' divorce as a means to feel more connected to his father, who also played guitar.Parker, Chris. [http://www.okgazette.com/p/12853/a/5857/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQBzAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwA0ADgA "Singer/songwriter Damion Suomi found his voice in Ireland and a purpose in Florida"], OK Gazette, March 24, 2010. Suomi attended Bible college for a year before choosing to take a new direction with his life: "They give the students this great experience, but then I realized later that I was having the same experiences at concerts and bars, where there's this collective conscious, you're surrounded by the people you love, everyone's singing songs, and something just clicks. It's completely the same feeling."
Beginning songwriting in his early twenties, Suomi played with Dame{{Cite web|url=http://lamusicblog.com/2009/08/review/damion-suomi-hotel-cafe-on-july-31st/|title=Damion Suomi @ Hotel Café on July 31st | LA Music Blog|website=Lamusicblog.com|accessdate=March 27, 2020}} before moving to Ireland for a year and a half. He returned home to Florida with a catalog of Irish rebel and drinking songs, which he would later perform at local Irish pubs.{{Cite web|url=https://doyouplaywell.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/damion-suomi-plays-well-with-p-is-for-panda/|title=DAMION SUOMI PLAYS WELL WITH P IS FOR PANDA|website=Doyouplaywell.wordpress.com|date=August 15, 2009}} Following this, Suomi found regional success with pop band Memoranda but left shortly thereafter to pursue music closer to his own heart.Ferguson, Jason. [http://www.blurt-online.com/features/view/429/ "Musical Therapy: Damion Suomi"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205025326/http://blurt-online.com/features/view/429/ |date=2010-02-05 }}, Blurt Magazine, August 19, 2009. Suomi set out on a solo career, with his debut album Self Titled ("a straight-ahead look at disillusionment and the walls people put up to avoid pain"Reidy, Julia. [http://www.atlantamusicblog.com/news/2009/03/cd-review-damion-suomi-self-titled.html "CD Review: Damion Suomi -- Self Titled"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327130409/http://www.atlantamusicblog.com/news/2009/03/cd-review-damion-suomi-self-titled.html |date=2009-03-27 }}, Atlanta Music Guide, March 24, 2009.) being released in early 2009, following with the EP Needs a Little Water ("brief, by most recording standards, but a lion nonetheless"Bennison, Tobin. [http://thebeachsideresident.com/2009/12/damion-suomi/ "Damion Suomi"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223020815/http://thebeachsideresident.com/2009/12/damion-suomi/ |date=2009-12-23 }}, The Beachside Resident, December 2009.) in December of that year, both released by Atlanta-based record label P Is for Panda, an affiliate of Hopeless Records.
Touring tirelessly since November 2009 with Andy Zipf and Lauris Vidal, Suomi rejoined former Memoranda bandmates Ian and Gavin Little, Zac Sullivan, and along with David Fountain, in January 2010 to resume touring as Damion Suomi and the Minor Prophets. Suomi and band appeared at the 2010 SXSW music festival, garnering a spot on Esquire Magazine's "Great New Songs from SXSW... in a Sentence Each" list.Miller, Jeff. [http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/sxsw-2010-lineup/ "Great New Songs from SXSW... in a Sentence Each"], Esquire Magazine, March 21, 2010.
The poster for Suomi's Self Titled can be seen in Fox's Sons of Tucson.Episode 3, "The Golden Ticket". Original air date: March 28, 2010.
Charity
Aside from P is for Panda proceeds, one third of which are donated to various charities,{{Cite web|url=https://chorus.fm/|title=chorus.fm|website=Chorus.fm|accessdate=March 27, 2020}} Suomi frequently shares his time, his profits, and his storyStrout, Justin. [https://www.spin.com/2010/01/popular-bands-perform-fight-teen-suicide/ "Artists Perform to Fight Suicide and Depression"], Spin Magazine, January 11, 2010. to support TWLOHA (To Write Love on Her Arms),Ross, Jennifer. [http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/musicians-gather-for-night-bigger-than-themselves-1.2134800 "Musicians gather for night ‘bigger than themselves’"], CentralFloridaFuture.com, January 13, 2010. "a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide."{{Cite web|url=https://twloha.com/|title=To Write Love On Her Arms|website=Twloha.com|accessdate=March 27, 2020}}
Personal life
Discography
=Albums=
- Self Titled (2008) self-released, (2009) P Is for Panda
- Go, and Sell All of Your Things (2011) Hopeless Records
=EPs=
- Needs a Little Water (December 2009) P is for Panda
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.damionsuomi.com/ Official website]
- [http://www.myspace.com/damionsuomi/ Official MySpace]
- [http://www.facebook.com/damionsuomi/ Official Facebook]
- [https://www.youtube.com/daysuomi/ Official YouTube Channel]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090228003829/http://www.hopelessrecords.com/ Hopeless Records] - Damion Suomi's Record Label
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suomi, Damion}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:People from Cocoa Beach, Florida
Category:Guitarists from Florida
Category:Hopeless Records artists
Category:Singer-songwriters from Florida
Category:American male guitarists