In the late 1970s, the Akron music scene was buzzing with underground energy, and one standout band was Unit 5, fronted by a teenage Tracey Thomas.
Videos from that time show Thomas swaying to the beat, her headband wrapped around bleached blonde hair and eyes framed with thick black eyeliner.
The vibe in the room was electric — a fleeting, legendary moment of local rock history.
“People were flying in from New York, record producers coming to see bands like Hammer Damage, Unit 5. We really got a lot of attention, but they came to us,” Thomas said.
At the time, she had no idea of the special nature of what she was a part of in Akron.
While other new wave acts like Devo and The Waitresses rose to fame, Unit 5 was passed over by major labels despite the attention.
“Something happened, and none of them followed through. And so, we’re like, ‘Well, that was our shot. Let’s just call it a day,’” she said. “If I’d gotten that life, I think it would have eaten me alive. I wouldn’t have been good at the attention, the criticism, the schedule."
After a break, she returned to music — learning to play instruments, writing her own songs and taking control of her sound.
“I just decided I need to learn how to play an instrument, so I can get the music that's in my head out,” she said. “I’ve got daughters. I don’t want them to feel like they have to go to pasture.”
This week, Thomas releases her deeply personal acoustic album, “Words Can’t Save Us Now,” alongside her memoir, “Little Miss Akron,” a nod to her early years in the pageant scene.
“I was literally Little Miss Akron. And then I was Little Miss Fairlawn. I was a photo model from the age of like 3. And then I walked the runway from 6 to 10,” she said.
Her new album features original songs like “Wax on Fire,” a reflection of her life, and covers of tracks from some of her musical influences, including Taylor Swift.
"My kids were like, ‘Oh my God, please don’t cover Taylor Swift,’” Thomas said. “But I hear ‘This Is Me Trying’ from my perspective as an older woman, and it sounds like a love song to my adult kids as an old lady.”
Reflecting on rejection and resilience
The new album marks Thomas' first collaboration in more than a decade with producer Ryan Humbert of The Shootouts.
Recorded at Son of Moondog Studios in Kent, the album features five new songs co-written with Humbert, as well as covers of tracks by Akron legend Jim Ballard, U2 and The Waterboys.
The dream to create an all-acoustic collection of songs has been nearly two decades in the making, and Thomas said she’s thrilled with how it turned out.
In conjunction with the album’s release, Thomas' memoir gives a glimpse into her beginnings in pageants to her rise in Akron’s punk scene to the road to discovering her true musical identity.
“If that had been my life, it would have been a lot to handle. But now, I’m still doing what I love on my own terms."Tracey Thomas
Recalling her early days as a musician, a producer who worked with the Bangles told Thomas she was “too shy” on stage and needed to work on her stage presence.
“Don’t tell me I can’t do something. It makes me mad, and then I try harder,” she said.
Thomas said that’s when she found “the thing” and became comfortable on stage. She said she and other musicians from Akron became very tight knit.
“I didn’t really think about it at the time, but when I look back, it felt special. It felt really fun,” she said. “People were flying in from New York, and record producers coming to see the bands. We thought we were going to do something huge.”
Thomas started another experimental punk band called Gone to Egypt, and over the years and throughout her various projects she released eight total albums.
“There was a day in my life where I was in a dressing room in New York City at Danceteria with guys from Television. My friend Patty from The Waitresses, Capitol Records. Pete Townsend was supposedly upstairs,” she said.
Creating on her terms
Though she never found mainstream success with her punk bands, Thomas said she is happy with the way the pieces fell into place.
“If that had been my life, it would have been a lot to handle. But now, I’m still doing what I love on my own terms,” she said.
She said she got married and was happy living a domestic life. But when that relationship ended, she felt a call to create music of her own.
“I took a couple of years and honed my craft. And then the songs just started coming, like it was crazy … Waking me up in the middle of the night,” she said.
From the smoky clubs of the ‘70s to a reflective acoustic set in 2025, Thomas has proved that the music never really stops — it just finds new ways to be heard.
Thomas celebrates the release of “Words Can’t Save Us Now” and “Little Miss Akron” with a special performance at Weathervane Playhouse Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
She will perform her new album in its entirety, backed by a six-piece acoustic ensemble, including members of The Shootouts and 15-60-75 The Numbers Band.
