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Vocalist/guitarist Emerson Hart formed the alternative/roots band Tonic in 1993 with guitarist Jeff Russo (a childhood friend), bassist Dan Rothchild, and drummer Kevin Shepard. After gigging around Los Angeles, the foursome signed with A&M Records. For the recording of their debut album, producer Jack Joseph Puig (Jellyfish, the Black Crowes) gave Tonic a decidedly rootsy feel, with the addition of lap steel and mandolin. The album, titled Lemon Parade, was released in July 1996. After replacing the departed Rothchild with Dan Lavery, the band contributed to soundtracks including Scream 2, The X Files, and Clay Pigeons before returning in 1999 with Sugar. Three years later, Tonic returned with Head On Straight. "Take Me As I Am" was a smash hit on modern rock radio; however, Tonic's shining moment came in early 2003 when they received two Grammy nominations — one for Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal for "Take Me As I Am" and Best Rock Album.
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About Tonic
In following up their platinum smash, Lemon Parade, Tonic's Emerson Hart, Jeff Russo, and Dan Lavery wanted more than anything to keep their new material simple. "We tried really hard not to overreach on the new stuff," says Hart. "We realized that we're a guitar band, plain and simple. That's how we started and we wanted to stay true to that."
Sugar, the LA-based trio's second studio album in three years, isn't so much simple as simply stunning. The record finds the band exploring a spectrum of colorful guitar-rock, ultimately staying faithful to the band's electrifying melodies and classic roots. Mixed by Andy Wallace and produced by Tonic themselves, Sugar presents the same Tonic sound that impressed audiences and record buyers everywhere in 1997 on Lemon Parade. Two tracks from that album went to #1 on the rock charts, "If You Could Only See" and "Open Up Your Eyes," while "Casual Affair" was a top 10 rock track. According to Billboard, "If You Could Only See" was also the most- played rock song in all of 1997. Today, their new rock anthem "You Wanted More" (off the "American Pie" soundtrack), is firmly entrenched in the Top 10.
While the sound is still all Tonic, Sugar is more varied musically. "This
record is definitely more eclectic than our last record," says Hart. "It has a certain openness the last record never had." Tonic's focus on energetic, honest-to-goodness songwriting is old-school enduring. "We made sure that every song on this new record is real," Hart continues. "That's why I think people respond to our music. It touches an honest chord."
Hart and Russo formed Tonic in 1994 in Los Angeles, but it wasn't until bassist Lavery joined the band's tour in 1996 that the true creative vision of Tonic took shape. In the studio together during the making of Sugar, Hart, Russo, and Lavery pushed themselves to the brink of their abilities, testing themselves and their potential and polishing their rough ideas into gems of sparkling pop beauty.
