Tonic (band)

Tonic is an American rock band, formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo. Later members have included Dan Lavery, Kevin Shepard, and Dan Rothchild. Signed to a recording contract in 1995, the band released its debut album '' Lemon Parade'' in 1996. The single "If You Could Only See" reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Airplay Hot 100 in 1997, and ''Lemon Parade'' itself reached platinum status.

Tonic spent much of the next two years touring, adding to its reputation as a relentlessly gigging band. In addition to extensive touring Tonic produced other work, including songs for feature film soundtracks. After self-producing its 1999 album ''Sugar'', Tonic released its third album '' Head on Straight'' in 2002. Tonic received two Grammy nominations from ''Head on Straight'', including one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and one for Best Rock Album. The band then went on hiatus beginning in 2004 while its members pursued other musical endeavors. It wasn't until late 2008 Tonic became active again, embarking on a tour and releasing a greatest-hits compilation, all of which served as a prelude to their fourth studio album, 2010's '' Tonic''. After the release of that album, Tonic has continued to tour and remain active, utilizing direct funding from fans to make an all-acoustic version of ''Lemon Parade'' titled '' Lemon Parade Revisited'' in 2016, and debuting their first non-album single with 2021's "To Be Loved".

History

Tonic was founded by Emerson Hart and guitarist Jeff Russo, long-separated childhood friends who randomly crossed paths at a Los Angeles, California area pool hall in 1993. The pair quickly began collaborating on music writing, and soon added bass player Dan Rothchild, whom they met at a venue named The Kibitz Room. The final addition to the band was drummer Kevin Shepard, who was recruited at an L.A. venue named Masker's Cafe.

Hart later said the original choice for the band's name was ''Radio Flyer'', but upon learning that name was unavailable, selected ''Tonic'' instead (the band later referenced the term ''Radio Flyer'' in their song "Top Falls Down"). The newly formed group performed gigs around the Los Angeles, California area prior to signing their first professional recording contract in 1995. Earning a reputation as a "relentlessly gigging" band, Tonic played over 300 shows in less than two years during the mid-to-late 1990s.

Teaming with producer Jack Joseph Puig, Tonic released their debut album '' Lemon Parade'' on July 15, 1996. Music critic Shawn M. Haney said of the album that, "The record as a whole is full of the heavy, distortion-laden Tonic sound, and guitars that make them who they are." Singles for the songs "Open Up Your Eyes" and "If You Could Only See", were released in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The single "If You Could Only See" received the honor of being Rock Radio's most played song of 1997, and ''Lemon Parade'' as an album reached platinum status. Music videos were created for the songs "Open Up Your Eyes," "If You Could Only See," and "Soldier's Daughter." The ''Lemon Parade'' album spent 57 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, reaching a peak of No. 28 during the week of August 2, 1997. By February 2003 ''Lemon Parades running total of albums sold had reached 1.3 million copies.

Dan Lavery replaced Rothchild on bass in December 1996, and around this same time period drummer Shepard ceased full-time activity with the band for family and personal reasons. The year 1997 marked the band's first contribution to an original soundtrack, recording the song "Eyes of Sand" for the ''Scream 2'' soundtrack. Continuing their work on film soundtracks into 1998, Tonic recorded the song "Flower Man" for '' The X-Files: The Album'', and performed a cover of the song '' Everybody's Talkin''' for the '' Clay Pigeons'' soundtrack. Tonic also performed a cover of the song "Second Hand News" for the album "Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours." The band finished 1998 by contributing a live version of the song "Open Up Your Eyes" to the charitable album '' Live in the X Lounge''. On March 1, 1999 the band released the now out-of-print '' Live and Enhanced'' CD, which featured an acoustic version of "If You Could Only See" and the previously unreleased music video of "Soldier's Daughter". In 2000, Tonic allowed their song "Mean To Me" from their album ''Sugar'' to be released as a single from the soundtrack album for the Warner Bros. film ''Gossip'', which was directed by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim. The band appeared in the music video for the song, which featured clips from the film as well as actors from it, who seemingly appear to be interacting with the band via webcam as they perform the song.

1999–2003

The band returned to the studio to self-produce their second album. Released on November 9, 1999, the album title ''Sugar'' shared the same name as the fifth track on the recording. The creative and collaborative process spanned several geographic locations including Austin, Texas, and a mansion in New Orleans, Louisiana, where actual recording for the album was performed. "Knock Down Walls" and " You Wanted More" were charting singles released off the record, with the latter having first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie '' American Pie''. With Shepard no longer part of the band, Peter Maloney played drums on the album, although Joey Waronker filled in for the single "You Wanted More". Music videos for the songs "You Wanted More" and "Mean to Me" were created as part of the album's promotion. Tonic appeared on the television shows ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and '' The Martin Short Show'' in late 1999 as part of additional promotion. ''Sugar'' spent eight total weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching a peak of No. 81 in its first week of release.

A cover of the song "East Bound and Down" for the ''King of the Hill'' original television soundtrack rounded out the group's output for the year 1999. The band later contributed a performance of "Mean To Me" to the fourth installment in the charitable ''Live in the X Lounge'' album series.

Tonic took a break from constant touring and recording, time which Hart used to, "...make sure the next record would be coming from fresh eyes and ears" after he moved to a new home in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2002, the band began collaborating with producer Bob Rock on their next studio recording. In contrast to the "exhausting" experience of self-producing ''Sugar'', producer Rock's "laid-back efficiency" and Hawaii studio location provided a welcome change. The resulting studio album, '' Head on Straight'', was released on September 1, 2002.

While still billed as a three-piece band, Joey Waronker performed much of the drumming on "Head On Straight," and the band also utilized drummer Kevin Murphy for some live performances during this time period. The band also enlisted the help of Keyboardist Will Holis. Hart and Russo both also played piano and Rhodes synth respectively on the record. ''Head on Straight'' charted on the Billboard 200 for one week, where it was No. 141. In its review of the album, ''Rolling Stone'' described it by saying it was, "...less rootsy and harder-rocking than previous efforts."
In March 2003 Tonic embarked on an acoustic tour, and as band member Russo said, they were hoping to, "...bring things back to a level where we remember what it's all about."

Hiatus

While ''Head on Straight'' had sold 34,000 copies by February 2003, in 2003 the band received two Grammy nominations, one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and one for Best Rock Album. While the band's activity began to diminish, they participated in the annual The Rock Boat

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