TONIC DISCOGRAPHY & VIDEOS

1.Lemon Parade (1996); 2.Sugar (1999); 3. Head On Straight (2002); 4.Tonic (2010)

Lemon Parade

Released July 16, 1996, Length 50:55, Label Polydor/A&M

1.Open up Your Eyes 3:40

2.Casual Affair 3:43

3.If You Could Only See 4:21

4.Soldier's Daughter 5:03

5.Lemon Parade 3:42

6.Mountain 4:38

7.Thick 4:21

8.Wicked Soldier 4:31

9.Mr. Golden Deal 4:55

10.Bigot Sunshine 2:53

11.Celtic Aggression 3:26

12.My Old Man 5:52

Lemon Parade is Tonic's first album, released in 1996. The album has sold 1,300,000 copies to date, and reached platinum status in the United States. Tonic released a live EP with enhanced material called Live and Enhanced based on the success of this album. "If You Could Only See" was a hit single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Trackscharts reaching #1, and also reached #11 on the Billboard Airplay Hot 100, where it spent 63 weeks on the chart.

The song "If You Could Only See" is part of the video games Karaoke Revolution Party and Band Hero.

Production

After Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo founded the band in 1993, the additions of bass guitar player Dan Rothchild and drummer Kevin Shepard solidified the band prior to signing their record deal in 1995. Producer Jack Joseph Puigworked with Tonic to produce the resulting album, Lemon Parade. While members of the band have traditionally been hesitant to discuss the meaning behind their songs, Hart did elaborate on some of the songs from this album. For instance, on the title track Lemon Parade, Hart explained the song came from a dream he had. "I had a dream about this girl. I was riding this big Schwinn Sting Ray, and I rode by her working in a lemonade stand. She looked ugly and sad because kids were throwing lemons at her. Then later on, I saw her after high school and was crazy about her. They couldn't see how beautiful she really was."

Promotion and Release

Four unique music videos were produced as part of the album's promotion, including two different versions of "Open Up Your Eyes," one of which was directed by Tonic and Niels Alpert that featured the band on roller skates. In terms of singles from the record, "If You Could Only See" reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks, and also reached #11 on the Billboard Airplay Hot 100, where it spent 63 weeks on the chart. Lemon Parade as an album reached #28 on the United States charts, #12 in Austraila, and #34 in Canada. In the ensuing years the popularity of "If You Could Only See" continued with its part in the video games Karaoke Revolution Party and Band Hero.

Reception

Critical response to the album has shown variances. Music critic Shawn M. Haney rated the album two and a half out of five stars, saying, "The record as a whole is full of the heavy, distortion-laden Tonic sound, and guitars that make them who they are. Although the recordings are murky at times, like shoes splashing through muddy puddles of water, the record's highlights -- such as the uplifting acoustic track "Mountain" and the rawness of "Wicked Soldier" -- are still full of rich musical creativity." Contrasting this review is the aggregate non-professional ratings from users of Amazon.com, who in many cases made their reviews years after the album's release. As of the year 2010, Lemon Parade maintained a four and a half out of five star rating across 86 unique user reviews on Amazon.com

Sugar

Released November 9, 1999, Length 49:44, Label Universal

1.Future Says Run 3:46

2.You Wanted More 3:50

3.Knock Down Walls 3:43

4.Mean to Me 4:11

5.Sugar 3:29

6.Stronger Than Mine 3:39

7.Queen 4:34

8.Waiting for the Light to Change 4:32

9.Waltz with Me 3:45

10.Sunflower 3:20

11.Drag Me Down 2:46

12.Top Falls Down 4:17

13.Love a Diamond 3:52

Sugar is Tonic's second studio album, released in 1999. Released on November 9, 1999 and self-produced by the band itself, the album's title 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 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) 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 #81 in its first week of release.The single "You Wanted More" reached a high of #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts in the U.S., and was featured on the soundtrack for the film American Pie.

Head on Straight

Released September 24, 2002, Label Urnvd Labels

1.Roses 3:27

2.Take Me As I Am 3:36

3.Count On Me (Somebody) 3:48

4.Do You Know 3:47

5.Head on Straight 3:45

6.Liar 2:54

7.On Your Feet Again 3:53

8.Come Rest Your Head 4:27

9.Ring Around Her Finger 4:21

10.Believe Me 3:28

11.Irish 5:07

12.Let Me Go 5:54

Head on Straight is Tonic's third album, released in 2002. It was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 45th Grammy Awards and the track "Take Me As I Am" was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album had sold 34,000 copies as of February 2003.

Reception

The album received a moderate to good critical reception, with music review site Alternative Addiction giving the album four of five stars, saying, "Tonic's amazing musicianship and incredible lyrics still shine through strong showing that Tonic is one of the few bands left in the industry that have their head on straight."

Tonic

Released May 4, 2010, Label 429 Records

1.Release Me  3:17

2.Daffodil  3:25

3.I Want It To Be  3:43

4.Send A Message  3:28

5.Bigger Than Both  4:10

6.Nothing Is Everything  4:27

7.Feel It Now  3:03

8.Where Do I Fit  3:09

9.Resolve 4:21

10.Precious Little Bird 2:51

11.Torn To Pieces  2:44

12.She Goes Down 3:46

13.Daffodil [Acoustic] (iTunes Bonus Track) 3:25

Tonic is the self-titled fourth studio album by modern rock band Tonic. The project was originally announced in 2008, with writing and recording carrying through summer and fall of 2009. Recorded primarily at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, the album was co-produced by Tonic and Nathaniel Kunkel. The first (and only) single from the album was the track "Release Me." Promotion for the album consisted of a multi-faceted approach, combining traditional radio and tour promotion with social networking technology like Twitter and MySpace. Critical reception toTonic was generally positive. The album was released on May 4, 2010 in North America, and spent one week on the Billboard 200 album chart, where it ranked 150. The band subsequently embarked on a tour to coincide with this album's release.

Production

Band member Jeff Russo originally announced plans to record this album in November 2008 when he concurrently announced Tonic was reuniting after nearly four years. The three band members began writing material for the album during the summer of 2009, with the majority of this work being done at Emerson Hart's home in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was recorded over the span of a month during fall 2009 at Conway Studios in Hollywood, jointly produced by Tonic and Nathaniel Kunkel. Pete Maloney continued his longtime association with the band by playing drums on the album, though Hart, Russo, and Lavery remained the only official members of Tonic during this period.

During an interview relating to the album, Hart said, "At the end of the day we've always relied on the cream rising to the top and creating a great product and great songs and being honest about where we are." An official press release about the album states that it is redolent of Tonic's, "trademark honest, powerful, melodic rock sound." Russo said of the album that, "This was a true collaborative effort from all of us and it really, really is apparent in the record. In my opinion it may be the best record we’ve ever made, just in every way you can think about." A behind the scenes tour of Conway Studios hosted by Emerson Hart is available on Amazon.com's Tonic store, and is thought to have marked the world debut of snippets of "Release Me," as well as part of the album's cover art.

Mixing and post-production carried on into 2010, and the band worked with Doug Sax to master the recording. The vocal track for to "Torn to Pieces" was recorded in Nashville.The track "Release Me" was the first single released from the album, becoming available to radio stations on March 23, 2010. The album itself was released as scheduled on May 4, 2010 in North America. Hart was inspired to write the song "Precious Little Bird" after he was unpacking some music albums by The Smiths. The song was then utilized for the album's cover art. 

Production and release

The album became available for pre-order in late February 2010, with varying retail prices. However, prior to the album's release Russo said he thought the album's success should be judged by how many people attend Tonic's live shows. Varying websites offered preview clips of the album's songs, and Tonic used a special promotion where users could also download the entire song "Daffodil" by submitting a valid e-mail address.The album's online sales ranking through web retailers Amazon.com and iTunes have to date reached their peak on the May 4 release day, reaching #135 and #28 respectively. Tonic debuted on the Billboard 200 at #150 during the week of May 22, 2010, while also appearing at #50 on the Billboard Rock album chart, and #25 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. The album did not chart on either one of those listings after its debut week though.

Tonic planned to tour during summer 2010 to help promote the album, with Hart saying the of the band that, "We'll probably go back to slugging in clubs and small theaters and stuff like that." The tour plans were fully realized, as the band played intermittent shows stretching into fall and winter of 2010. Radio is playing a role in the album's promotion, as the single "Release Me" is being promoted at Hot AC, Alternative and Triple-A radio. Tonic is also utilizing technology that didn't exist during its 2002 release of Head on Straight, namely using Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace as ways to connect with fans and subsequently promote the album. Additional promotional avenues, such as a music video for "Release Me" or digital video game track release (via the Rock Band Network for instance) have not (yet) been utilized. 

Reception

Initial critical reception to the album was positive. Allmusic critic Mark Demming rated the album three out of five stars, saying, "Thankfully, Tonic doesn't sound like the work of a band struggling to re-create their past success, and instead finds them confidently embracing their signature sound and doing what they do with a sure hand and genuine inspiration...Tonic is less a comeback than an enthusiastic return to form, and anyone who enjoyed their first three albums will feel comfortably at home with this music." Music reviewer Chad from music website Alternative Addiction rated the album four and half out of five stars, saying, "The contrasting melodies of tracks like “Daffodil” and “Feel It Now” show that the band hasn’t lost their knack for writing melodic rock tracks either."

TONIC ****

 Tonic is an American rock band that has earned two Grammy nominations to date. The band was 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, 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 and releasing its third album Head on Straight in 2002, the band went on hiatus beginning in 2004 while its members pursued other musical endeavors. The band became active again in late 2008, 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.

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 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. 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 #28 during the week of August 2, 1997. By February 2003 Lemon Parade's 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".

Sugar and later work

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 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) 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 #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 #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 music-themed cruise, performing there in 2004 for instance. The grind of constant touring over the previous seven years had taken its toll on the band, and each member needed some space.

Tonic went on hiatus beginning in 2004, all three members began working on other projects unrelated to Tonic. Hart released a solo album entitled Cigarettes and Gasoline on July 17, 2007. Russo became part of the band Low Stars, who released a self-titled CD in 2007. Lavery did song writing for projects including the feature-length movies The Passion of the Christ and Elektra, and began playing bass on tour for The Fray in March 2007. Commenting on this time period, Russo said, "It wasn’t like we broke the band up. Everyone just went to their own corner and did their own thing. We figured when it was time to get back together it will happen."

Band Reactivation

The first verifiable account that Tonic was reuniting came in November 2008 via an announcement from band member Russo, confirming new tour dates and a forthcoming studio album. "We're [planning on] getting together to write some new material," Russo said. "Over the last 6 months or so we've been talking about it. We've been doing different things for the last 6 years, and we all decided that we missed rocking."

Officially active again, Tonic had already played their first show together in many years on September 16, 2008 at a venue in Antioch, Illinois. As part of the band's 2009 tour, a greatest hits compilation titled "A Casual Affair:The Best of Tonic" was released. The album featured live versions of the songs "Irish" and "Sugar" in addition to an acoustic version of "You Wanted More." November 2009 marked the band's inclusion in the video game Band Hero, as the track "If You Could Only See" was a playable song in the game.

After the year 2010 began, Tonic announced that their self-titled fourth studio album, Tonic, would be released on May 4, 2010. The album was primarily recorded over the span of a month during fall 2009 at Conway Studios in Hollywood. Pete Maloney also continued his longtime association with the band by playing drums on the album. The album was jointly produced by Tonic and Nathaniel Kunkel, with the song "Release Me" chosen as the first single from the album. A promotional behind the scenes tour of Conway Studios hosted by Emerson Hart is available on Amazon.com's Tonic store and YouTube. In an official press release for the album, bandmember Hart said about Tonic that, "When we play music together it feels like going home. Getting together, playing some rock-n-roll, it's the best feeling in the world." The self-titled album spent one week on the Billboard 200 chart, where it ranked 150. Tonic is currently on tour in conjunction with the release of their self-titled album.