A Conversation with Tonic – HuffPost 5.12.10

MR: Hello? Who’s this?

Dan Lavery: Who the heck are you? I’m the bass player.

MR: (laughs) That’s nice. It sounded like there was more than one person on the line.

DL: Just me, I’m on the highway. We just pulled off to get our singer, Emerson, some coffee. He’s grumpy without his coffee. We’re just sitting on the side of the 101 right now.

MR: Ah, caffeine. Hey, it looks like you have a new album, and it’s self-titled.

DL: Yup, the self-titled, fourth record from Tonic.

MR: Yet another fine power-pop record from Tonic.

DL: I love that. That’s a great description and quite a compliment.

MR: It seems like you have a gazillion singles on this thing. I especially liked “Daffodil.” How did the band come together for this one?

DL: You know, it wasn’t any particular revelation or epiphany. We just sort of, you know, the other two guys started talking again where they had been sort of not. I don’t know that there was any reason, we just sort of lost touch. Everyone went off and did his own thing. Jeff had another band. I was producing and working with other bands. Emerson did a solo record. You know, at some point, everybody just started trying to get back in touch. We did one gig just to see how it felt, and to see if anybody would appreciate it. We had such a good time and there was such a great response that we started to do more. Within the year, we had written and recorded a whole record. It was a gradual process, but at the same time, quite a bit got done in a pretty short period of time.

MR: Does that include the songwriting?

DL: Yeah, the songwriting happened in a few big spurts. I used to live in Nashville on a couple of occasions and stayed in Emerson’s house. We basically cranked out a bunch of stuff. Really happy with it, really happy with the record and songs that evolved.

MR: What was the songwriting process like?

DL: Well it really depends. I was out on tour when these guys got back together. I know they wrote a couple of songs even before the three of us got together. When I went to Nashville, Emerson and I wrote like seven songs in one week. Then we got back together, and the group of us did a whole bunch again in Nashville and L.A. It really depends, you know. Each song was kind of different.

MR: You all share the songwriting credit.

DL: We’re all credited on all songs, and we feel like everybody brings something to the table. Clearly, Emerson is the main lyricist. The theme of the record will come mostly from his life experience. But you know, it’s been seven years since the last time we wrote together as a band. There’s quite a bit of ground to cover.

MR: How did Tonic the self-titled come about?

DL: You know, we didn’t think about it too much, honestly. We’d done a gig in Los Angeles, and we had some interest from a record label. So, that was nice ’cause we were flying to Nashville and writing. And at the time, Jeff was in New York. Basically, Emerson and I put together demos of like a handful of songs in my studio in Los Angeles. We shipped those tracks electronically to Jeff. When it came back with Jeff’s guitar parts, we just started laughing because, to us, it sounded so perfectly Tonic that it was hilarious, you know. It sounded like Tonic songs, like a Tonic record with the two of us. And then when he put his parts on, it solidified the sound. It was like this is very familiar to us.

MR: Do you have any personal favorites on the record?

DL: You know I love “Daffodil” and “Release Me.” Those are the first two that were written. They always strike me as…I don’t know they feel good to me. I also like “Nothing is Everything.” I think that’s a bit of a departure for us, but it’s a beautiful song. You know, we tried out a little different instrumentation. We had our friend Chris play piano. Basically, the main part of that song was written on Emerson’s upright piano in Nashville. When it came down to do the record, I did the demo, and I just wasn’t happy with my level of skill there. So we brought in a ringer.

MR: Personally, my favorites are the two you mentioned, plus the last track, “She Goes Down.” I loved the way you end the project with it.

DL: Yeah, we seem to have a habit of taking a sort of darker, more introspective song and putting it last on the record. It’s definitely the way we close things on a regular basis.

MR: Do you feel there’s a theme running through the album?

DL: You know, once again, I attribute the lyrical content, almost 100%, to Emerson. But I have my own feeling on it.

MR: What’s that?

DL: We’re all at that point right now, it’s a very significant age, you know what I mean? I don’t know if it’s a crossroads, but it’s definitely a milestone where we’ve all reached forty. It’s an interesting place to be, but it’s also a very challenging place. You start leaving your adolescence behind. We’ve certainly been able to, and we’re fortunate enough to have had this sort of extended adolescence, being in a rock and roll band and having the modest success that we did. But we’re at a place where we’re sort of leaving that behind. All of us are now fathers and have these new responsibilities and joys and worries. I can’t imagine that doesn’t get reflected in one’s heart.

MR: Kicking adolescence can be a lifetime struggle for artists. Creating something gives you this sense of timelessness, but physics doesn’t play along by supplying agelessness, seems like there’s the rub. “Flower Man” by Tonic on The X-Files soundtrack. What’s the story behind that?

DL: We were in the middle of touring non-stop at that time, and we were asked to do a song for the soundtrack of that film. We went to a studio in Hoboken, New Jersey, and I think wrote the song and recorded it all in the space of a couple of days. You know it was supposed to be inspired by The X-Files, but it’s sort of…you know, it’s such a long time ago, I’m trying to remember where the inspiration for that came from. I was definitely thinking about the film or the theme of that show in general.

MR: Doesn’t it feel like The X-Files was on TV like a million years ago?

DL: It does, yet it’s a huge part of our popular culture, right? You know, it’s funny, we were just talking about that song the other day. And Emerson just got to the car and I think your bringing that up is very timely and I want him to answer that question.

MR: Yeah, we got to that very significant part of the interview where we were talking aboutThe X-Files. So, now that you’re all caffeinated, what’s your take on it?

Emerson Hart: I thought it was really interesting. Just a few days ago, I was talking to a girl at…actually we were talking about that soundtrack. That song had come up, and I was like, “Yeah that’s us.” She was like, “What?” I was like, “Yeah, that’s Tonic.” We just thought it was really funny how we’ve written so many songs in different parts of our career that people have no idea it’s us. So, we talked about the lyric a little bit.

MR: It seems that there was a big jump creatively between the last album and this one. Since you’re the main lyricist, did you have a theme for the album?

EH: I think there was. I think as one gets older–no matter what that is, from 20-30 or 30-40 or wherever you are in your life–lyrically, I’ve always tried to reflect change. I try to have a common thread because the songs are all very different. This is probably the first Tonic record that was musically collaborative for me, so it was an interesting challenge to kind of hunker around that. I have a daughter, and I think that she was probably one of the main threads through this record.

MR: So parenthood caught up with you. How’s that going?

EH: I try not to become our parents, at least the bad parts of them. I talk a little bit about that on “Precious Little Bird,” just remembering who you are and trying to parent but not over-parent. Don’t crowd your child with the crap that you were raised with and realize that they’re their own little beings and they have to grow and learn as they go.

MR: And how about your take on some other songs?

EH: On songs like “Where Do I Fit,” that’s really a reflection of this band and everything that has changed in our industry and where do I fit as an artist. I think that also, on another track, “Daffodil”, it’s just about kind of refining love, and that feeling that even though sometimes you might keep repeating a pattern when it comes to love, it’s something that’s so simple.

MR: 429 Records seems to understand creative artists, has that been your experience?

EH: We’ve been very fortunate. They were very hands off when it came to making this record. They trusted us as artists. They believe in all the records we’ve made before, and obviously, they’d heard some of these demos that we were working on. They were like, “Just do what you know how to do and do it the best you can.” And we did, and in the end, they were like, “This is exactly what we wanted!” It’s really been a great experience for us. During much of our early days, there was so much involvement by the labels.

MR: In the first track, “Release Me,” you say, “I want to know when the deeper part of life will grow, I want to see where’s the deepest part of love in me.” Might this be the underlying theme to the album?

EH: It’s funny, the lyrics to that song were kind of inspired, in a way, partially by a conversation I had with a good friend I had that I grew up with. He’s very successful and has two kids and a fantastic life. We were sitting down and having a glass of wine, and he just looked at me and he was like, “Man, is this it? Is this what we are?” I said, “Well, just because you get to this age doesn’t mean you have to stop digging for what the deeper parts of you are. It’s a major responsibility as a parent to guide your children and give them the tools, the best of what you are inside.” That kind of sparked something in me. I thought “Oh s**t, am I doing that?” So I started digging deeper.

MR: That’s why I think you guys still remain relevant. I told Dan this record is yet another wonderful power-pop record.

EH: We were just talking about that this morning. We were listening to–I forget what song it was. We were having a couple of Guinness’ at the pub in Monterey where we had just played. I asked Dan, “You know what song’s on the radio that we were listening to? What song that was? That pop song?” I forget what it was. It was a great pop song. It’s a current song we were listening to. Man, I love pop music. It’s such a drag that a lot of it has got such a bad rap. You know there’s a lot of pop out there, but I think that’s a great term. I’m going to wear that on the lapel of my school jacket.

MR: I love a lot of your contemporaries, you all have such a keen sense of pop. It’s unfortunate that the Disneyfication and American Idolization of pop has sort of made one generic sounding recording approach and sound on radio. Unique pop records like your latest really do stick out when they get airplay because, to me, they don’t destroy the vibe as they give you the hook.

EH: Thank you. We feel like that too. At a certain point, I don’t know when it happened, but it’s like songs became about lifestyle. Where you shop, what you buy, how you dress. That is your badge, that is your lifestyle. When that happened, that really kind of did some damage to our industry as far as the craft of songwriting. You know, I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I’m a songwriter. That’s what I do. A lot of labels will send me younger artists who will come down to Nashville to write with me for a couple of days, whatever and I’ll work with them and do stuff in the studio.

MR: How do you feel Tonic has changed from when you had your hit until now?

EH: We’re trying to understand each other a little bit better now, and we’re in it because we enjoy it, not because we feel like we’re in some kind of a race. I know that sounds ridiculous but that’s what it really is.

MR: Emerson, what’s your advice for up-and-coming artists?

EH: I would focus as hard as you can on being the best at what you are. Know yourself, write what you know and the craft will take care of itself.

MR: And now we’ve got Jeff Russo! What was is it like being in a band divided between two cities? How did that affect the creative process?

Jeff Russo: It was really great. When we were writing songs for this record, I was living in New York, so it was really three cities we were dealing with. We would just send demos around to each other and put on our parts and added our bits and pieces. I think it actually made the whole process pretty relaxed which made it better.

MR: You guys are all old friends, can you remember how Tonic formed?

JR: Emerson and I have known one another since high school, and I had been playing in bands for a while. Emerson had been playing some solo shows when I saw him at a pool hall he had been working at. We thought it would be good to hang and write some tunes. We did, and the band was born. Dan joined the band right after we made Lemon Parade.

MR: This album maintains your power-pop sound. Was that an intentional choice? Do you like the label of “power-pop”?

JR: We didn’t set out to reinvent what we did, we just wanted to write some songs and see where that took us. I think labels are just there so people can recognize and categorize the music that they listen to, so in that way, labels are just fine. We are a rock band with pop song leanings.

MR: Which songs on the album do you relate to the most either musically or lyrically?

JR: They are really all relatable to me, but I would say “I Want It To Be,” “Precious Little Bird,” “Nothing Is Everything,” “Torn To Pieces,” and “Where Do I fit” are the ones I relate to the most both lyrically and musically.

MR: How has Tonic evolved since your early days?

JR: We have all become better musicians. We all listen better than we did early on. And the egos have kind of waned.

MR: What’s your advice for up-and-coming acts?

JR: It’s all about the song, so make sure you write, write, write!!!