Tonic Talks About Love, Work, And 'American Pie'

09/20/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(9/20/99, 1 p.m. PDT) - Although Tonic cut its teeth on the Los Angeles music scene, lead singer/ guitarist Emerson Hart says the band's next album has much more to do with Southern comfort than Southern California.

"We toured a lot down here and made a lot of great friends. I'm not sure what it is, but I really feel like I identify more with the Southern culture. Not to mention that the humidity is working wonders on my voice," he says. "We are recording the album in New Orleans in this way-haunted, way-cool old mansion studio. People should expect a heavier guitar sound, more Louisiana-style jams, and just some cool experimental spaces. We view this record as an eclectic puzzle."

The first insight into Hart's cryptic descriptions is "You Wanted More," the lead single from the American Pie soundtrack. Hart admits it shows he hasn't moved too far away from the subject matter of old Tonic hits like "If You Could Only See" or "Open Up Your Eyes."

"I don't like to say too much about what songs are about, but this song is definitely about not settling. Love is a powerful, wonderful thing, so you deserve to keep looking for the right kind. We don't live long enough to make ourselves miserable," says Hart, who has been seeing a woman steadily for the last two or three years. "I am so lucky to have someone and so far it is going really, really well. I contemplate long-term things like families. She is always there to pick me up when I fall down."

Some such times are when Hart feels pressure from the band's new label, Universal, to "squat out songs so they can strike while the iron is hot." Hart is reluctant to operate in such a manner. "I just don't work that way. I understand that the label wants to keep our name out there. And issuing stuff on soundtracks helps them do that as does a rushed new record," he explains. "But we don't work like that. I still write songs on paper with a pencil. I wanted a year to write and record this album without touring so we could concentrate. If we rushed, this album would have been sh-t and I would have written lots of bad songs. But we didn't, so we are pretty secure in the fact that our fans will be content."

Hart himself is content with how well-received "You Wanted More" is, to date. "It's weird. Even though we've been on the radio before, I still get worried that people won't dig something. The nice thing is that it means I still get that rush when they do," he says. "After seeing American Pie, we really wanted to be a part of it. It was like a Fast Times for a new generation. At the time, we were working on a song we thought complemented the film's themes, so we finished it and offered it up."

The band is shooting for an October release and has yet to choose a title for the record.

To read a Tonic feature, click here.

-- Carrie Bell

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