Music always undoubtedly brings us closer together. The connection forged runs as deep as any family bond does. Similarly, the story of Tonic revolves around the longstanding, close brotherhood shared among members Emerson Hart [vocals, guitar], Jeff Russo [lead guitar], and Dan Lavery [bass]. Since 1996, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated multi-platinum trio has consistently delivered anthemic and undeniable rock fashioned from eloquent song craft, lyrical honesty, and unshakable melodies. Along the way, they translated true experiences and real memories into a storied catalog that resounds as loudly today as it did over two decades ago.   “Sometimes, I’ll see somebody in the crowd who’s not more than twenty-years-old,” says Emerson. “This person will be singing a thought I had in 1995 right back to me: every word and every note. Realizing the power of that was a big moment for me. If there are people in the crowd and we’re playing….

Music always undoubtedly brings us closer together. The connection forged runs as deep as any family bond does. Similarly, the story of Tonic revolves around the longstanding, close brotherhood shared among members Emerson Hart [vocals, guitar], Jeff Russo [lead guitar], and Dan Lavery [bass]. Since 1996, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated multi-platinum trio has consistently delivered anthemic and undeniable rock fashioned from eloquent song craft, lyrical honesty, and unshakable melodies. Along the way, they translated true experiences and real memories into a storied catalog that resounds as loudly today as it did over two decades ago.

“Sometimes, I’ll see somebody in the crowd who’s not more than twenty-years-old,” says Emerson. “This person will be singing a thought I had in 1995 right back to me: every word and every note. Realizing the power of that was a big moment for me. If there are people in the crowd and we’re playing together, that’s the magic of it. We still love it. There’s an understanding this is bigger than us.”

The songs continue to endure. To date, the band has landed six Top 10 singles, sold 4 million-plus records, and garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations. As the story goes, Emerson and Jeff linked up together in Los Angeles as Tonic during 1994, with Dan joining the group in 1996. Inspired after catching U2’s Joshua Tree Tour in his native New Jersey, Emerson went to L.A., where he and Jeff launched the group. Their full-length debut, Lemon Parade, not only went platinum, but it also yielded the“ #1 Most-Played Rock Song of 1997” in the form of the lead single “If You Could Only See.” The band’s follow-up single,“You Wanted More,” served as the lead-off from the platinum Original Soundtrack Album for American Pie and the second full-length, Sugar.

In between a marathon of touring, they released Head On Straight 2002. The single “Take Me As I Am” received a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” as the album vied for “Best Rock Album”—only to lose to Bruce Springsteen, “which is still a huge honor being from Jersey,” laughs Dan.

After a five-year hiatus, the three-piece returned to the charts on the heels of Tonic in 2010, landing in the Top 50 of the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart and Top 25 of the Billboard Top Independent Albums Chart. Following a successful Pledge Music campaign, they re-recorded the seminal Lemon Parade acoustically for 2016’s Lemon Parade Revisited.

“The idea was, ‘How do we do something new?,” continues Jeff. “We wanted to take it back to the origins of the tracks. So, we sat in a room with acoustic guitars and played. It was a gratifying moment. At the same time, it made us realize that we really enjoy making rock. We love the thrill of playing. It’s come full circle recently, and it’s affected what we’re creating now.”

Outside of Tonic, each musician made a pronounced musical impact of his own. As a sought-after composer for film, television, and video games, Jeff wrote the score for HBO’s critically acclaimed The Night Of in addition to composing for Legion, Counterpart, Star Trek: Discovery, and more. He garnered the 2017 Primetime Emmy® Award in the category of “Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special” for Fargo. Dan played bass in the multiplatinum pop rock outfit The Fray before going on to establish himself as a writer and producer. In recent years, he’s been involved in artist management, working with the likes of Joe Jonas and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile, Emerson ignited a successful solo career, including albums such as Cigarettes and Gasoline [2007], Beauty in Disrepair [2014], and his 2019 third full-length 32 Thousand Days.

No matter what, the members of Tonic find themselves coming back together, hitting the road every year.

“This is like musical home base for us,” Dan leaves off. “From there, we can branch out and do other things, but this is something we all go back to. The fact the three of us have managed to stay together since 1996 with only a few years off is something we’re very proud of. The truth is we’re just three dudes from New Jersey and New York who have the same sensibilities. That’s why we’re still together decades later.”

Jeff agrees, “Every time we get back together, it just sounds and feels like Tonic.”

“The songs keep us around,” smiles Emerson. “We love seeing the excitement in fans’ eyes. We’re all connected. When we play, it’s a moment where we all feel something together.”

Formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas, Fastball combined a fondness for melodic, Beatles-inspired pop with the alternative aesthetic of late-’90s mainstream rock. Guitarist/vocalist Miles Zuniga, bassist/vocalist Tony Scalzo, and drummer Joey Shuffield — all veterans of Austin’s underground rock scene — originally banded together under the name Magneto U.S.A. After signing with Hollywood Records, the musicians changed their name to Fastball and released their debut album, Make Your Mama Proud, in 1996. The album demonstrated the band’s synthesis of modern flavor and bygone pop hooks, a combination that would later launch Fastball into the mainstream.   The follow-up effort, All the Pain Money Can Buy, appeared in early 1998, featuring a considerably tighter band and more pop flourishes. Although the bandmates were still working side jobs at the time of its release, lead-off single “The Way” proved to be a meteoric hit, topping the American rock charts for seven weeks….

Formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas, Fastball combined a fondness for melodic, Beatles-inspired pop with the alternative aesthetic of late-’90s mainstream rock. Guitarist/vocalist Miles Zuniga, bassist/vocalist Tony Scalzo, and drummer Joey Shuffield — all veterans of Austin’s underground rock scene — originally banded together under the name Magneto U.S.A. After signing with Hollywood Records, the musicians changed their name to Fastball and released their debut album, Make Your Mama Proud, in 1996. The album demonstrated the band’s synthesis of modern flavor and bygone pop hooks, a combination that would later launch Fastball into the mainstream.

The follow-up effort, All the Pain Money Can Buy, appeared in early 1998, featuring a considerably tighter band and more pop flourishes. Although the bandmates were still working side jobs at the time of its release, lead-off single “The Way” proved to be a meteoric hit, topping the American rock charts for seven weeks while enjoying crossover success as a pop single. “Fire Escape” and the piano-fueled “Out of My Head” did similarly well, and All the Pain Money Can Buy went platinum within six months of its release, earning two Grammy nominations along the way. Fastball celebrated their success with a considerable amount of touring, including shows alongside Marcy Playground and Everclear.

The Harsh Light of Day arrived in fall 2000, featuring piano work by Billy Preston and an increasingly arty sound, including the Top 40 hit “You’re an Ocean.” Fastball eventually left the Hollywood roster in favor of a new deal with Rykodisc. A retrospective compilation, Painting the Corners: The Best of Fastball, marked the band’s final release for Hollywood Records in 2002. Two years later, they resurfaced with Keep Your Wig On, having fully embraced their power pop roots with the help of co-producer Adam Schlesinger. The album strengthened Fastball’s work ethic, with frontmen Zuniga and Scalzo writing together for the first time. That collaborative spirit helped fuel another album, Little White Lies, which appeared in 2009 to warm reviews.

After several years of focusing on live work, Fastball returned to the studio in 2015, recording in their hometown of Austin. The project emerged in May 2017, a self-released album titled Step into Light, and the band supported it with an extensive tour of the United States and Canada. The following year, Fastball celebrated the 20th anniversary of All the Pain Money Can Buy with an expanded edition of the 1998 album; they accompanied the reissue with a hometown concert in Austin, Texas.

Most recently, in October 2019, Fastball returned with The Help Machine, an album produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and in Sept 2021 and throughout 2022 have been releasing music exclusively thru Patreon. Their new album, The Deep End, is being released on June 17, 2022.