Tonic Comes Home To N.J. in June – Prepares For Their American Reboot [VIDEO]
13 years after we all indulged in American Pie in the theaters, the American Reunion is set for Friday with all the characters you remember. To make this reunion sweeter, the Jersey rockers from Tonic revisit the franchise by having a song on the soundtrack - kicking off the band's 2012 return that will include a return home in June for a concert.
Tonic had their song "You Wanted More" as part of the American Pie movie, which helped the band scored a Top-10 Rock hit and a Top-30 Radio hit. Hooking up with the movie franchise for the Reunion should help the reunited group further on their comeback. The song on the soundtrack is "Release Me", and it's as good as anything on the radio right now. The song came out in 2010 on their own label, and they managed to get some decent support nationwide, but hopefully more will discover this track now because of the movie (or listen to the song now)
Tonic has had one of the biggest songs of the 90's, and the most played rock song of 1997 with "If You Could Only See", off the CD Lemon Parade which sold nearly 1.5 million copies. The band has had 4 top-10 rock hits over their career, and yet the group never got the respect they deserve.
Sugar was their 1999 release - a complete CD with 13 songs that you want to hear top to bottom. You feel the pain in the song "Mean To Me", the love in "Waltz With Me" (which has to have been someone's wedding song by now), and the shortcomings in love with "You Wanted More". What should have been Tonic's shining accomplishment came up short in sales.
The ultimate in confusion for Tonic may have been in 2002, when their Head On Straight CD received rave reviews, scored the band 2 Grammy nominations, but nobody could seem to find the CD anywhere. By 2003, Tonic took a break. Now they are back!
June 23rd will have Tonic return back to their New Jersey roots as they will take the stage at the Showboat in Atlantic City. For Emerson Hart and Dan Lavery, it will be a chance for friends and family to see them home for the first time in a while.
Growing up in Atlantic Highlands (Jersey Shore - Monmouth County) and having attended Red Bank Catholic High School, Tonic lead singer Emerson Hart grew up having a mom who was known on local TV and a father with singing chops. The end result may have been inevitable that singing became the calling for a talented Jersey Boy. Bassist Dan Lavery comes from Lawrenceville (and graduated from Rutgers), has ties in his early days starting out with Jersey cover band Brian Kirk and The Jirks (always worth checking out for a fun night out), and worked with The Fray a few years back.
Tickets for Tonic's House Of Blues concert at the Showboat are not available yet - listen to SoJO 104.9 for complete details soon.