Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Emerson Hart of Tonic

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Emerson Hart (born July 21, 1969 in Washington, Pennsylvania) is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and producer. He grew up in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.


Emerson Hart is the lead singer and songwriter of the alternative rock band Tonic.


Hart co-wrote the theme song, "Generation", for the NBC drama American Dreams, which premiered in 2002. He earned an ASCAP award for "Best Theme Song of Television" in 2003.


In February 2007, Hart signed a solo record deal with EMI/Manhattan Records to release his debut solo effort Cigarettes and Gasoline. It was released on July 17, 2007. Hart's first single, "If You're Gonna Leave", received airplay on American radio stations beginning in June 2007,[2] while his second single, "I Wish the Best for You", received airplay beginning in Dec 2007.


Emerson Hart's father Jennings sang for the USO and his mother Sandra was a former television hostess. His father was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was prescribed medicine to regulate his mental disorder, but he often resisted treatment and he and Sandra divorced in 1977. Jennings may have been off his medication at the time of his disappearance on January 21, 1980. The elder Hart has not been seen since, and in an interview Emerson addresses his "father's murder", which is the subject of the title track written and recorded by Emerson on 2007's Cigarettes and Gasoline.

Emerson married Heather McMurray on September 1, 2012 outside of their home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hart's second solo album, Beauty in Disrepair, (BMG) was released April 15th, 2014. The first single, titled "Best That I Can Give", premiered on USA Today's website on January 7, 2014.

Regarding the new single, Hart says: "My wife and I dated for about four years" starting shortly after a divorce, says Hart, 44. "That's a rocky road, because you have to address all the luggage that comes with the past relationships. That was the song I wrote when I almost blew it — but I didn't."

Hart's latest album, containing a full twelve tracks, can currently be ordered from his website, www.emersonhart.com, and the pre-ordered physical CD was a signed copy.

Hart has mentioned in interviews that his songs reflect something he's lived through, and the while 2007's "Cigarettes and Gasoline" dealt more with rocky relationships and personal struggles, his latest release "Beauty in Disrepair" reflects Hart's picking up the pieces and moving on, learning, and happiness re-evolving.

Tonic Album by Tonic

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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 to Tonic 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.



Track listing



Release Me - 3:17





Daffodil - 3:25





I Want It To Be - 3:43





Send A Message - 3:28





Bigger Than Both - 4:10





Nothing Is Everything - 4:27





Feel It Now - 3:03





Where Do I Fit - 3:09





Resolve - 4:21





Precious Little Bird - 2:51





Torn To Pieces - 2:44





She Goes Down - 3:46
Daffodil [Acoustic] (iTunes Bonus Track) - 3:25

Head on Straight Album by Tonic

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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.


Track listing



"Roses" − 3:27





"Take Me As I Am" - 3:36





"Count On Me (Somebody)" − 3:48





"Do You Know" − 3:47





"Head on Straight" − 3:45





"Liar" − 2:54





"On Your Feet Again" − 3:53





"Come Rest Your Head" − 4:27





"Ring Around Her Finger" − 4:21





"Believe Me" − 3:28





"Irish" − 5:07





"Let Me Go" − 5:54

Sugar Album by Tonic

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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.


Track List:



"Future Says Run" − 3:46





"You Wanted More" (Hart, Jeff Russo, Dan Lavery)− 3:50





"Knock Down Walls" (Hart, Russo) − 3:43





"Mean to Me" − 4:11





"Sugar" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 3:29





"Jump Jimmy (Stronger Than Mine)" (Hart, Lavery) − 3:39





"Queen" − 4:34





"Waiting for the Light to Change" − 4:32 (strings arranged by David Campbell)





"Waltz with Me" − 3:45





"Sunflower" (Hart, Lavery) − 3:20





"Drag Me Down" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 2:46





"Top Falls Down" (Hart, Kevin Shepard, Russo) − 4:17





"Love a Diamond" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 3:52


PersonnelTonic

Emerson Hart: Vocals, Guitar, Slide, Percussion
Jeff Russo: Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Slide, Percussion, Drums on "My Old Man"
Dan Lavery: Bass guitar, Backing Vocals, Slide
Kevin Shepard: Drums

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Lemon Parade Album by Tonic

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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 Tracks charts 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.


Track listing
All songs by Emerson Hart except where noted.



"Open up Your Eyes" − 3:40





"Casual Affair" (Tonic) − 3:43





"If You Could Only See" − 4:21





"Soldier's Daughter" − 5:03





"Lemon Parade" (Hart, Jeff Russo) − 3:42





"Mountain" − 4:38





"Thick" − 4:21





"Wicked Soldier" (Tonic) − 4:31





"Mr. Golden Deal" − 4:55





"Bigot Sunshine" − 2:53





"Celtic Aggression" (Hart, Dan Rothchild, Russo) − 3:26





"My Old Man" − 5:52

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Tonic

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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, Pierce Bowers 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, Tonic released its third album Head on Straight in 2002. Tonic received two Grammy nominations from Head on Straight, including one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and one for Best Rock Album. The band then went on hiatus beginning in 2004 while its members pursued other musical endeavors. It wasn't until late 2008 Tonic became active again, 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. Since the release of that album, Tonic has continued to tour and remain active into the year 2014.


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 a 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.

Hart later said the original choice for the band's name was Radio Flyer, but upon learning that name was unavailable, selected Tonic instead (the band later referenced the term Radio Flyer in their song "Top Falls Down"). 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.

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.

Tonic went on hiatus beginning in 2004, all three members began working on other projects unrelated to Tonic.

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.



Current personnel

Emerson Hart - Lead and Backing Vocals, Rhythm acoustic and Electric Guitars.
Jeff Russo - Lead and Rhythm electric and acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals, Rhodes, String machine, and Slide Guitar.
Dan Lavery - Bass Guitars, Backing Vocals, Rhodes, Piano.



Discography
Main article: Tonic discography
Studio Albums:

Lemon Parade (1996)
Sugar (1999)
Head on Straight (2002)
Tonic (2010)
Lemon Parade - Acoustic (2016)

Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind

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Kevin Rene Cadogan (born August 14, 1970 in Oakland, California) is an American singer/songwriter, producer and rock guitarist. He is a founding member of the band Third Eye Blind. He performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. Cadogan co-wrote some of Third Eye Blind's most notable hits, including "How's It Going to Be", "Losing a Whole Year", and "Graduate", He co-wrote 10 of the 14 songs on the self-titled Third Eye Blind debut album. Kevin Cadogan along with his co-writer Stephan Jenkins signed a recording contract with Elektra records in May 1996 which was later reported as the largest publishing deal ever for an unsigned artist and launched Third Eye Blind into stardom. In 2011 Cadogan was honored on the show "Pensado's Place" by record producer Eric Valentine. Valentine cited Kevin Cadogan as his favorite rock guitarist that he has ever recorded; "Kevin is such a pleasure to work with..his whole thing is just amazing."


As a child, Cadogan spent two years in England while his father taught on sabbatical. Later, the family returned to the United States and settled in Berkeley, California. The Cadogan family maintains their Irish heritage, and Cadogan holds dual American and Irish citizenship. Cadogan's song "Waiting For Me" refers to his close ties to Ireland.

Cadogan attended Berkeley public schools up to his graduation in 1988. Cadogan later attended San Francisco State University, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast communications.

Kevin Cadogan lives with his wife and two children in Berkeley.


Cadogan and Third Eye Blind "parted ways" in January 2000.

According to Cadogan, he was ousted without warning because he didn't agree to a deal that would have yielded a $1 million advance to record an EP and start an Elektra Records imprint for which Stephan Jenkins would have full ownership and control.

The controversial circumstances of Cadogan's departure stem from his allegations that Stephan Jenkins and he were to be partners of the corporation named Third Eye Blind Inc. Instead, Jenkins directed the band's manager Eric Godtland and the band's attorney Thomas Mandelbaum to issue Jenkins 100% of the shares to himself making Stephan Jenkins the sole owner of all Third Eye Blind assets. Kevin Cadogan claimed that he was told by the band attorney that shares had not been issued to anyone. Cadogan told the NY Times in 1999 that he discovered 100% of the shares had in fact been issued to Jenkins as far back as 1996 when Cadogan and Jenkins signed the definitive record contract with Elektra. Cadogan states that upon learning that Jenkins owned 100% of the band he then refused to sign off on any more recording contracts and loans until shares were also issued to Cadogan. In 1999 Cadogan was asked to sign a 1 million dollar loan from Elektra records which would allow Third Eye Blind to record an EP and release it on its own label as a subsidiary of Elektra. Cadogan refused to sign the deal, citing the fact that he would not own or have any control over the assets acquired from the deal. In November 1999 Elektra records issued the funds to the Stephan Jenkins owned Third Eye Blind corporation without Cadogan's signature as Elektra had previously required. Two months later in January 2000, Cadogan and Third Eye Blind parted ways after a concert in Utah. Despite having received the $1 million from Elektra back in 1999, the band never delivered the EP for which the funds were allocated.

Cadogan filed suit, alleging wrongful termination, adding that his production, recording, and songwriter royalties were withheld since being kicked out of the band.

The lawsuit was settled out of court in June 2002, with the terms of the settlement undisclosed.

A major point of contention between Cadogan and Jenkins was an original understanding that Cadogan and Jenkins were to be equal partners in Third Eye Blind, but Jenkins established Third Eye Blind Inc. on the eve of signing the band's original record deal with Elektra Records in 1996. All payments were subsequently directed in the record contract to be paid to Third Eye Blind Inc., effectively cutting Cadogan out of any partnership and making Jenkins the sole "owner" of the band. Cadogan says several years went by before he realized that this change had been made in the contract.

Ursa Major Album by Third Eye Blind

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Ursa Major is the fourth studio album from American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Released on August 18, 2009 on the group's own Mega Collider label, Ursa Major was the group's first studio album in over six years.[13][14][15] The first single from the album was "Don't Believe a Word", which debuted on the radio June 5, 2009.



Track listing
All songs written by Stephan Jenkins, except where noted.

No. Title Writer(s) Length



1. "Can You Take Me" Jenkins, Tony Fredianelli 3:21





2. "Don't Believe a Word" Jenkins, Fredianelli 4:01





3. "Bonfire" Jenkins, Fredianelli 4:08





4. "Sharp Knife" Jenkins, Fredianelli 4:27





5. "One in Ten" 2:51





6. "About to Break" Jenkins, Ari Ingber 3:56





7. "Summer Town" 4:52





8. "Why Can't You Be" 5:25





9. "Water Landing" 4:30





10. "Dao of St. Paul" 4:05





11. "Monotov's Private Opera" 4:19





12. "Carnival Barker"