TONIC was founded by childhood friends Emerson Hart (lead vocals) and Jeff Russo (lead guitar) in 1993. They soon added bass player Dan Rothchild, and later gained Kevin Shepard on the drums. During the late 1990’s, the band played over 300 shows in under two years, earning a reputation as a relentlessly gigging, massive live band.
Their first professional recording contract was signed in 1995, and they released Lemon Parade in 1996. The single “If You Could Only See” became the number one most played rock song of 1998. At the end of that year, Dan Lavery replaced Rothchild on the bass, and Shepard left the band as well. Peter Maloney played drums on their next album, Sugar, which they self-released in 1999. It wasn’t until 2002 that they released their next album, Head On Straight, which they recorded in a laid-back Hawaii studio location. This was a welcome change for the band from the hectic experience of self-producing the previous album. They were still considered a three-person band, but Head On Straight included drum work by Joey Waronker and keyboardist Will Holis. In 2003, Tonic went back on tour, hoping to bring their performances back to the previous level. That year, they received two Grammy nominations, one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and for Best Rock Album.
At this point, the band’s activity began to diminish due to the exhausting grind of touring, and they went on hiatus in 2004. Each member embarked on projects that were unrelated to Tonic. Hart released a solo album called Cigarettes and Gasoline (2007) and Russo became part of the band Low Stars. Lavery began playing bass on tour for The Fray, and did song writing for major motion pictures including "The Passion of the Christ" and "Elektra".
In 2008, Russo announced the reuniting of the band with upcoming tour dates and a forthcoming album. They released their self-titled album Tonic in 2010. The drums on this album were played by Pete Maloney.
Tonic is currently on tour promoting their fourth studio album.
