Q&A: Emerson Hart of Tonic
ByFeb 21, 2003 11:00 PM
When Emerson Hart, lead singer of Tonic, found out that his band’s album “Head on Straight” picked up two Grammy nominations, he immediately thought it was a joke.
When Emerson Hart, lead singer of Tonic, found out that his band’s album “Head on Straight” picked up two Grammy nominations, he immediately thought it was a joke.
“I was changing planes in Miami. I was actually on vacation and my manager called me and told me. I said, ‘That’s really funny.’ He said, ‘No, you’ve been nominated for two Grammys.’ I was shocked. Luckily I was sitting down.”
The only person he told was his wife. He didn’t share the news with any fellow passengers.
“If I said anything out loud, then it wouldn’t be real,” Hart said with a laugh.
Hart spoke to SoundSpike about the nominations--for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for the song “Take Me As I Am” and Best Rock Album for “Head on Straight"--and what’s next for the band that brought us the songs “Open Up Your Eyes” and “If You Could Only See.”
Your latest album, “Head on Straight,” had barely been pushed by the label when it was nominated for the Grammys. Were you surprised that the Grammy voters noticed your record?
This is true. There has not been huge publicity on this record. You know what this really said to me? The people on the Grammy board are real people. It’s not always about the hype and the machine. It’s about the music. It gave me a little bit of hope about the music that’s out right now.
What do you think it was about your album and “Take Me As I Am” that persuaded the committee to vote for you?
Hopefully it was about the songwriting. It’s the most personal record that I feel we’ve done to date. It’s the most personal for me. I think it got to some people. They just responded to it.
Was it difficult to write such a personal record?
No, I think that’s the whole reason you do art. You create art so you can help people change or help them feel something. If I’m not putting myself at risk or emotionally putting myself out there, I’m not doing the musical community a service. I’m not being an artist. I’m being a liar. The last thing I want to do is to be full of shit.
What was it like to work with producer Bob Rock on the album?
He’s an amazing producer. He’s an honest, straightforward guy. We did the album in Maui at his studio. That was a lot of fun. We did nothing but focus on music. [But] he’s the man. No doubt about it. I would love to work with him again. He had everything. He had this huge warehouse [of instruments]. I played Malcolm Young’s guitar. I love that guitar.
What’s next for Tonic?
We’re going on an acoustic tour. It’s kind of like [VH1’s] “Storytellers,” but not that hokey. We just want to let [the fans] come and enjoy the songs in their little birthing stage. I know that’s kind of a weird way to put it. Then we’ll go out in the spring and summer and do a full electric tour. I really wanted to give the fans the opportunity to see us that way in a really intimate setting. That’s what it should be about. It’s not about what you wear. It’s about how the music wears you.