September 11, 2002
Tonic Screws Its 'Head On Straight'

By Catherine Applefeld Olson

While elixirs often mellow with time, guitar-driven melody maker Tonic cranks it up on its third set, Head on Straight, due Sept. 24 from Universal Records.

Nowhere does the trio's current musical statement resound more strongly than in granite-edged first single "Take Me As I Am," which opens with a weighty guitar riff then reveals the pop hooks that first separated the band from the pack in 1997.

"It's a bridge; it's a great way to experience the next step of Tonic," singer/songwriter/guitarist Emerson Hart says. "It's a great way to start, lyrically. We're not about image. We stake our entire career on the strength of our songs."

Bridging the band's previous work -- its platinum-plus debut album, Lemon Parade, and the follow-up, Sugar -- was part of the band's mission on this summer's Jeep World Outside festival. During the tour Tonic dished up old and new material alike alongside rockers Sheryl Crow, Train, and others. Once the album is out, the band will support the set with a U.S. headlining tour that kicks off in October.

This album also brought some changes for the band. For one, Hart bid farewell to Los Angeles, where bandmates Jeff Russo and Dan Lavery still make their home, and hung his shingle in Nashville. Much of Head On Straight was written during an initial year "off," in which Hart says he holed down and let Nashville's "bucolic setting" wash over him.

"I needed that time to get my head together. We had always been touring, always on the road," he explains. "I wanted to make sure the next record would be coming from fresh eyes and ears."

The trio hammered out finishing touches in Hart's basement during a rendezvous, and found their creative muse leading them down a harder-edged road. "We wanted to make a rock record," Hart says. "'Sugar' had rock moments but it was a little more introspective musically, a little more mellow. We wanted to punch it heavy this time."

To get the job done, they turned to veteran producer Bob Rock, whose "laid-back efficiency" and Maui, Hawaii, studio setting provided a welcome change after the draining experience of self-producing Sugar, according to Hart.

Of that experience, Hart says, "It was exhausting. We couldn't stay focused and there was really no neutral party. This time it was a great experience. We enjoyed recording music again, and he was able to bring things out of us -- and particularly out of me as a singer -- that we hadn't been able to capture before."

September 9, 2002
Life Is Looking 'Up' For Peter Gabriel

By Larry Flick

Peter Gabriel laughs heartily when he ponders the intensely dark tone of Up, his first studio effort in a decade, due Sept. 24 via Geffen.

"I'm just a happy-go-lucky fellow, aren't I?" he says, smiling. "Seriously, this wasn't intended to be such a heavy piece of work. It just turned out that way. At the same time, I wouldn't portray these songs as morose or depressing."

That's debatable, given the themes of loss and loneliness that run through the ironically titled Up. Perhaps most dominant, though, is the recurring exploration of death in songs like "I Grieve" and "Don't Leave."

"Now, here's an interesting point to consider," Gabriel offers. "Death is instantly perceived as a depressive subject. But it doesn't have to be. Take, for example, if you live in a dominant youth culture that pretends death doesn't exist, you end up going directly toward it. But if you face it head-on and accept death as a part of the life cycle -- which so many other cultures do -- then you live life more fully."

Gabriel supports his theory by dressing a song like "I Grieve" in the world beat-spiced rhythms that have become his signature. In such a vibrant instrumental environment, he honors the passage of life while also celebrating what he describes as the everlasting soul in a mantra-like refrain, "They say that life carries on."

"As you get older, you have to put physical life and its eventual end into perspective," he says. "Fearing death doesn't enhance life; it feeds into feelings of dread."

All of this noted, Up is not consumed with one or two topics. The set's first single, "The Barry Williams Show," offers an acerbic take on the current spate of reality TV programs and their eroding effect on humanity. Gabriel says, "It's remarkable to witness what people will do for a slice of fame."

He admits, though, that he does occasionally tune in to reality TV. "It's like eating a ton of junk food," he says. "You feel good while you're consuming it. But afterward, you feel like crap -- and you vow to never go back again."

"The Barry Williams Show" is accompanied by a sharp, often darkly amusing videoclip directed by actor Sean Penn, and features a cameo by actor Barry Williams, who portrayed Greg on "The Brady Bunch."

This week, Gabriel will appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" to perform "I Grieve" in tribute to those lost following last year's attack on the U.S. Also planned are appearances on "Charlie Rose" (Sept. 25), "Today," "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (Sept. 27), and "Last Call With Carson Daly" (Sept. 30).

Gabriel is preparing for an extensive world tour in the fall. Though dates are still to be locked in, the artist is formulating two decidedly different shows for the trek. One will be an elaborate, theatrical piece, while the other will follow a more traditional concert format.

"It's a wonderful way of exploring two different methods of performance," Gabriel says, "both of which I thoroughly enjoy."