MUEN: When were your best years with TONIC? Was it more fun "getting there" or is it more fun now "being there"?

DAN: Are we there yet? Honestly, I feel that we have plenty more to achieve, personally and professionally.

MUEN: What do you think inspired Emerson to write "Mean To Me"?

DAN: A short, but alarming bout with "writer's block". It had little to do with any relationship other than Emerson with himself.

MUEN: Where are you right now as you are typing your answers to these silly questions?

DAN: Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hot and dry. Ran about three miles today with some of the crew.

MUEN: From your perspective, what are the pros and cons of the changes going on in the music industry now? And how did "Live and Enhanced" (the live clips only on the net) play a part in all this for you?


I expect that the Internet will be the thing that finally topples the existing recording industry model. The existing options aren't quite there yet. In particular, the debate of the moment, Napster hasn't figured out that
it needs to compensate artists for their work. -Dan Lavery

DAN: "Live & Enhanced" was our first dive into Internet marketing. We had already gotten involved with our website (www.tonic-online.com), but this was our first time putting music out which was only available on the Internet. It served its purpose for us in bridging the gap between studio albums, and allowed us to delve into other media. There are pictures, videos and a screen saver on the CD.

MUEN: Why did you choose the Holland gig for "Live and Enhanced"?

DAN: We chose tracks from the best recordings we could find. I believe the only track from Holland is the audio portion of the television show on which we performed "If You Could Only See". The other tracks are from elsewhere.

MUEN: Can you explain what the song "Waiting For The Light To Change" means?

DAN: Watching the cars go by. Staring into space. These are the things we do as the world is spinning around us. Take one thing at a time. Wait for the light to turn green, then go.

MUEN: How was the USO tour in Bosnia and Kosovo? Was it pretty different from what you're used to on a tour?

DAN: The Balkans tour was one of our most incredible experiences to date. Besides the obvious excitement of riding in military helicopters, climbing into tanks, etc., we played for some of the most enthusiastic audience members ever. It isn't easy how our troops have to live over there, and we felt great that they appreciated our being there. We felt like we had done something good for our country, in our own way.

MUEN: On the tour you are on right now.... what has been the biggest highlight, so far? And how are you all getting along with Stir?

DAN: Stir are good guys, and a great rock band. (Check out "Holy Dogs", My fave on their latest record)

Highlights from this tour include opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd in Georgia. Classic, to play with a band that served as the soundtrack to a great portion of my youth.
-Dan Lavery

MUEN: Okay, please tell us how it felt going into the studio to start on "Sugar", I mean you had to have felt a little pressure right? After all, 1997's "Lemon Parade" was HUGE! Did it seem impossible at first? Obviously, all turned out well, because the album is doing great and the songs are just as, if not more than, honest and riveting as the first album.....

DAN: First, Thanks. It never seemed an impossible task. It was a challenge to produce Sugar ourselves, but I always knew we had the songs to make a great album. There was always pressure, but we kept each other focused, and had a very small circle of people whose opinions we trusted for objectivity.

MUEN: What key things were done differently this time around in the studio, other than producing for the first time?

DAN: The obvious things. I was not around during Lemon Parade, our drummer Kevin had left the band, so we hired the drummer from my old band. We produced ourselves. That was the main gig. If you were having a bad day, the other two guys stepped up and took charge.

MUEN: So, on your website, they mention that Sugar is sort of a "thank you" to the south... for being so supportive. What was it about the south with Tonic?

DAN: Whenever we went there, we were so well-received. It provided the lyrical and musical imagery to the first song on which the three of us had collaborated. There is definitely a southern feel to that song. It was an important enough song to us that we named the entire album after it.

MUEN: The band has toured so extensively in the past few years. Do you ever get tired of all this touring? And what is your favorite thing to do, when you just want to get away from it all?

DAN: We all have our days where we are sick of the touring life. But they always pass, and we generally and genuinely enjoy what we do. To get away, we take a day off, and spend it alone in a hotel room. Or find a laundromat.

MUEN: Where is home? Is it L.A.?

DAN: Home for the three of us is currently L.A. That all appears to be changing, though.

MUEN: What can we expect in the near future from TONIC? And where does this tour's road end?

DAN: You can expect us to be on the road until the last show in Phoenix on October 8. We will be starting to write a new record shortly thereafter. We may have a handful of shows in November, as well.

MUEN: I could go on, but you said, "a FEW questions...." What would you like to say last to all the readers who stumble into our home on the web?

DAN: Stumble into our home on the web sometime, too.

Interview by G. Cataline

www.tonic-online.com