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Emerson Hart

Though millions already appreciate former Tonic frontman Emerson Hart�s poignant lyrics, smart songcraft and evocative voice, Hart�s debut solo album, Cigarettes and Gasoline, begins a new chapter for the renowned performer. His 12-song debut disc is a cathartic journey and intimate lyrical portrait that includes the irresistible, melodic �Run To,� the thoughtful and unforgettable �I Wish the Best For You,� and the memorable first single, �If You�re Gonna Leave.� As lead singer for alt-rock radio and concert favorites Tonic, Hart enjoyed platinum sales, chart topping singles and albums--including the # 1 hit �If You Could Only See�--and two Grammy nominations in 2003. Striking out own his own with Cigarettes and Gasoline proved �freeing and educational in the way that I had to learn to again trust my instincts about what is best,� Hart relates. �That was the greatest experience for me in making this record; I learned to trust myself as a writer.�

Thematically, Cigarettes and Gasoline has an underlying current of forgiveness, and also touches on the difficult topic of his father�s still-unresolved murder when Hart was a boy growing up in New Jersey. �This record, I had to address those issues before I moved on, so I had to forgive the people who killed my father and let that go,� Hart says. �Also, learning how to come full circle with that, thinking about being a father myself someday.� The CD title also casts a backward glance: �It refers to an olfactory sense from my childhood--my dad smoking Marlboro Reds and getting gas in Jersey; I remember sitting in the back of his �Caddy, and the smell of that, and his arm up on the armrest and him smoking, early memories for me,� Hart reminisces. �Also, working on boats as a kid in Jersey, going out on the water, in the mornings, that boat smell�and cigarettes.�

Cigarettes and Gasoline marks the culmination of a journey that began when Hart, who moved to Los Angeles and co-founded Tonic in the mid-�90s, relocated to Nashville in 2002. In the Music City, with a refreshed perspective and introspection, Hart wrote for himself and outside projects, including the song �Generations,� the theme for TV�s American Dreams, the tune earning Hart the 2003 ASCAP Award for film and TV. In 2005 Hart penned �If You�re Gonna Leave,� the keystone track that set the tone for the songs that would eventually comprise Cigarettes and Gasoline. �I obsessively write every day, so I started building up songs that weren�t necessarily songs that I would give away to other people,� he explains. �Writing is my therapy, that�s how I exist. �If You�re Gonna Leave� became the song that summed up where I was at that point in my life, and from there I started writing other songs about where I was. For the first time I was at a place where I was peaceful and without distractions. I was able to dig into myself as an artist and say �what do I want to write about? I have 12 times to say something, how do I want to say it, how do I say it the best and most direct way possible?��

Hart is a dynamic performer who loves interacting with his audience and touring--�I believe in going out and seeing people, face to face, saying �this is where I am, right now, this is what it sounds like.�� But he�s equally adept at penning enduring, intimate songs, his original voice and modern songwriting shining on Cigarettes and Gasoline. Sonically, the CD achieved Hart�s lofty goals: �I started listening to records like Peter Gabriel�s So, and Fleetwood Mac�s Rumors, classic albums with production that really brought life to those great songs. That was my starting place, searching for a sound that really captured the spirit of the songs and where I was in that moment in time regardless of the records I�ve made in the past.� To reach that objective, he enlisted producers Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi), who produced the final, Grammy-nominated Tonic record; Grammy-winner Jason Lehning (Guster, Steve Forbert), and Mike Napolitano (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Joseph Arthur), who engineered on the second Tonic CD at Daniel Lanois� Kingsway studio in New Orleans.

Recording and writing in Nashville and New Orleans, Cigarettes and Gasoline absorbed some of the characteristics of those locales, as Hart notes: ��Run To� was inspired in New Orleans, and �Devastation Hands,� without a doubt, though the song is so pop-y, lyrically it touches where I was. And �Cigarettes and Gasoline,� even though it�s written about my hometown in Jersey, it�s very much the darkness of New Orleans.� �If You�re Gonna Leave,� the first single (�we�re coming out crying� laughs Hart), was the hardest song to capture, but then again, so was �If I Could Only See,� which turned into a huge hit for Tonic. Hart played �If You�re Gonna Leave� for Rock, who advised Hart to give the song its due and came to Nashville to help perfect it and two others--�Flyin�� and �When She Loves You.� The album was actually completed when inspiration struck again, and the 11th-hour addition of the reflective �I Wish the Best For You� was recorded and turned into a fast favorite. �That song is roughly based on watching a friend of mine�s marriage fall apart, and looking at myself and going, �learn from this,�� Hart explains. �I saw inside of it; that you can love something only so much to be able to save it before it becomes obsession.� Hart is quick to give kudos to the co-writers and musicians who contributed to Cigarettes and Gasoline, and was thrilled with the input and collaboration afforded by his choice to go solo. �I can play with anybody I want; I love that freedom and those options. I love knowing each musician and what they�re great at, and choosing those people on where their talents lie makes my music better. And it makes me a better artist because I learn.�

Hart is continually learning, and his belief that �Hard work brings good luck,� is certainly borne out on the dozen carefully crafted songs on Cigarettes and Gasoline, which he terms �the logical step for me as a writer. The interesting thing about Tonic is that we had the broadest fan base, from 16-year-old girls up. My Tonic fans are older now, they may have children, and I�m writing from the perspective of what I lived through and where I am now. I�ve grown to a different place; you have to write about what you can identify with.� And for the inevitable question about his former band, Hart answers simply: �I�m proud of the work and I�m thankful that I had the opportunity to create those songs, but I�m not making records with Tonic anymore.�

He is making records for Manhattan, a label Hart is thrilled to call family. �I was happy to release this record on my own until I met Ian Ralfini (General Manager of EMI/Manhattan Records), who signed my heroes, The Kinks. I was so taken with the label�s combination of smallness and their world view. As an artist, you want to be on a small label that is globally minded, but can move with speed because of the size of their machine. I have always made records where I make every song stand on its own; an eclectic vision of great songs, and that�s how I look at this label�it�s a parallel of an eclectic great record, full of diverse people who are very talented at what they do.�

Despite its combustive title, Cigarettes and Gasoline is a very cathartic album for Hart, marking a solid step into solo waters, and providing some closure for his tragic childhood loss. �I was able to talk about stuff in front of other people that I was never comfortable talking about when I was in Tonic,� he admits. For Hart, Cigarettes and Gasoline is an album that had to be made, going solo a leap of faith that was crucial in order for Hart to be true to his art. �This is my ride,� he concludes. �I�m at a point in my life where I�m trying to learn how to give and be honest, and I think that is reflected in the every song on my record.�


Cigarettes and Gasoline, released June 19, 2007