Studio activity

Andy and SK held a band meeting during which they reviewed some of the material from the archives and discussed future recording plans. Today, SK transferred the footage from the summer 2002 Sculpted Static concert from VHS to DVD, and then to MP4.

Some work in Goldwave was required to fix a few seconds of audio of "I Saw Her Standing There" that was lost from the tape. But it wouldn't be Sculpted Static without some sculpting of static, right?

"Is the band going to reunite???"----only to do some re-recording of certain bits of the backyard concert that we find janky. But first, we need to locate a working VHS camcorder for the proper low fidelity.

"Is it true that the Tonics are releasing a 'Recorded From Home' album during the pandemic?"

 ----we already did. We invented the technique of remote recording and perfected it on Sunny Ash.

"Wow, how did you send the sound files back and forth???"----mostly in an old Honda Accord. Sometimes a Volvo. We'd leave the CDs in front of Ian's house. Just like deliveries today.

"What about the rumors that you're doing a concert on Zoom?"----if it doesn't involve flying someone in at the last minute and jamming at PRS for the warmup, it's not our kind of concert.

"I heard you're considering a tour in New Guinea, of all places!"----that's not accurate. We were only there in Microsoft Flight Simulator preparing for our Earhart tribute flight.

"It's been a quiet year for the Tonics."

----Stay tuned. The year's not over yet.

"Are you getting back in the studio??? When are we going to hear the follow up to Get Things Done?"----You'll hear it when you die in our forthcoming space adventure game.

Band meeting

Today, SK, Andy and M had a band meeting via teleconference.

"Did you guys discuss the long-awaited second Tonics album??"----No. We spent the majority of time debating the effectiveness of the N95 respirator mask.

"Come on, you guys must have brainstormed a lot of ideas for recording. It's been years!"----Okay, if you insist. We did some research on Britney Spears' "Toxic" which we profoundly regret not covering during our heyday. At least our contemporaries Local H did this rockin' version.

"You're kidding, right?"----Actually, everything in this post is true.

"Rumors are, the Tonics are back in the studio!"

----It's a games studio. We're porting getsmart.bas to Python.

"Isn't that the legendary text adventure game that even predates chainsaw.wav?"----How the hell do you know all this? Are you the all-knowing Google Assistant?

"Someone's being a paranoid android."----This interview is over.

"Is it true that the garage band in Lady Bird was based on the Tonics?"

----No, but we may have had a band meeting at Kaldi, which was featured in the film. Actually, it wasn't a band meeting, we were just there to talk about Eddie Izzard.

"What are the chances of a Tonics reunion in 2018?"----Almost as good as the chances in 2017.

"It's been almost 15 years since Sunny Ash. How has the world changed since then?"----We learned that Neanderthals interbred with humans. And we finally used our lady of MOAB in combat just last year.

"Can I hear your music on Spotify?"----Sure. Just purchase our music from Bandcamp and follow the directions to import local files into Spotify.

"What are you listening to these days?"----Same thing as in 2003. The classic sounds of air conditioning.

"There's going to be a new album in 2018?"

----Fake news.

"Where have you been all year? You haven't posted since last September!"----I was in D.C. competing for the role of Trump's press secretary.

"Where can I find the 7" version of 'Baby, Baby Goodbye'?"----You have us confused with the German band from the 70s.

"What happened to the footage of Sculpted Static at the backyard concert? I haven't seen it in years!"----Martin Shkreli has it.

"Wow, how are you connected to him?"----We aren't. I'm just responding to these questions to keep the blog alive.

"Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords . . . Spotify USA, Inc. [in connection with 'Frida' by Auren (Naive)]"----We really got this one in the mail. Sorry, you got the wrong songwriter.

Eliot

Andy and SK started working on a new song "Eliot." It's the sequel to Hamlet, they say.

Press Record again

A day of covers.... we recorded the Sculpted Static song "Telegraph Avenue" and R.E.M.'s "Fall On Me"

"Wait, didn't you guys write Telegraph Avenue?"----No, we walked it

"I heard a rumor that Andy is going to sing on the new record."----Still getting used to that name

"Where were you on 9/11?"----in the demo version of "Lost Child," incubating

"Lucy" demo

Next on the list of cassettes to digitize: the jam session that resulted in "Lucy" which occurred in December 2001 or January 2002. The tape contains several other jams, including "Ready Steady Go" which almost became a song.

Linda Linda

Yesterday, Andy and SK recorded a demo of a new song, "Linda Linda." Today, SK transferred the best copy of the 2002 Cambridge Court concert cassette onto digital.

Diana!!

Lately we've been working on a song called "Diana," previously known as the "Country Song" and first recorded in 2005. We've traded in the shuffle rhythm for 4/4 punk beat, a move that has transformed the song from an embarrassment to a potential chart-topper. A few weeks ago, Andy California recorded a couple of rhythm guitar tracks and a guitar solo, and this week SK Chow added vocals and bass. The following is an exclusive interview with Andy California:

NP: I AM NEON PHOSPHOR

AC: neon! long time no see

NP: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW MIX?

AC: best one yet. the stereo separation is just right, the guitars sound pretty punky and punchy bass is holding the center together

NP: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL THE PUBLIC ABOUT DIANA!!!!!!

AC: it's a celebration of style over substance. it's a celebration of aesthetics and beauty, and form. i think that's an unpopular position to some extent in pop music, which celebrates the lyric, even though honestly, it's never been like that. the beatles' best lyrics were things like "yeah yeah yeah," not "fish and finger pie" so Diana is great because the lyrics actually undermine themselves. they undermine content, and celebrate form. they celebrate melody and rhyme. and in 2015, that's kinda punk, don't you think? also i think it's about time we played overdriven guitars again and 4/4 rhythms and stuff you can maybe move around a bit too

NP: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEW GUITAR

AC: it's my dream guitar. it's a 2012 Fender Jaguar, Johnny Marr Signature Series. i've always wanted a jaguar, in fact I wanted one the last time i got a guitar, but i settled on the similar jazzmaster partially because the jaguar had a few design features that were wonky and i never felt comfortable with. but the jazzmaster and i never got fully comfortable either, because i don't really love the 25.5in fender scale, so when i found out Johnny Marr had redesigned a modern Jaguar which has a 24in. scale neck and fixed all those wonky problems, i knew i had to have one eventually, so i finally took the plunge. it's beautiful, can really snarl with overdrive, but has a beautiful surf clean tone with that percussive attack and eminently playable with the short scale neck

NP: IS THERE A SMITHS COVER IN THE PIPELINE?

AC: i think we have to do Still Ill soon. i know all the parts, so it won't take long to record, and mark and i used to play/sing it

NP: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, ANDY CALIFORNIA

AC: always a pleasure, Neon. rock the damn box

Finishing "Lisa"

Today, the Tonics completed a productive two-day session at Studio Uno during which they recorded cover versions of "Stand By Me," "1979," "All About That Bass," "Blank Space" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." Mark also recorded a bass line for "Lisa," thus completing the process that began in October 2005.

"I can't find your Facebook page anymore!"

----Correct. We have shut down our Facebook page because it's not cool to be on there anymore.

"But where can I stay updated on the latest news about the Tonics?"----Right here. Your original source for all things Tonics. Why did we ever try to leave?

"Are you going to be on Ello? All the cool people are going there."----I'm not a person. I'm a lyric and stock photo. I aspire to be in the great American songbook and Getty Images.

"Do you have a Soundcloud?"----No. Please go to our bandcamp and spend some money there.

Concert footage

Okay, I didn't actually post this in 2013. But a lot of things happened that year. Such as this concert featuring our Pedal Tone stars.

Sound Check and Sunny Ash re-released!

The Tonics have re-released Sound Check and Sunny Ash, making it the first time either of these albums have been available for high-quality streaming and downloading. For all practical purposes, it's the first time these albums have been made available to the public, since our sales and marketing strategy was so pathetic the first time around.

Go get them here: http://pedaltonerecords.bandcamp.com/

Our Facebook page now has a gallery of many previously unseen pictures of the band. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tonics/152160147519

Sculpted Static goes digital

You didn't think it was ever going to happen, but it will. Sculpted Static is set to re-release their two albums, original mix and mastering, as digital downloads. We have located CD-quality masters which will finally enable us to provide lossless downloads on Bandcamp.

"Why didn't you keep the .wav files on your computer after you mixed them down?"----listen kid, have you ever had to worry about disk space? Especially when you really needed to make room for Diablo II? These are the tough decisions we had to face during the early 2000s.

Select quotes from the band:

"Finally, we're going to make the $300 back that we spent at Kinko's."----a band member

"Now we'll hit the big time... in the USA!"----another band member, set to the tune of "Honey Pie"

Now, enjoy this video of us looking young:

In business

After a long vacation it looks like Neon Phosphor is back in business. Or should I say that we're in business for the first time? Because Steven, who now calls himself SK Chow, has released a new song called "Titanic." And get this---he's doing it on our brand new record label Pedal Tone Records. Mark's on the track playing guitar and Arta's on the B-side for the re-issuing of "Anne Bancroft." Go download the songs for $0.75 each (cheaper than iTunes).

Amber

Annie recording her new song "Amber's Getting Married" with the 60s Pop, Rock & Soul PBS special on TV.

IKEA bass line

Mark and Steven are working on a new song called "IKEA."