Most music fans might not recognize his name, but they're probably familiar with Emerson Hart's voice and the indelible pop melodies he helped create in the late '90s.
From 1993 to 2004, Hart fronted Tonic, the chart-topping alt. rock band that piqued radio listeners' ears with catchy tracks like "If You Could Only See" and "Open Up Your Eyes." Tonic released three successful albums and transcended the "post grunge" label with pop hits in the late '90s ("If You Could Only See" was the most played song in rock radio in 1997).
After the success with Tonic, Hart, 38, took an inward trip. He took time off from Tonic and started writing a deeply personal album. Hart released the new solo disc "Cigarettes & Gasoline" earlier this year.
"When I started writing this record, I realized I wasn't writing a Tonic record," Hart said in a recent phone interview. "I can only write what I live, and at that point I knew it was something else. It was a solo record."
Hart will perform tracks from "Cigarettes" live Tuesday at Graham Central Station in Pharr. The singer-songwriter is opening for Collective Soul.
Hart said writing and recording the new album was a cathartic experience. He had to "grow up," he said, and reexamine his life when penning the album's confessional lyrics.
"There was a lot of stuff that happened in my life that I was never comfortable talking about or writing about in Tonic." Hart said.
"Cigarettes" features songs about shattered relationships, Hart's troubled childhood in New Jersey, and the murder of his father.
"These songs represent really powerful memories for me, and I just had to write them now. That's how I get through the hard times going on," he said.
Hart has been known to work some Tonic songs into his solo shows, but fans will mostly hear solo material on Tuesday, including the potential hit single "If You're Gonna Leave."
Tuesday won't be Hart's first time in the Valley. He played a small showcase here earlier this year.
"I was really taken by the openness of the (Valley) crowd," he said. "People really responded to the songs. I wish every show was like that."
Hart takes time to respond to fan letters and e-mails every week, and he even enjoys greeting concert attendants in the crowd, he said.
The confessional storytelling featured in "Cigarettes" has prompted fans all over the nation to write Hart about similar experiences.
"I've gotten a lot of e-mails from people who dealt with family murders as children and from people who have gone through divorces or relationship problems," he said. "They write in and tell me that they can connect with the songs, and that makes it all worthwhile."
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What: Emerson Hart opens for Collective Soul
Where: Graham Central Station, Pharr
When: Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
Cost: $22 general admission
