Tone (DC band)

Lore & Background

Tone was founded by Norm Veenstra and Gregg Hudson, who worked together at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Hudson was drumming for THUD when they decided to start a band based on shared influences. The group's first CD, Build, was a six-song mini-album recorded in 1993 and 1994. Tone's early shows were described as relentlessly raw, but by their first recordings they had evolved into a more precise approach.

From 1996 to 2000, Tone recorded two albums with Robert Poss from Band of Susans: Sustain (1996) and Structure (2000). For Structure, the band expanded to fourteen pieces, adding cello, tuba, trumpet, French horn, and trombone. The result was described as 'combining the attack of punk with progressive tendencies.' The band later worked with producer J. Robbins on Ambient Metals (2004), Solidarity (2007), and Priorities (2013). Solidarity was the first album to feature a second drummer, Andy Myers.

Tone collaborated with the Bowen McCauley Dance Company from 2004 to 2006, performing at the Kennedy Center and the Schrittmacher Festival in Aachen, Germany. In 2011, the band celebrated its 20-year anniversary with two shows alongside Savage Republic and Caspian. Tone recorded a new full-length album with J. Robbins in 2014, released in June 2016.

Reader's Guide

Tone is significant as a long-running instrumental post-rock band from Washington, DC, that maintained a consistent core while incorporating a rotating cast of musicians from the DC punk and indie scene. Their music is characterized by multiple electric guitars, dynamic builds, and a blend of drone, repetition, and orchestral textures. Albums like Ambient Metals and Priorities received positive critical attention for their shimmering, guitar-driven sound and ability to evoke wide-open spaces. The band's collaborations with the Bowen McCauley Dance Company and performances at venues like the Kennedy Center demonstrate their versatility beyond traditional rock contexts. Tone's legacy lies in their disciplined approach to instrumental composition, their use of expanded instrumentation, and their role in the post-rock and DC music communities.

Did You Know?

• Tone's first CD, Build, was a mini-album of six songs recorded by Frank Marchand and Rob Christiansen of Eggs.
• The band expanded to fourteen pieces for the album Structure, adding cello, tuba, trumpet, French horn, and trombone.
• Tone collaborated with the Bowen McCauley Dance Company for performances at the Kennedy Center and the Schrittmacher Festival in Aachen, Germany.
• The song 'Incoming' was mixed by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou.