Check Out Addie Tonic’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Addie Tonic. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Meghann5k and Matt Youngblood met in late 2016 through mutual musician friends. They had both just moved to Denver with the same mission, to start an original band. Meghann5k had a bunch of songs ready to go so they started playing together in early 2017 and by April they booked their first show at Winter Park Pub in Winter Park, CO.

Meghann5k and Matt played under several variations of the name 5000 with an ever-revolving cast of bass players and drummers, recording their first single together, “Anger” in February 2018 with Kyle Jones of Sleeping Brotherhood Studios. Kyle is locally known for producing the Flobots major label debut, Fight with Tools featuring the single “Handlebars” which became a popular hit in April 2008. As it happens in this small musical community, they are now studio neighbors to the Flobots. Meghann5k and Matt finished up 2018 by releasing a 7-song EP, under the 5000 brand.

In early 2019, Meghann5k and Matt hit the studio with Todd Divel of Silo Sound Recording Studio (a.k.a the Abbey Road of Denver) to record songs for what would become Addie Tonic’s debut EP, “Crashin’ Cars & Fannin’ Flames” and the second EP, “Don’t Ya Know Me.” Just as they were finishing up the final mixes for this batch of songs, Covid hit the U.S. and everything shut down.

Meghann5k and Matt took this opportunity to rebrand, eventually deciding on the name Addie Tonic- named after the eye condition, adie tonic pupil, which Meghann5k has. They decided to give it the Lynyrd Skynyrd/Pink Floyd treatment and personify the name as a fictional character which will develop more as the brand evolves.

In the summer of 2020, Dylan Tilton joined the band on bass and has since been the longest-running member. However, Addie Tonic remains the Spinal Tap of the Denver music scene with their revolving door of drummers that has plagued them since the beginning. In October 2020, they released the first single “Crashin’ Cars & Fannin’ Flames” under the new name, Addie Tonic. All the while, Meghann5k and Matt spent their time together during lockdown live-streaming relentlessly on their Facebook page, learning new covers every week, and building their fanbase online while live shows were on hold. It was through this process that they really honed their craft and found their direction. Up until then, they hardly performed any cover songs and this experience really helped them grow as artists and expand their catalogue.

Slowly, as the world opened back up, Meghann5k and Matt played out every chance they got, mostly as a duo, and then as things opened up more, the band as well. They released the songs from the “Crashin’ Cars” sessions one single at a time throughout 2021 and recorded a cover of the Veruca Salt song “Seether” to cap off the 10-song release in December 2021.

This release sparked some local attention and got “Seether” on local radio station Indie 102.3’s segment “Cover with Your Coffee.” In February 2022, Addie Tonic was listed in 303 Magazine’s “Colorado Music You Should Know” featuring the song “Iodine” and in May 2022, Addie Tonic was chosen to be one of Indie 102.3’s featured local 303 artists. This opportunity gave them radio play twice a day for the month of May featuring both “Seether” and “Iodine” and landed them at number 12 on the Colorado Sound’s top 30 playlists for radio play in May 2022.

In addition to the state of Colorado, Addie Tonic has toured semi-nationally including Montana, Minnesota, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas and they plan to do more touring in the future. Currently, when they are not playing shows in and around the Denver metro area, they are crafting a new batch of songs with Todd Divel, working to land a sync licensing deal, and maintaining their streak of radio play all whilst growing a fanbase.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Band Struggles:

Revolving door of players- especially and still drummers
Playing original music in a competitive music scene
Band name struggles in the beginning with 5000
Finding the right management and booking help

Meghann5k struggles- stage fright, getting over shyness and gaining confidence- hours of streaming, live shows, and regular meditation have helped Meghann5k overcome this struggle

Matt- Always an avid musician himself, Matt fronted his own band for many years, but was also a tour manager for larger acts for many years. Frustrated by watching other musicians, he quit his job to pursue his own personal musical dream.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Meghann5k – songwriter, musician, puppet builder, most proud of her band, Addie Tonic, and how far they’ve come- her creativity sets her apart from others

Matt – driver in all the ways, creative input and help with song arrangements, best known for guitar tone-immediately recognizable, the band’s vegan chef

Definitely check out the Addie Tonic YouTube channel. There is a series of puppet music videos shot with Cassandra Flatt of Cortex ’86 Productions- Meghann5k made the puppets in these videos.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Meghann5k- quiet and shy – interests in music and art- puppetry loved anything Jim Henson and The Muppets-related, soccer

Matt- rowdy and rambunctious – music and sports

Contact Info:

• Website: https://addietonic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addietonic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addietonic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/addietonic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/addietonic
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/addietonic 

Image Credits
Fan taken photos