Jonas Tomalty
Jonas (Richard) Tomalty, also known simply as Jonas, is a Juno Award-nominated Canadian rock, soul and pop singer. Born on August 8, 1979 in Montreal and brought up in the West side of the city, Tomalty's mother tongue is English but he speaks and performs in both English and French. Still very active in the industry using his full name, Jonas Tomalty is now in his third decade of live performance, touring and recording. His new solo album "Undivided" is set to be released in early 2021.
Jonas Tomalty | |
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| Birth name | Jonas Richard Tomalty |
| Also known as | Jonas Tomalty |
| Born | August 8, 1979 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock Soul , Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Artic Records, The Orchard/Sony |
| Associated acts | Rubberman, Jonas, Jonas & The Massive Attraction, Jonas Tomalty |
| Website | www.jonastomalty.com |
Career
Off the top
At 8 years old Jonas joined school board choir the PSBGM chorale (now known as EMSB chorale) , allowing him to travel around and hone his musical theory, vocal skills and harmonies. In early high school he started a rock band called Rubberman with whom he won the first prize in 1999 at CHOM-FM's annual contest "CHOM L'Esprit" as well as MusiquePlus's "DémoClip" contest. They quickly signed to Donald K Donald's label Aquarius Records (Canada) and released the self titled "Rubberman". The band had medial success across Canada and that brotherhood formed the base of Tomalty's love for the craft. That same year he formed a blues side project with his harmonica playing father called Jonas & The Blues Blooded. An outfit that had its own success for many years across the province of Quebec.
The "Jonas" Years
His first major success "Edge of Seventeen" (originally performed by Stevie Nicks) appeared on his gold selling EP "Jonas" in 2004. It was soon followed by "Show Me", "Daddy" and "Like A River" that all reached the top of the Québec radio charts. That year he and his band toured North America opening for Van Halen. The success of Jonas earned two nominations at the Juno Awards of 2006 in the "New Artist of the Year" and "Rock Album of the Year" categories.[1]
Soon after, his DVD Jonas Live ...As We Roll!, a live recording of a show at Montreal's music hall Métropolis on June 2, 2005, was released and went platinum in a week. His second album Suite Life was put out in October 2006 and featured "SuperSexMe", which was the first single from it. "Bows and Arrows" was the second. This was the first year that Jonas and his band were invited to play in Afghanistan for the armed forces. An incredible, eye opening experience for Tomalty and relationship with the soldiers and veterans that continues to this day.
In 2007, Tomalty released his third album Promised Land. This album contained the best from his first two albums and was marketed for international release. The album was released but never got out of Canada due to a battle with their record label that, shortly after, ended their four-year relationship. The release was however followed by a cross-Canadian tour with Collective Soul, and the band followed it with another live DVD of their Montreal Bell Centre performance called Live at the Bell Centre. The band continued touring Quebec and Canada for the next few years while managing a messy transition between label and management. This would set the scene for the next chapter in Jonas's career.
With Jonas & The Massive Attraction
Jonas & The Massive Attraction | |
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| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, Hard rock |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Big Slice Records |
| Associated acts | Jonas |
| Website | jonasandthemassiveattraction |
| Members | Jonas Tomalty Corey Diabo Julien Martre Francis Fugere |
| Past members | Domenic Romanelli Ange E. Curcio Ian Benhamou Francis Fillion Jean-Sébastien Bacciu Martin Lavallée |
In 2010, Tomalty signed to new management, changed his rhythm section and renamed the band Jonas & The Massive Attraction with long time friend and guitar player/phenom, Corey Diabo (originally of Jonas & The Blues Blooded & Jonas ) . They went on to release their album "Big Slice". The title track "Big Slice" hit the top 10 of the Canadian Radio charts and opened the door to a busy few years of touring in Europe and their home country of Canada. Opening for acts like Kid Rock and The Cult, sharing the stage with Patty Smith, Alanis Morissette, Gavin DeGraw and touring with Deep Purple were all part of the whirlwind years that followed.
The 2013 album release "Live Out Loud" ( co-written and produced by the legendary Marti Frederiksen) brought the boys back onto the Quebec franco charts with "Respire" (the french version of "Breathing" that hit #2) and the second franco adaptation "Je Crie Ton Nom" (co-written by Simon Wilcox, Nelson Minville and Mark Holman) that became Jonas' first SOCAN #1 single and opened the door to more contemporary collaborations for Tomalty. It is then that he teamed up with monster producer Fred St-Gelais for the first time and recorded his first duo with Quebec pop icon Marie-Mai. Their collaboration "Jamais Trop Tard" would also reach #1 in the charts and set up the creative trio for another success; the Christmas song " Christmas Calling" written by Tomalty. It is on this recording that you can hear the voices of the new generation of Jonas's first choir, the PSBGM chorale.
In 2014, to underline Jonas and Corey's 10 years of recording together, they releases "Album X" as Jonas & The Massive Attraction. A recording that boasted 7 brand new songs like "Lifeline" (co-written by Raine Maida of Our lady peace) and 3 re-recordings of past successes such as Bow & Arrows, Daddy and Burn The House Down. The band toured this album for the next few years and cut a live version on the show for the release of Live & Electric in 2017.
A new page
In the following years Jonas took time from heaving touring and recording whilst still playing intimate acoustic performances with Diabo. He took time to open a restaurant/music venue in Old Montreal with some friends called Rosewood. A passion he had long wanted to connect with. He bought a home on the outskirts of the city with his back-up vocalist, Carmen D'Astous (with whom he had a baby boy, Lennon Alexander Tomalty, born Feb 13 2020) It was summer 2017 then when Tomalty started to write songs outside of his normal genre and began to explore a new solo venture. The material from that period would be the building blocks of his new solo career. He brought his last name into the mix and began his new artistic journey as Jonas Tomalty. In 2018 he signed to new management, Francis Delage / Unitalent (Marc Dupré, Corneille, Les Deux Frères, Garoux) and they signed with Artic Records / The Orchard/ Sony for the release of his first real solo album, Jonas Tomalty : Undivided (to be released in early 2021). The first single "Closer" was released late summer on 2020 and broke the top 40 in the corresponding charts on its second week out. His long-time friend and Grammy-winning producer Hex Hector (J-Lo's Waiting for Tonight Remix) took "Closer" and reimagined it with a completely different, funky flavour and delivered the very funk "Closer; the Hex Hector Mix". To be release in September of 2020.
Discography
As Jonas
- 2004: Jonas
- 2006: Suite Life
- 2007: Promised Land (compilation album of Jonas and Suite Life)
As Jonas and The Massive Attraction
- 2010: Big Slice
- 2011: Big Slice Unplugged EP (EP)
- 2011: Big Slice: Deluxe Edition (re-release of Big Slice which includes the EP)
- 2012: Unplugged
- 2013: Live Out Loud
- 2014: X ( Tenth anniversary album including 7 new songs and 3 remixed ones )
- 2017: Live & Electric (Live Album)
Videography
- 2005: Jonas Live ...As We Roll! (DVD)
- 2007: La Quête
- 2009: Live at the Bell Centre (DVD)
- 2012: Big Slice Tour 2012 / Live in Germany at Rockpalast
References
External links
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