Heavy but sweet

First of all, Tonohoney is neither a candy bar, a 300-pound R&B diva nor an Irish folk band. It also is not Ton O’ Honey (although it once was) or the abbreviation “TOH” (which it never was). And technically, it’s not even Tonohoney; it’s TONOHONEY — although you’ll rarely see it that way, as media folk have an aversion to such things in print.

If Tonohoney is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis, it’s time to clear that up right here and now. The band’s music eludes easily applied labels. But it’s rock ‘n’ roll with a contemporary feel, its crunchy, diverse rhythms accented by extended jazz chording from rhythm guitarist/founding member Bryan McClenning.

The moniker “sort of describes our music,” McClenning says. “There’s a sense that we can be heavy at times, but it’s never, like, that disturbing. It’s sort of smooth.”

The band’s inspiration draws largely from ’70s rock and ’80s metal — bands like Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Who, the Stones and others. The Black Crowes are another McClenning favorite. In fact, it was the Crowes’ Atlanta roots that helped convince him to relocate here in 1995 after attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Still, Tonohoney listeners shouldn’t hold their collective breath awaiting the guitar pyrotechnics that characterize many of the bands McClenning references. Instead, their influence — and thus the emphasis in Tonohoney — comes in the form of songwriting and rhythm, including atypical time signatures. Listen to vintage Van Halen or Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix, McClenning explains, and pay attention to the variety of rhythms they incorporated and the creativity they brought to their songwriting, including their lyrics.

Throw in the added influences of McClenning’s early life, including a mother who was a Kris Kristofferson fan and a grandfather who played violin and introduced him to everything from Lawrence Welk to big band music, and Tonohoney’s eclectic nature is increasingly understandable.

“I always try and show that rock ‘n’ roll can be more than what’s out there [now],” McClenning says. “I think there’s a wider view of rock ‘n’ roll music that hasn’t been explored as widely since the ’60s and ’70s. I think we relate more to those [classic] bands in bringing in different styles. We like to experiment with time signatures and things like that, without disturbing the grooves.”

Accordingly, McClenning’s rhythm guitar approach is not limited to the typical major and minor chords that characterize much of rock ‘n’ roll. Although he says he knows very little about music theory (“I literally don’t know the names of 75 to 80 percent of the chords that I play, but I don’t think that matters much”), McClenning did take a couple of semesters of jazz guitar at George Washington.

“It really opened up my chord playing,” he says. “I just started seeing how you could really accent chords by moving one finger to another spot. [The chord] takes on a whole different sound and character, a whole different texture.”

In executing its musical plan, Tonohoney relies on a classic band framework, featuring a lead vocalist (Ira Malkin, who also adds harmonica and percussion), two guitars (McClenning and Mark D’Alessio), and bass and drums (Patrick Furtek and Jason Chamison, respectively).

“It’s like the Stones did it, like the Crowes do it,” McClenning says. “That’s more of what rock ‘n’ roll is than the rock ‘slash’ thing [e.g., rock/rap] or ‘alt rock.’ We consider ourselves a rock ‘n’ roll band.”

Tonohoney plays Sat., April 20, at Taco Mac, 8879 Roswell Road, Dunwoody. 10 p.m. Free. 770-552-8784. www.tonohoney.com.

This column covers music outside the Perimeter. E-mail or mail “outside” music news to Bryan Powell, 830 Josh Lane, Lawrenceville, GA 30045.??