Henry, Trent, and Greg in the foreground, Jorge in the back. A very hot Hardback show. Henry, Trent, and Greg in the foreground, Jorge in the back. A very hot Hardback show.

HISTORY

What Rob Is remembers:

"Man, that was the tone unknown!"

So spoke Dave Helmericks at one of the first jams the band had together. And they were jams. Usually someone would start riffing, everyone else would join in, Henry would make up the lyrics on the spot, and the tone unknown would unfold.

I personally wasn't there the first couple of jams, but after Coma (from Dharma Bums and Unidentified fame) dropped out, Jorge invited me over for the next session. There were nine of us. Drums (Gerald Warner, our first), bass (me), percussion (Steve Jones), three guitars (Jorge, Rick & Dave), Trent on trombone, Henry on the mic, and a guy name Joe playing congas. It was out of hand. And a lot of fun. I came back for more. We played a gig shortly after that (perhaps right after my first "rehearsal" with the band) and it was a blast. Henry had a way with the crowd and it was fun having no idea what was going to happen next. We didn't really need rehearsal since we improvised the whole thing anyway.

After a couple of years of jamming, people (mainly Jorge, Henry, and Rob Is) started writing songs. We craved a bit more structure and wanted to be able to play something and be able to repeat it. With this change came more rehearsals, and big changes in the lineup. People moved - Steve Jones left for Austin and grad school - and Dave left the band, followed by Gerald, who was replaced by Rob McGregor. Down to 2 guitars, no percussion, bass, drums, trombone, and Henry on the microphone, we were ready to cut our first album. We went the 4-track route and laid down "6 Hungry Men."


Webmaster's note: this website is based on Rob Is' original website which was active between 2004 and 2017, which you can access a partially functional copy of via the Internet Archive here.

According to the Gainesville Band Family Tree, The Tone Unknown has had the following people as band members throughout the years:
  • Bobby Holyland - kazoo
  • Darryl Palmer - typewriter
  • Dave Helmericks - guitar, vocals (pre-1991)
  • Gerald Warren - drums (early)
  • Greg Tierney - trumpet
  • Henry Puertas - vocals
  • Jorge Navarro - guitar (1986-1993)
  • Mike Stevens - drums (replaced Rob McGregor)
  • Rick Krajnyak - guitar (1986-1987)
  • Rob Is - bass
  • Rob McGregor - drums (1987-1991)
  • Roberto Levantino - bass
  • Trent Snider - trombone