Terry Alton:
Terry took up guitar at the age of 10 years and hasn’t put it down since. After playing with several local bands and playing the bar circuit with a trio in the 70’s he moved to Los Angeles to study at Guitar Institute of Technology. Moving back to Vancouver in the 80’s he played with numerous bands including Idle Eyes and The CFOX Electric Lunch Orchestra. He travelled the world on cruise ships in the early 2000’s with his wife Tonnie Stewart as a duo performing a vast repertoire of over 200 songs. He now resides in the West Kootenays. He loves to play!
Tonnie Stewart:
Tonnie started piano lessons when she was 4. End of story…
Almost! Picture this: pianos, accordions, drums, guitars, amps, bongos, music books and lyric sheets strewn throughout the house. Polkas and waltzes flowed as Tonnie snuck out of bed to peer down at her parents creating music and friendship. With this background, it was natural for Tonnie to take the stage as a lead singer at 14.
Graduating with honours from Selkirk College Music Program, Tonnie hit the road to promote her debut album, ‘Little Sister – Cheyenne Calling’, with singles “Believe in Me”, “I hear the Children Play” and “Stallion”. This experience would foster music videos, radio airplay and of course, more writing. She gravitated to the acoustic guitar and found yet another outlet to write. Writing and co-writing with (and for) other artists, like Jason Thomas, Lisa Nicole & Jaydee Bixby, the writing venture for Tonnie is always ‘to be continued’.
In 1995, enter ‘the Boys’. This was a pivotal moment in Tonnie’s musical momentum, as she stepped out of the original scene and transformed into a versatile and prolific cover artist. Going back several decades to learn the Boys set list forced her to hone her craft even deeper and find a new appreciation for the heroes and lords of rock in an era gone by. This merger also created an opportunity for the guys to recognize female legends, such as Patsy, Linda, Pat, Ann & Nancy, Melissa, Alannah (and now artists like P!nk).
In 2000, Terry and Tonnie ventured out as a duo, TnT, entertaining primarily in Washington State and BC’s lower mainland, then travelling the world on cruise ships playing for audiences around the globe.
Meeting Brian, John and Terry was the beginning of deep and connected friendships, and Tonnie is grateful for the chance to play music with her boys once again!
Brian Nicholson
Brian had many musical influences growing up. His Grandmother played piano and organ for the silent movies plus both parents were accomplished piano players. It began from an early age as there was a steady stream of students coming into the house to take piano lessons from his mother. When Brian was 13 he received a guitar for Christmas and by the following year he had already formed his own band. By grade 11 he was in seven bands and choirs. In addition to guitar he had learned to play the piano, clarinet, saxophone and bass guitar. Brian continued his musical education at VCC receiving a diploma in Professional Music with a major in voice. He then moved to London and acquired another diploma from Fanshawe College in Recoding Production.
Brian has worked in promotions, managed musical groups, as well as performing in bands as a lead vocalist playing bass, guitar and keyboards for over 50 years. He worked for CBC, VTV, Knowledge Network, Post Modern Sound and Finale Post as a recording engineer working on shows such as Lonesome Dove, Madison, Highlander, Hawkeye, Super Dave Osborne as well as movies. Brian’s probably best known for being the Producer for the LG Morning Zoo at radio stations LG73/CFOX. He was the primary musician and vocalist for over 150 song parodies that played on the radio every day for close to eight years.
Besides gigging with the AlTonNicks, currently Brian works in his home studio writing and recording his own music that can be heard on such streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube under the pseudonym TuneNick.
John Nicholson:
At the age of 15 John, Brian and Terry started playing every style of music that was popular in the local Legion and clubs before heading to the high school dance circuit, dance halls, and cabarets, playing what would become classic rock and roll.
John went on to performing arts school and then released an original record and accompanying video with the NewWave band the Aircuts, playing the club circuit in Vancouver. Later musical adventures saw him get back together with Brian and Terry working on different band projects before adding a talented up and comer, Tonnie Stewart, to the long running party band Atlantis.