While its two founding members, guitarist Norm Veenstra and drummer Gregg Hudson, have remained constant through most of the group's history, Tone has also included former, current, or future members of Government Issue (Mitch Parker), Edsel (Nick Pellicciotto), Pitchblende (Justin Cherno), Velocity Girl (Jim Spellman and Kelly Riles, now known as Kelly Young), Thud (Gregg Hudson, Adam Rutland, and Bob Dotolo), Teen Idles (Geordie Grindle[1]), Unrest (Phil Krauth), Wharton Tiers Ensemble (Kevin Kim), Strange Boutique (Steve Willett), Caligari (Dennis Kane), Smart Went Crazy (Hillary Soldati), Raymi (Gustavo Vargas), and Night Streets (Charles Andrews).
In recording Structure in 1998 and 1999, Tone expanded its ranks to fourteen pieces, adding cello, tuba, trumpet, French horn, and trombone.
The Chicago Tribune writes of Ambient Metals: "Tone emphasizes widescreen melodies and ringing timbres, striking unison chords that radiate clouds of overtones over surging martial rhythms.
"[7] Andrew Beaujon of the Washington Post writes of Ambient Metals, "the instrumental ensemble Tone has an uncanny ability to summon the wide-open spaces of the American Southwest.
That can be credited partly to leader Norm Veenstra's love of '80s sonic boomers such as Savage Republic and Nice Strong Arm, but it's his other great influence, the guitar orchestras of New York avant-garde composers Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, that gives Tone the muscle to suggest not just the desert's beauty, but its menace as well.
A big part of Solidarity's compositional aspect is the build-up, almost all the songs have it and it's a definite plus, so it wouldn't be so crazy to call Tone a post-rock act.
"[10] The Washington Post writes of Priorities: "The album showcases what Tone does best - shimmering, guitar-driven songs that swell and expand with each layered repetition.
"[11] From late 2004 to early 2006, Tone collaborated with the Bowen McCauley Dance Company[12] in preparation for key performances at the Kennedy Center and the 2006 Schrittmacher Festival in Aachen, Germany.