Toadies
are an alternative rock band from Fort Worth, Texas best known for the song "Possum Kingdom." The band's lineup consisted of Todd Lewis on vocals/guitar, Mark Reznicek on drums, Lisa Umbarger on bass, and Clark Vogeler on guitar for most of the band's existence. It formed in 1989 and disbanded in 2001 after Umbarger left the group. The band reformed and released an album, No Deliverance
in 2008.
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TOADIES TICKETS
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Biography
Early Years/Commercial Breakthrough
Toadies began in 1989 in
Fort Worth, Texas. They recorded a few
cassette singles and an
E.P. titled
Pleather
before signing to
Interscope Records. Their first full-length
album Rubberneck
was released in the summer of 1994. It included five
singles,
"Possum Kingdom" (their most successful) as well as "Mister Love", "Away", "Tyler", and "I Come From the Water".
"Possum Kingdom" later became a track in the music video game
Guitar Hero II.
Toadies
toured extensively throughout the 1990s supporting
Rubberneck
, opening for artists such as
Red Hot Chili Peppers,
White Zombie,
Bush, and
The Butthole Surfers. They also headlined and co-headlined tours with acts such as
Supersuckers, and
The Reverend Horton Heat. The band was a regular act at the festivals Edgefest in
Dallas, and
Buzzfest in
Houston during these years.
Feeler, Hell Below/Stars Above, and Breakup
After years of
touring, the band entered the
studio in 1997 to
record new tracks for a
second album,
Feeler
.
Interscope Records did not approve the finished product, and rejected its 1998 release.
[1] In 2000, they went back to the
studio, salvaged some of the songs from the
Feeler
sessions, and released their second full-length
album Hell Below/Stars Above
in the spring of 2001.
The band broke up five months later while
touring in support of the album. The primary reason, according to Lewis, was that Lisa Umbarger did not want to be a part of it anymore, and that the band could not continue without her.
[2]
Shortly after the break-up, a
live album,
Best of The Toadies: Live from Paradise
, was released. It was recorded earlier in 2001 at the Paradise nightclub in
Boston, MA. The
album was released through
Interscope Records, but
Kirtland Records later picked up the band's back catalogue.
Reunion
Toadies reformed for a reunion show on March 11, 2006, headlining the Greenville Avenue
St. Patrick's Day parade concert, and have played a number of shows since. In March 2007, they embarked on a mini-tour, playing dates in
Austin,
Houston, and
Dallas. The final show of the mini-tour was recorded and released as the
live album Rock Show
.
The band released their third
studio album,
No Deliverance
on August 19, 2008 via Kirtland Records. The
lead single for the
album was the title track.
Members
- Todd Lewis - vocals, guitar (1989-Present)
- Mark Reznicek - drums (1991-Present)
- Clark Vogeler - guitar (1996-Present)
- Doni Blair - bass (2008-Present)
Former members
- Lisa Umbarger - bass (1989-2001)
- Darrel Herbert - guitar (1992-1996)
- Tracey Sauerwein - guitar (1991-1992)
- Charles Mooney III - guitar (1989-1992)
- Matt Winchel - drums (1990-1991)
- Michael Jerome (then known as Michael Moore) - drums (1989-1990)
- Terry Valderas - drums (1989)
- Guy Vaughan - drums (1989)
Discography
Albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
1994
| Rubberneck
| Interscope
| CD / LP / Cassette
|
1998
| Feeler
| Interscope
| itunes
|
2001
| Hell Below/Stars Above
| Interscope
| CD
|
2002
| Best of The Toadies: Live from Paradise
| Aezra/Orpheus
| Live CD
|
2007
| Rock Show
| DiscLive
| Live CD-R
|
2008
| No Deliverance
| Kirtland
| CD / LP / iTunes
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
US Air
[3]
| US Main
[4]
| US Mod
|
1994
| "Mister Love"
| —
| —
| —
| Rubberneck
|
1995
| "Possum Kingdom"
| 40
| 9
| 4
|
"Away"
| —
| 23
| 28
|
1996
| "Tyler"
| —
| —
| —
|
"Backslider"
| —
| —
| —
|
2001
| "Push the Hand"
| —
| 34
| —
| Hell Below/Stars Above
|
2008
| "No Deliverance"
| —
| 38
| —
| No Deliverance
|
2009
| "Song I Hate"
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.
|
Demos, extended plays, and commercal singles
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
1989
| 4-Track Demos
| self-released
| cassette demo
|
1989
| Slaphead
| self-released
| cassette demo
|
1990
| Chatterbox
| self-released
| cassette side project demo
|
1990
| "Dig A Hole" / "I Hope You Die"
| self-released
| cassette single
|
1992
| Velvet
| self-released
| cassette E.P.
|
1993
| "Mister Love"
| Grass
| 7" single
|
1993
| Pleather
| Grass
| CD E.P.
|
1995
| Belated Valentines
| Grass
| split 7" single with Slowpoke
|
1995
| Y're Cute
| self-released
| cassette E.P.
|
2008
| "No Deliverance"
| Kirtland
| iTunes download single
|
2008
| Live at Lollapalooza 2008: The Toadies
| Kirtland
| iTunes download E.P.
|
Promotional singles and samplers
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
1994
| Rubberneck
Sampler
| Interscope
| Promotional CD E.P.
|
1995
| "Mister Love"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1995
| "Possum Kingdom"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1995
| "Possum Kingdom (Live)"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1995
| "Santacide"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1996
| "Away"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1996
| "Tyler"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
1996
| "Backslider"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
2001
| "Push The Hand"
| Interscope
| Promotional CD Single
|
2002
| Best of The Toadies: Live From Paradise
Advance Sampler/Enhanced CD
| Aezra
| Promotional CD E.P.
|
2008
| "No Deliverance"
| Kirtland
| Promotional CD Single
|
2008
| No Deliverance
Sampler
| Kirtland
| Promotional CD E.P.
|
Compilations
Year
| Title
| Song
| Label
|
-
| Turn It Up & Pass It On Volume 2
| "Possum Kingdom"
| Interscope
|
-
| Turn It Up & Pass It On Volume 4
| "Possum Kingdom"
| Interscope
|
-
| Turn It Up & Pass It On Volume 5
| "Possum Kingdom"
| Interscope
|
1992
| Heaven on a Stick
Cheap Trick tribute
| "Auf Wiedersehen"
| Slugfest
|
1993
| Chairman of the Board
Frank Sinatra tribute
| "Luck Be a Lady"
| Grass
|
1994
| CMJ: New Music Monthly September 1994 Compilation
| "Mister Love"
| CMJ
|
1994
| Interscope Records Sampler
| "Backslider"
| Interscope
|
1995
| Classic Dinner Music
| "I Come from the Water"
| Interscope
|
1995
| Dallas' Scene, Heard
| "Unattractive" (demo version)
| Dallas Observer
|
1995
| Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits
| "Goolie Get-Together"
| MCA
|
1996
| X-Games, Vol. 1: Music From the Edge
| "Possum Kingdom"
| ESPN
|
1996
| The Cable Guy
| "Unattractive"
| WORK/Sony
|
1996
| WRAS 88.5 Radio Odyssey
| "Cut Me Out" (live on-air)
| Georgia State University's WRAS FM
|
1996
| The Crow: City of Angels
| "Paper Dress"
| Hollywood
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1996
| Escape From L.A.
| "Cut Me Out"
| Lava
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1996
| Basquiat
| "I'm Not in Love"
| PolyGram
|
1996
| Sandy Does Dallas
| "Beauty School Dropout"
| One Ton
|
1997
| Come On Feel the Metal
| "Cowboy Song"
| Steve
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2000
| Summer of Slam Sampler
| "Heel"
| Interscope/Warped Tour
|
2000
| Crime + Punishment in Suburbia
| "Mister Love"
| Interscope
|
2000
| Live @ Bob's Garage Vol. 1
| "Possum Kingdom (Live 6/22/95)"
| KISW Rock 99.9 FM
|
2001
| Monitor This!
April/May 2001
| "Joey, Let's Go"
| Music Monitor Network
|
See also
- List of alternative music artists
References
- Todd Lewis Interview "Interview: The Toadies", SilentUproar.com, February 3rd, 2007.
- Lycia Shrum "Breaking up is hard to do", ''Dallas Observer'', September 27, 2001.
- Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
- Artist Chart History: Singles