Toadies and Sparta

The band formed in 1989 and from the get go made no attempt in hiding their influences who spanned from lo-fi punk variants like Mudhoney, Butthole Surffers, Meat Puppets, and Husker Du to classic rock legends such as the cultic/celtic heavy metal forgers Led Zeppelin, country tinged Creedence Clearwater Revival, and doom ridden rockers Black Sabbath. Toadies leapt into the cultural stream inhabited by the fanatic cassette trading generation and self-released some of their first recordings exclusively on this format. These early releases include “Dig a Hole / I Hope You Die” the 7” single “Mister Love” and the cassette EP “Velvet” (a release which included the Pylon cover “Stop It”). Comparisons to the Pixies were further cemented when bassist Kim Deal claimed that “it sounds like us” in regards to the single “Dig a Hole”.

Their EP “Pleather” was issued on Grass Records in 1993 and paved the way for their recording contract with Interscope Records. “Rubberneck” the group’s studio debut album came out on 23 August 1993 and contained their best known song to date “Possum King” (a reference to a lake near the group’s hometown Fortworth). Over half of the album consisted of singles and this strong song selection seemed to be the very force responsible for hurtling the LP into the No.1 spot on the Heatseekers chart and No. 56 on the Billboard 200. The group toured heavily in promotion for this album, headlining shows and opening for acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bush, Butthole Surfers, and White Zombie.

In 1997 the group returned to the studio to record their follow up album, which was originally entitled “Feeler”; however, Interscope did not approve of the final product and eventually shelved the project. Two years later the band compiled some of the abandoned tracks and composed newer ones for their 2nd official studio album “Hell Below/Stars Above”. The album featured the title track which sported a guest appearances from the talented singer-songwriter Elliott Smith and the Top 50 single “Push the Hand”. Comparative to the group’s studio debut, this album suffered from poor sales and just five months after it’s release the band called it quits, citing Lisa Umbarger’s departure as the reason.

Toadies reformed in 2006 and on 19 August 2008 released their 3rd studio album “No Deliverance” through Kirtland Records. The album was a successful return for the group as it managed to climb to No. 4 on the Top Independent Albums chart and No. 59 on the Billboard 200. It contained the two popular singles “Song I Hate” and “No Deliverance” as well as a cover of the Cure’s “A Forest”.

The band’s intentional 2nd album “Feeler” finally saw release 13 years after it’s recording. Since the band’s reformation rough demos had been circulating the internet quite frequently and the realization of the public’s interest in these “lost” recordings instigated the group to release the album in a newly mastered format. Because Interscope refused to relinquish the rights of these recording’s the group re-recorded all of these tracks for the 2010 release.

Two years later the band issued it’s 5th studio album “Play.Rock.Music”, which consisted entirely of new material. It was the 1st album to feature Doni Blair on bass and was proceeded by a 20th anniversary reissue of the band’s 1st album “Rubberneck”.