TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
The Story…
Named in honor of a sketch by the Monty Python comedy troupe, this 4-piece band of Santa Barbara, CA high school cronies came to be known as Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1986. To this day, their mellow, melodic folk-pop sound made them one of the most successful alternative rock bands of the early 1990s.
Singer Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss spent time honing their skills in area bars. Then, in 1988, they entered a nearby studio and came out with their debut LP, “Bread and Circus.” Recorded in just 8 days and for a cost of $650, this inaugural recording was originally sold in Santa Barbara area record stores as a homemade cassette. While the band was recording their second album, “Pale” (16 days & $6,000) they caught the attention of the LA offices of Columbia Records.
After agreeing to the band's request to reissue “Bread and Circus” only in its original form -- without any alterations or remixes – Columbia Records signed Toad the Wet Sprocket.
Then in 1991, Toad the Wet Sprocket’s commercial breakthrough came as the single “All I Want” (which had nearly been left off the 1991 album “Fear”) became a Top 20 hit. Gavin’s airplay reports also listed it as #1. After “Fear” was certified platinum, another single from the LP, "Walk on the Ocean," also became a successful track for the band. They played over 300 shows on the “Fear” tour, a two-year marathon ending in throat surgery for Phillips’ overused pipes.
Three years later, Toad returned with “Dulcinea”, generating yet another Top 40 hit (not to mention a six-week run as number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks) with the single "Fall Down." “Dulcinea” then also sold enough copies to reward Toad with another platinum certification.
1995 brought “In Light Syrup”, a collection of unreleased material, B-Sides and movie soundtrack songs. Featuring “Good Intentions,” another hit single that’s also been featured on the platinum selling "Friends" TV show soundtrack, “In Light Syrup” recently became certified gold.
“Coil,” Toad the Wet Sprocket's fifth proper LP, followed in 1997. Then, in July 1998, the group parted ways. Even so, in 1999, “PS (A Toad Retrospective)” was released. And then in 2004 Columbia/Legacy released Toad’s live CD: “Welcome Home, Live from the Arlington Theater.”
In late 2002/early 2003 Toad the Wet Sprocket played a run of sold-out shows. And now, 2006 finds Toad the Wet Sprocket looking to reassemble their fans as they take to the road for a series of concert dates.
RANDY’S DRUMSET AUCTION
If you’ve been to our shows lately you know that Randy is auctioning-off his drum-set to benefit the O.I. Foundation. O.I. (osteogenesis imperfecta) is a congenital disorder sometimes called ‘brittle-bone disease’ and makes those who have it prone to easy fractures. Randy and his son Caleb have a mild form of the disease. The O.I. Foundation helps fund research and provides services to those with O.I. and their families. They can be found on the web at oif.org. Randy’s drums are DW and his cymbals are Zildjian.
