Kirtland Records
ARTIST

TOADIES

Vaden Todd Lewis - Vocals, Guitar
Clark Vogeler - Guitar
Mark Reznicek - Drums
Donivan Blair - Bass

www.thetoadies.com

CONTACTS

PRESS KIT

PRODUCTION

VIDEOS

Rattler's Revival

Rattler's Revival

Summer of the Strange

Summer of the Strange

BIO

“There’s a certain uneasiness to the Toadies,” says Vaden Todd Lewis, succinctly and accurately describing his band—quite a trick. The Texas band is, at its core, just a raw, commanding rock band. Imagine an ebony sphere with a corona that radiates impossibly darker, and a brilliant circular sliver of light around that. It’s nebulous, but strangely distinct—and, shall we say incorrect. Or, as Lewis says, “wrong.”

“Things are done a little askew [in the Toadies],” he says, searching for the right words. “There’s just something wrong with it that’s just really cool… and unique in a slightly uncomfortable way.”

This sick, twisted essence was first exemplified on the band’s 1994 debut, Rubberneck (Interscope). An intense, swirling vortex of guitar rock built around Lewis’s “wrong” songs and abstract lyrics—like the smash single “Possum Kingdom,” subject to as much speculation as what’s in the Pulp Fiction briefcase, it rocketed to platinum status on the strength of that and two other singles, “Tyler” and “Away.”

Perhaps in keeping with the uneasy vibe, that success didn’t translate to label support when the Toadies submitted their second album, Feeler. Perhaps aptly, things in general just went wrong. “We got approval for a record,” says Lewis, “and somewhere in the process of handing over the masters to get mixed, it got unapproved. So we went back to the drawing board.”

Eventually some of the Feeler tracks made it onto Hell Below/Stars Above—a sophomore offering that came seven years after Rubberneck. “It was a very weird, trying time,” says Lewis, who didn’t see the next blow—the sudden departure of bassist Lisa Umbarger—coming. “We went out on tour, and immediately the band split up,” he laughs sardonically. “We kinda shot ourselves in the foot.” They released a live album, Best of Toadies: Live from Paradise, and it was over.

Coming out of the Toadies, Lewis, guitarist Clark Vogeler and drummer Mark Reznicek were disillusioned. Vogeler went to work as a film editor, Rez hooked up with the country-western band Eleven Hundred Springs. Lewis initially thought, “Fuck this whole business. I’m gettin’ out. I just wanted to do anything else.”

Toadies fans, though accepting, stuck with them, often inquiring as to the band’s activities. Says Lewis, “People just asked me “So, what are you doin’ now?” Although he’d been “foolin’ around” with Rev. Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley, he answered, “I don’t know. Nothin’. This, that and the other. Workin’ around the house, workin’ in the garage, just toolin’ around.” Soon it occurred to him that music was all he wanted to do. “I’m a musician. That’s what I do, and I’m not happy not doing it.” Eventually Lewis and Bentley formed the Burden Brothers in 2002 and released a slew of EPs, two albums and a DVD while touring profusely.

Meanwhile, “Possum Kingdom” never left the airwaves, enjoying constant rotation at major modern rock stations. Fans clamored for a Toadies reunion. “The band never went all the way away;” says Lewis. They regrouped in 2006 for a couple of sold-out shows around St. Patrick’s Day, and again the next year for the same thing. In August 2007, when personnel changes with the Burden Brothers resulted in that band going on hiatus, Lewis began writing.

“I was pissed off again and wanted to keep goin’,” he says. “I didn’t know what I was writing, right out of the gate, but… it was just coming out very “Toadies.”

Lewis called Rez and Vogeler and asked if they were interested in making another record. They were—and the Toadies officially reconvened, signing with Kirtland and recording No Deliverance with David Castell (Burden Brothers, Blue October) at Fort Worth Sound in Fort Worth and Music Lane in Austin. Lewis says the band has gone for a “bare knuckle” sound, amping up the psychotic stomp heard on Rubberneck and Hell Below… on the grinding, relentless title track as well as the seething, death-of-a-romance gem “So Long Lovey Eyes” and the towering, sludgy “Man of Stone.” The upshot is a taut, exhilarating listen that is quintessentially Toadies.

Lewis is stoked on “the freshness of this new record. Getting back into this, back into the feel of the Toadies, is cool. Lewis, Rez, Vogeler and new bass player Doni Blair (Hagfish, Only Crime) are optimistic that their indie incarnation will succeed, thanks to the support of their devout fans—and equally supportive label. “The music industry has changed so much,” says Vogeler. “A band like us can be on an independent label and still get the music out to the people who want to hear it.”

The Toadies are now free to pursue success on their own merit and muscle. And things are starting off nicely: On August 2, The Toadies will play Lollapalooza and, following the album’s release, they’ll embark on a nationwide tour offering old fans and those to come—as he recently told SPIN, “Balls. A ton of balls.”

“Getting back to the bare knuckles element of the Toadies,” continues Lewis, “is what I really enjoy, after being away from it for so long.” Vogeler and Rez concur. “I’m here and still doin’ it,” furthers Vogeler, “because the music’s good.” And Rez proclaims in his thick Texas drawl, “The Toadies are back in business.”

And suddenly, everything wrong is right.

RELEASES

Toadies Heretics

Toadies
Heretics

Buy

CD TRACK LISTING

1. In The Belly Of The Whale
2. Tyler
3. Beside You
4. Queen Of Scars
5. Rattler’s Revivial
6. Heart Of Glass
7. Possum Kingdom
8. The Appeal
9. Dollskin
10. Backlsider
11. Jigsaw Girl
12. Send You To Heaven

VINYL TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1 
In the Belly of a Whale 
Tyler 
Beside You 
Queen of Scars 
Rattler’s Revival

SIDE 2 
Heart of Glass 
Possum Kingdom 
The Appeal 
Dollskin

SIDE 3 
Backslider 
Jigsaw Girl 
Send You to Heaven

SIDE 4 
I Come From the Water 
Magic Bullet 
The Appeal (Alt. version featuring Will Johnson)

 

CATALOG INFO

Title: Heretics
Label: Kirtland Records
Release Date: 9/18/15
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl

Rubberneck 20th Anniversay

Toadies
Rubberneck 20th Anniv.

Buy

TRACK LISTING

01. Mexican Hairless 
02. Mister Love 
03. Backslider 
04. Possum Kingdom 
05. Quitter 
06. Away 
07. I Come From The Water 
08. Tyler 
09. Happyface 
10. Velvet 
11. I Burn

Bonus Tracks 
01. Run In With Dad* 
02. Stop It (Pylon Cover)* 
03. Rockfish* 
04. Possum Kingdom (Live Version) 
05. Tyler (Live Version)

*From the original Rubberneck recording session

CATALOG INFO

Title: Rubberneck 20th Anniversay Re-issue
Label: Kirtland Records
Release Date: 4/1/14
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl

Down By The Water

Toadies w/ Sarah Jaffe
Down By The Water

Buy

CATALOG INFO

Title: Toadies Record Store Day
Label: Kirtland Records
Release Date: 4/20/13
Format: Digital, Vinyl

Play.Rock.Music

Toadies
Play. Rock. Music.

Download at iTunes

CATALOG INFO

Title: Play. Rock. Music.
Label: Kirtland Records
Catalog Number: KR-64
Release Date: 7/31/12
Format: CD, Vinyl

Summer of the Strange

Toadies
Summer of the Strange iTunes Single

Download at iTunes

CATALOG INFO

Title: Summer of the Strange single
Label: Kirtland Records
Catalog Number: KR-54
Release Date: 5/8/12
Format: Digital

Record Store Day 7"

Toadies
Record Store Day 7"

Download at iTunes

CATALOG INFO

Title: Record Store Day 7"
Label: Kirtland Records
Catalog Number: KR-54
Release Date: 4/16/11
Format: Vinyl
Type: 7" single

No Deliverance

Toadies
Feeler

Download at iTunes

CATALOG INFO

Title: Feeler
Label: Kirtland Records
Catalog Number: KR-50
Release Date: 8/10/10
Format: CD, Vinyl
Type: Full

No Deliverance

Toadies
No Deliverance

Download at iTunes

CATALOG INFO

Title: No Deliverance
Label: Kirtland Records
Catalog Number: KR-46
Release Date: 8/19/08
Format: CD, Vinyl
Type: Full