About Toadies
Toadies are an American rock band formed in 1989 in Fort Worth, Texas, best known for the song "Possum Kingdom". The band's classic lineup consisted of Vaden Todd Lewis , Lisa Umbarger , Darrel Herbert , and Mark Reznicek . The band released two studio albums before disbanding in 2001 after Umbarger left the group. The band reformed and released the album No Deliverance in 2008. In 2010, they re-released the album Feeler with Kirtland Records . The band's most recent album, The Lower Side of Uptown, was released in September 2017.
Toadies began in 1989 in Fort Worth, Texas. It recorded a few cassette self-releases and an E.P. titled Pleather before signing to Interscope Records. Its first full-length album Rubberneck was released in the summer of 1994. Featuring a sound described as "distinctly grunge" and "distinctly Texan", Rubberneck included six singles, "Possum Kingdom", "Mister Love", "Away", "Tyler", "Backslider" and "I Come From the Water". "Backslider" can be heard in the film Black Sheep. "Possum Kingdom" would later become a playable track in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. Interscope did not properly promote the album for its first year on release, calling it a "marketing strategy", until "Possum Kingdom" became a successful single in late 1995, reaching number nine on the Mainstream Rock Chart.
Toadies toured extensively throughout the 1990s supporting Rubberneck, opening for artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, White Zombie, Bush, and The Butthole Surfers. The band also headlined and co-headlined tours with acts such as Supersuckers, and The Reverend Horton Heat. Toadies were a regular act at the festivals Edgefest in Dallas, and Buzzfest in Houston during these years.
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. 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. Portland-based musician Elliott Smith performed piano backup for the title track.
Hell Below/Stars Above was not promoted by Interscope, and saw poor sales. The band toured in the spring and summer of 2001 in support of the new album, until bassist Lisa Umbarger unexpectedly resigned from the band on July 14, 2001. Umbarger told the Dallas Observer that she resigned after realizing that Interscope Records was not going to promote the band. Vaden Todd Lewis decided to break up the band rather than continue without her, a decision which "stunned" Umbarger. The band played a few farewell shows later that summer, with Mark Hughes filling in for Umbarger, before parting ways after their final show on October 1, 2001.
Shortly after the break-up, a live album, Best of Toadies: Live from Paradise, was released. It was recorded earlier in 2001 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. The album was released through Aezra Records, but Kirtland Records later picked up the band's back catalogue.
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