TOAD THE WET SPROCKET

Any music fan who grew up in the ‘90s, before the rise of streaming platforms, will tell you that when a record store clerk made a music recommendation, you took it seriously. Often, well-studied music nerds, these unsung tastemakers had their finger on the pulse of lesser-known, excellent bands. So it speaks volumes that many of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s earliest champions were record store clerks who put the Santa Barbara quartet’s early albums into unsuspecting listeners’ hands, convincing them to overlook their unusual band name and give them a shot, perhaps comparing them to R.E.M.

And that’s all it took. Lead singer Glen Phillips’ heartfelt, introspective lyrics expressed in his deep, buttery croon backed by the earnest instrumentation, catchy melodies and vocal harmonies of guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning and drummer Randy Guss had fans hooked from the outset. Toad’s debut album, Bread & Circus, recorded DIY-style in a tract home for a meager $600 and released independently in 1988, was raw and unvarnished but clearly captured Toad’s magic as a band. The record caught the attention of major label Columbia Records, which re-released it unchanged the following year. Columbia also put out Toad’s acclaimed sophomore album, Pale, which the band recorded in Los Angeles while they were shopping for record labels, in 1990 — also in its original form at the band’s insistence. Although Pale may not have been a huge commercial success, it was a critical one, revered by journalists, with AllMusic recently raving, “Its exquisite songs mope without wallowing… Pale is early Toad at its old-soul peak.”

These four friends who met in a high school theater group were still just kids when they named themselves after a fictional band from a Monty Python skit and recorded Pale. Unbeknownst to many who thought they were fresh-faced and mild-mannered, Toad the Wet Sprocket had a grass roots DIY aesthetic, refusing to be pushed around by their record label and insisting on doing things their own way – an independent spirit they still maintain to this day.

“We were young, and it was us against the record company,” Todd recalls of the band’s early days. “We turned down big amounts of money to sign with Columbia so we could have creative control. But we were always fighting them. They wanted us to appear on Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and lip sync, but we didn’t want to do that. We had a bit of a punk-rock ethos.”

This DIY mentality also included ensuring that fans on their mailing list of 70,000 received postcards, Christmas cards, concert info and photos via snail mail, which the band credits with helping cement their loyal fanbase who still come out to their live shows more than 30 years later. “We made that initial connection with those first 70,000 people on our mailing list, and they still come out to our shows today,” Dean says. “It’s like a reunion of sorts. It’s almost like having family in the audience every night.”

This extreme fan loyalty can also be attributed to the fact that Toad the Wet Sprocket make music that comforts, connects and soothes in places you didn’t realize were aching. “When you hear songs about sadness, grief, loss or difficulty, you know that you’re not alone,” Glen says. “The idea of offering hope is important to me. But it’s not a sunny platitude or a guarantee that everything will be okay in the end. A happy song works better when there’s shadow in it. Our older songs, as much as they’re about sadness, they’re always reaching toward the light.”

Toad’s third full-length album, Fear, put them on the mainstream map, catapulting them from alternative college rockers to heavy pop radio rotation, late-night talk show appearances and major tours, sharing the stage with everyone from The Cranberries to Hootie & the Blowfish. Fear went platinum after its 1991 release and spawned hits “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean,” both of which made it to the top 20 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

And let’s not forget all the quintessential ‘90s shows and movies that featured Toad songs including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (“Little Heaven”), Dawson’s Creek (“All I Want” and “Amnesia”), Fear (“Something’s Always Wrong”), I Know What You Did Last Summer (“Hey Bulldog”), Empire Records (“Crazy Life”) and the platinum-selling Friends soundtrack (“Good Intentions”).

What’s more, hot on the heels of Fear’s tremendous success, Toad released Dulcinea in 1994, another album with countless incredible songs, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Dulcinea went on to sell over a million copies and was certified by the RIAA, giving the band its second platinum album in a row. Recorded almost entirely live in a studio in the woods in Marin County in a room lit by hundreds of candles, the album features fan favorites “Fall Down” and “Windmills.”

Several tunes from Dulcinea are still a staple of Toad’s live set, and “Fall Down” was featured on the popular Showtime series Billions in 2023, charting the next week on Shazam.

“I think the enduring appeal of our band is the songs,” Dean says. “Even though we were young when we made those early records, they don’t only speak to youth. As people have grown older, the songs have taken on new meaning in their lives.”

The band took a break in the late ‘90s, due in part to internal squabbling, and the members left to pursue solo projects. They reunited in 2006, maintaining the original lineup for the next 15 years until drummer Randy Guss departed in 2020 due to health concerns. After reuniting, the band released New Constellation in 2013 – their first new album in 16 years which featured beloved tracks “California Wasted,” “The Moment” and “Enough.” Critics praised it for being an evolution for the band while still maintaining their signature sound and songcraft.

“I’m really grateful that the band has been on an upward trajectory internally,” Glen says. “There’s more joy, purpose and supporting each other instead of in-fighting. We did all the typical band drama but we never tore each other apart publicly so there’s less damage to overcome, and everyone’s been willing to put in the work. It’s good to be in a band that feels happier and healthier.”

Todd agrees. “For Dulcinea’s 30th anniversary, I was going through cassette tapes of our rehearsals and live shows from back then and there’s a tape where we’re all talking over each other, arguing,” Todd recalls. “All four of us wanted to get our opinions in. Now we know when to lay back, let things ride and how to pick our battles.”

Starting Now, released in 2021, was Toad’s first album without Guss. Recorded by sending shared digital files back and forth due to pandemic restrictions, it was a huge departure from the band’s usual approach of tracking songs together in the same room. While they’d prefer not to repeat that formula again, the band was happy with the results, the record was well received, and it featured stand-out tracks “Hold On” and “Transient Whales.”

“As an artist, it feels good to know we can still make music that’s resonating,” Glen says. “When we play ‘The Moment’ or ‘Transient Whales’ at our shows now, there’s a huge percentage of the audience who know every word of those songs, too.”

With a remastered “greatest hits” collection, All You Want, released in 2023, and Dulcinea’s 30th-anniversary celebration in full swing, Toad will be on the road throughout 2025 on a headline tour and currently putting the finishing touches on an acoustic greatest hits album to be released later in the year.

Even with everything that’s changed over the last few decades, one of the band’s main drivers has remained the same since they first started performing together in high school: bringing people together to experience music as a binding force and to help them feel like they belong. “If you’re feeling isolated and you need to gather yourself back to remember how much you love your life, music is your friend,” Glen says. “We want people who come to our shows to feel at home for a while.”