FYI:Toadies
The Toadies may have disbanded, but it’s still cool to give them a shout out. Afterall, I still jam out to “Possum Kingdom” when it comes on. 
- The Toadies formed in 1989 in Ft. Worth, Texas; consisting mainly of Todd Lewis (vocals, guitar) and Lisa Umbarger (bass).
- Lisa Umbarger was able to buy her first bass with money she received for playing an Ewok in Return of the Jedi.
- The band has had 5 different drummers, but Mark Reznicek has been in the band since 1991.
- The Toadies have also gone through guitarists, with 4 to be exact.
- Rubberneck was the band’s full length album debut, released on August 23, 1994.
- “Possum Kingdom” has sparked many theories about it’s meaning, including being about a vampire, the Zodiac Killer, or a man failing at seducing a woman. However, the band has stated that it’s just based on stories that Todd Lewis heard his family tell about a lake that they would go to.
- The master version of “Possum Kingdom” appears on the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II.
- To support Rubberneck the band opened up for bands ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bush, White Zombie, and the Butthole Suffers.
- The Toadies also c0-headlined tours with the Supersuckers and the Reverend Horton Heat.
- In 1996 the Toadies contributed to several soundtracks including: “Unattractive” for The Cable Guy, “Paper Dress” for The Crow: City of Angels, “Cut Me Out” for Escape From L.A. and “I’m Not In Love” on Basquiat.
- The band entered the studio in 1997 and recorded their second album, Feeler. Their label, Interscope, did not approve the finished recording and it was denied a release.
- The Toadies took some of the tracks from Feeler and recorded Hell Below/Stars Above in 2000.
- The title track on Hell Below/Stars Above features one Elliott Smith on piano.
- Hell Below/Stars Above wasn’t released until March, 2001.
- In August of 2001 the band announced their breakup.
- Best of Toadies: Live From Paradise was recorded shortly before the band’s breakup at the Paradise in Boston; it was released in 2002.
- The band did reform, without bassist Lisa Umbarger, for a handful of shows in 2006 and a mini-tour of Texas in March, 2007.
- The band recorded their March 17, 2007 performance at the Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day parade and released it as Rock Show.
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