On Monday, Toad the Wet Sprocket's
video for "California Wasted" premiered on Paste Magazine
online. The video, directed by Matthew Ward and Ryan Chan, shows the band
members in beautiful California setting, unable to be present, distracted by
phones and newspapers. Said Ward, " The concept came from what the
song implied: wasting away in California."Said Glen Phillips from Toad,
"Enjoy, and make sure you occasionally look up from your smartphone and
see the world around you."
New Constellation,
Toad the Wet Sprocket's first independent album since their debut LP was
released 25 years ago, came out of the gate with premiere items on Rolling
Stone and Billboard, and was crowd-funded with a campaign that
reached its goal amount in less than 24 hours and went on to reach 5 times the
original goal amount. The fans continue to fuel the engine as they hit the
road, coast-to-coast with friends and fan-favorites Counting Crows. The
first three singles from the album have seen a strong response at radio, and
received rave reviews, and their recent activity has seen their timeless hits
such as "All I Want," "Something's Always Wrong,"
"Walk on The Ocean," and "Fall Down" return to the charts.
Their most recent single, "California Wasted," was released
last week and is already on the top 10 most added list at AC.
In celebration of their 25th
Anniversary, and in conjunction with the summer tour, Toad is
featuring new items on their site including 25th Anniversary Toad
merchandise. They will also be posting lyric videos to some of the classic Toad
hits on their YouTube channel. Fans should also check the band’s new website
for additional dates around the Counting Crows tour.
“We’re honored to be on the road
with Counting Crows on the summer of our 25th anniversary. We recently
released New Constellation, our first album in 16 years. Adam
Duritz is partially responsible - five years after we broke up, he asked us
to reform and play a few shows opening for Counting Crows,” said lead
vocalist and guitarist Glen Phillips. “That tour was the first crack in
the ice, and now we are back together, touring again with the band that first
encouraged us to give it another go.”
Toad the Wet Sprocket (Glen Phillips on lead vocals and guitar, Dean
Dinning on bass and vocals, Todd Nichols on lead guitar and vocals,
and Randy Guss on the drums) share in the kind of musical chemistry that
can only come from meeting in high school and writing, recording and touring on
albums over the course of those 25 years. After Bread & Circus,
they followed with Pale in 1990, fear in
’91, Dulcinea in 1994, and Coil in
1997, as well as some compilation and rarities compilations along the way.
While most will feel the comforting familiarity of the Billboard-charting hits,
“Walk on the Ocean”, “All I Want”, “Something’s Always Wrong”,
and “Fall Down”, new fans will also be well familiar with their new hits
such as “California Wasted” which continues to climb the charts as well. Even
with a period of the band members weaving in and out of each other’s musical
lives, the same creative curiosity that inspired the band to form in 1986 has
brought them full circle to come back together again. It’s official: TOAD IS
BACK.
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET TOUR DATES:
Aug 27- WELLFLEET, MA- Beachcomber
Aug 28- HARTFORD, CT- Infinity Hall
Aug 29- NORWALK, CT- Norwalk Concert Hall
Aug 30- NEWBURYPORT, MA- Riverfront Music Festival
Oct 11- SOLVANG, CA- Solvang Festival Theater
Nov 8- SOLANA BEACH, CA- Belly Up Tavern
Nov 14- LAS VEGAS, NV- Brooklyn Bowl Vegas
Nov 15- SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA- Coach House
Nov 20- KANSAS CITY, MO- Uptown Theater
Nov 21- WICHITA, KS- Orpheum Theatre
Nov 22- DENVER, CO- Ogden Theatre
Nov 23- ASPEN, CO- Wheeler Opera House
Nov 29- LOS ANGELES, CA- The Fonda Theatre
Aug 27- WELLFLEET, MA- Beachcomber
Aug 28- HARTFORD, CT- Infinity Hall
Aug 29- NORWALK, CT- Norwalk Concert Hall
Aug 30- NEWBURYPORT, MA- Riverfront Music Festival
Oct 11- SOLVANG, CA- Solvang Festival Theater
Nov 8- SOLANA BEACH, CA- Belly Up Tavern
Nov 14- LAS VEGAS, NV- Brooklyn Bowl Vegas
Nov 15- SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA- Coach House
Nov 20- KANSAS CITY, MO- Uptown Theater
Nov 21- WICHITA, KS- Orpheum Theatre
Nov 22- DENVER, CO- Ogden Theatre
Nov 23- ASPEN, CO- Wheeler Opera House
Nov 29- LOS ANGELES, CA- The Fonda Theatre
Ryo’s Note – Not
only is TOAD back, but they still sound amazing! If you haven’t picked up their
latest album, go get it!!!
2 comments:
A definite welcomed reunion. Great new album. All tracks are really good. As well as they've done as an indie, surprised they have not appeared on late night or day time talk shows in promotion. They are well grounded despite their fame, perhaps not a priority for the band to go in that direction?
I think you summed it up perfectly, Bill. I don't think the late night spots are a priority for the band at this point in their career. Toad just wants to get out and perform for the people and make great music. Although, it would be really cool to see them do a song with Jimmy Fallon.
Post a Comment