We had the chance to sit down with lead singer Vaden Lewis and drummer Mark Reznicek of Toadies in a great record store in Fort Worth, TX, Panther City Vinyl. It was an excellent interview, with the guys talking about how college radio affected the band’s career, and Mark sharing stories of his time in college radio.
The Toadies formed in 1989 and almost immediately became a popular live act in the Fort Worth area. After releasing an EP and building their audience through live shows, they signed to Interscope Records and in 1994 released Rubberneck, which contained several college radio favorites as well as the monster hit, “Possum Kingdom”, which even appeared in Guitar Hero 2.
It would be seven long years before the next studio album, Hell Below/Stars Above, would be released, followed by a short tour that ended with founding member Lisa Umbarger leaving the band, which ultimately led to the band’s breakup in the summer of 2001. Luckily for fans of the band, they reunited in 2006 and continue to record and play live shows to this day (although their most recent tour dates have been postponed due to Covid). Be sure to check out their latest album, The Lower Side of Uptown.
I first interviewed the Toadies while working at KTXT-FM back in 1995 on a tour stop in Lubbock, so it was great to come full circle and talk about college radio with them all these years later. I also want to give special thanks to Dan Lightner, owner of Panther City Vinyl, for allowing us to use his amazing store. Fun fact: Dan is also the artist behind the original painting which was photographed for the cover of Rubberneck.