Music Matters
The Toadies are the lone Dallas stars that deserve love: Making up for OwenWilson
As a proud Houstonian of more than a decade, I have a natural aversion to nearly anything that comes from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
(Little Known Fact: You are officially a declared a Houston native if you live in the city for seven straight years or more. A couple of very reliable West Alabama Ice House drunks swore that this was true. I took their word for it.)
The Cowboys? Hate 'em. Mavericks? Hate 'em. Rangers? Hate 'em (though Josh Hamilton's triumph over drug abuse was very heroic, blah blah blah...). Luke & Owen Wilson? Overrated.
The lone exception to this cross-regional Lone Star tradition is my unconditional affection for Todd Lewis and the messy guitar mayhem that is his band, The Toadies.
I was a wee lad of 30 years-old when The Toadies broke up following the release of their second album, Hell Below/Stars Above. At the time, I was still entranced by the group's mid-1990s debut, Rubberneck, which took the fuzzy guitar fury and general discontent of the grunge era and evolved it into a sound that was still pretty cranky, but burned a little cleaner on the brain. The song "Possum Kingdom" became the band's lone top-10 rock hit, but others like "Away" and "Backslider" were smoky club anthems that helped fill the void left by the decline of the Seattle-flannel scene.
By the time I finally found Hell Below/Stars Above, The Toadies had already called it quits midway through a tour in support of the album. I made do with recordings and performances from Lewis' other band, The Burden Brothers (I actually more than made due. I'm an admitted Burden Brothers groupie. I guess that technically makes it TWO things from Dallas-Fort Worth I like), but was pleased as punch when Lewis got the band back together in 2006.
I interviewed Lewis around the time of the reformation and he intimated that he didn't know how long he could keep The Toadies together, but that he was going to enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted. Apparently all is well. Even though that new band smell has long ago faded the band recorded a new album, No Deliverance, in 2008.
Even more exciting was last year when tracks from Feeler, the shelved 1997 album that was supposed to follow up the success of Rubberneck, were refreshed, re-recorded and officially released for the first time.
Most encouraging is that The Toadies will be back in the studio recording new material following their current tour that lands at Warehouse Live on Friday.
Now, if only they would move somewhere — anywhere — else, the Phoenix-like rise would truly be perfect.
The Toadies, 8p.m. Friday at Warehouse Live
