Tad (band)

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Tad (often styled as TAD) was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1988 by Tad Doyle. They are often recognized as one of the first grunge bands.<ref name="tad">Tad biography. AllMusic</ref>

History

Formation and Sub Pop years (1988–1991)

Tad was originally a solo project of Tad Doyle (born Thomas Andrew Doyle), former drummer of the band H-Hour, in early 1988 with Doyle singing and playing all instruments (guitar, bass, and drums), and recording a three-song demo.<ref>Greg Prato, Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music, ECW Press, 2009</ref> Tad was among the first bands signed to independent label Sub Pop Records.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> In 1988, Doyle released the "Daisy/Ritual Device" single on Sub Pop, produced by Jack Endino, for which Doyle wrote and performed all the music. Soon after, Doyle realized he needed a full band, and asked bassist Kurt Danielson to join him.<ref name="LarkinHR">Template:Cite book</ref> Danielson's band, Bundle of Hiss, played with Doyle's previous band H-Hour.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Doyle recruited drummer Steve Wied (formerly of Skin Yard) and guitarist Gary Thorstensen to complete the full lineup.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Tad's debut album, God's Balls, appeared in early 1989,<ref name="LarkinHR"/> also produced by Endino. In March 1990, the band released Salt Lick, recorded by Steve Albini.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> The vinyl was a six-track EP later expanded into a full-length with nine tracks once it was issued on CD. It contained the song "Wood Goblins", for which the band's first music video was produced. After a European tour with Nirvana, Tad returned to Seattle and recorded their third album, 8-Way Santa (1991),<ref name="LarkinHR"/> named after a type of blotter acid. Produced by Butch Vig, the album was more pop-oriented than its predecessors, and featured the singles "Jinx" and "Jack Pepsi".

"Jack Pepsi" was released as a single, but Pepsi filed a lawsuit against the band due to the cover art on the single, which was the Pepsi logo with "Tad" in place of "PEPSI".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another lawsuit was filed due to the cover of 8-Way Santa (which was a found picture of a man fondling a woman's breast).<ref name="LarkinHR"/> The couple in the photograph, one of whom had since become a born-again Christian and remarried, took exception and sued.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Sub Pop subsequently changed the album cover to a shot of the band.<ref name="LarkinHR"/>

Major label years, turmoil, and breakup (1992–1999)

After appearing in the film Singles, Tad was offered its first major label deal by Warner Music Group's Giant Records.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Around the same time, Wied left the band to join Willard and later Foil. Rey Washam (formerly of Scratch Acid) briefly filled in on drums in 1991, but was later replaced with Josh Sinder, previously of The Accüsed. Sinder debuted with Tad on their last Sub Pop release, the "Salem"/"Leper" single (which featured "Mud-Man", Sinder's apparently mumps-afflicted brother, on the cover). Their major label debut, Inhaler, appeared later in the year to positive reviews.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> The record failed to break the band, however, even though they were chosen to open for Soundgarden on their 1994 Superunknown tour.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Giant Records dropped the band when a poster promoting Inhaler surfaced featuring Bill Clinton smoking a joint with the caption reading "It's heavy shit".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1995, the band released Live Alien Broadcasts on Futurist Records, a best-of live studio recording.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Thorstensen left the band but Tad secured a second major label deal with East West/Elektra Records, another Warner label, in 1995. The same year, they released their final album, Infrared Riding Hood. With Thorstensen's absence, Doyle and producer Endino handled all of the guitar parts.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Within a month of the release however, the band's A&R representative was fired and all of their signed bands were released, plus any of their albums ceased production, regardless of content. Tad continued to play for the remainder of the year before Sinder left to form the Hot Rod Lunatics. He was replaced on drums with Mike Mongrain of Foil. Tad's final single, "Oppenheimer's Pretty Nightmare"/"Accident on the Way to Church", appeared in 1998 on Up Records. A year later, the band dissolved.

Post-breakup (2000–2012)

Following Tad's breakup, Doyle formed Hog Molly in 2001 with Willard bassist Ty Garcia and 50 Paces guitarist Martin Chandler, releasing the album Kung-Fu Cocktail Grip late the same year. Willard guitarist Mark Spiders had recommended Garcia and Chandler. Hog Molly eventually broke up and its members other than Doyle formed a band called The Ones. Chandler joined The Supersuckers in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Doyle later formed the band Hoof. His other band, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, had been playing in Seattle night clubs. Kurt Danielson formed Valis, a project that included members of Screaming Trees and Mudhoney. He also formed The Quaranteens, a post-punk/new wave band with Craig Paul, before moving to France. He was back in Seattle in 2008, and started to write a novel. Danielson also played in other local Seattle-based bands, including Misericords (with fellow ex-Tad member Mongrain on drums). Sinder played drums in The Insurgence and with Marky Felchtone from Zeke in the band Hellbound for Glory.

A documentary of the band titled Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears was released in February 2008. In July 2009, Doyle's website announced plans by Brothers of the Sonic Cloth to release a split 10" vinyl record with Seattle-area sludge metal band Mico de Noche. The Brothers of the Sonic Cloth/Mico de Noche split 10" vinyl record was released in October 2009 as an edition of 500 copies and featured two songs by Mico de Noche and one song by Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, "Fires Burn Dim in the Shadows of the Mountain". The record received several positive reviews<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and appeared on Seattle Weekly's list of that year's best local releases.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2009, Doyle performed with the members of Soundgarden and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine in Seattle. Chris Cornell, Soundgarden's original singer, was not present and Doyle took on vocals. This marked the first performance by Soundgarden in over a decade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Partial reunion and aftermath (2013–present)

A semi-reunion of Tad took place at the Sub Pop Records 25th Anniversary Show on July 13, 2013 in Seattle, Washington.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There, Doyle and Thorstensen joined Brothers of the Sonic Cloth to play a set of songs from God's Balls, Salt Lick, and 8-Way Santa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Danielson went on to play with vocalist Ron Nine and guitarist Kevin Whitworth (Love Battery), vocalist Katie Scarberry, and drummer Garret Shavlik (former member of The Fluid) for a self-produced album, Vaporland, in 2014. He and Ron Nine then played in Purple Strange with Jared Stroud, Matthew Candenberghe, and Endino, and issued another self-produced album of the same name in 2021.

A vinyl-only archival album, Quick and Dirty, was released in April 2018 as part of Record Store Day, which contained unreleased tracks Tad recorded between 1995 and 1999 (in addition to a handful of live songs).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

In 2017, Metal Injection ranked Tad at number 5 on their list of the "10 Heaviest Grunge Bands".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Band members

  • Tad Doyle – vocals, guitar (1988–1999), bass, drums (1988)
  • Kurt Danielson – bass (1988–1999)
  • Gary Thorstensen – guitar (1988–1994)
  • Steve Wied – drums (1988–1991)
  • Rey Washam – drums (1991)
  • Josh Sinder – drums (1992–1996)
  • Mike Mongrain – drums (1996–1999)

Timeline <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:95 bottom:60 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1988 till:11/01/1999 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1988 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1988

Colors = 

id:vocals   value:red        legend:Vocals
id:bass     value:blue       legend:Bass
id:guitar   value:green      legend:Guitar
id:drums    value:orange     legend:Drums
id:studio   value:black      legend:Studio_album
id:bars     value:gray(0.9)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData = 

layer:back color:studio
 at:03/01/1989
 at:04/05/1990
 at:02/01/1991
 at:10/19/1993
 at:04/11/1995

BarData = 

bar:Tad   text:"Tad Doyle"
bar:Gary  text:"Gary Thorstensen"
bar:Kurt  text:"Kurt Danielson"
bar:Steve text:"Steve Wied"
bar:Rey   text:"Rey Washam"
bar:Josh  text:"Josh Sinder"
bar:Mike  text:"Mike Mongrain"

PlotData= 

width:13
bar:Tad       from:start       till:end         color:vocals
bar:Tad       from:start       till:end         color:guitar width:3
bar:Tad       from:start       till:08/01/1988  color:bass   width:7
bar:Tad       from:start       till:08/01/1988  color:drums  width:11
bar:Gary      from:08/01/1988  till:05/01/1994  color:guitar
bar:Kurt      from:08/01/1988  till:end         color:bass
bar:Steve     from:08/01/1988  till:05/01/1991  color:drums
bar:Rey       from:05/01/1991  till:12/31/1991  color:drums
bar:Josh      from:01/01/1992  till:04/01/1996  color:drums
bar:Mike      from:04/01/1996  till:end         color:drums

</timeline>

Discography

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays and singles

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Compilation and soundtrack appearances

Guest appearances

  • Willard [The Sound of Fuck]-(1992) Steel Mill [RoadRunner Records] Tad Doyle - Backing Vocals on "Stain"

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See also

References

Template:Reflist Other sources

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