Sunday with The Toadies

I sure hope you have that band that you saw first before anyone else you know. It’s a cool part of being a music fan. For me, that’s The Toadies.

The first time I saw them perform was at Dave’s Art Pawn, a Deep Ellum after-hours spot in Dallas. This was when they were making demo tapes (on cassette) — I still have one somewhere titled ‘I Hope You Die.’

The sound was blistering and the emotions were raw at their early live shows. Years later they released their first major album ‘Rubberneck,’ which had radio hits like ‘Possum Kingdom,’ and other unforgettable songs such as ‘I Come From the Water.’

They were the first band I’d ever watched rise to stardom from scratch. There was a sense of pride in that for most who caught their first shows in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area clubs. Yet, when it came time for the follow-up album, their label Interscope apparently took a listen and shelved it. That’s near death for a band that lives on touring. Perhaps it didn’t sound enough like Bush? — the British band… not one of the father/son U.S. Presidents.

I’ve always thought of The Toadies as the Texas Pixies, a killer live band with a clever edge, not the commercial radio construction the label helped feed and then starved.

Many years later, what became their second album for Interscope, ‘Hell Below/Stars Above,’ was nearly a decade removed from their debut. It always left me wondering what the label had buried. Now we get a chance to find out.

Part of The Toadies’ tour bringing them to San Francisco is to promote the re-recorded, first time release of that hidden album, ‘Feeler.’

The first chance to get a copy is on this tour and The Famous couldn’t be more proud to be on the bill at Bottom of the Hill this Sunday.

Since our drummer Chris is out of pocket, Geoff Arcuri is playing drums with us. He played in the Sonoma punk band Diesel Boy with our bassist G.D. for years on the road. That rhythm section re-united, and joined by The Famous’ guitar twang is truly ‘a shot of Classic Country with a Punk Rock chaser.’

Geoff is with us for two shows — Sunday, July 25th at Bottom of the Hill, when we open for The Toadies’ and Silver Lake’s ‘Dead Country.’ We play early, right at 9 p.m.

http://www.stubmatic.com/bottomofthehill/event/5034

Plus, a free show in Santa Rosa the night before — Saturday, July 24th — when we return to the Russian River Brewing Company with a special Pliny the Elder song in tow.

See you soon,
–Laurence and The Famous