Toad The Wet Sprocket

Some under-appreciated 90's bands:

ARC ANGELS

BUSH

CANDLEBOX

COLLECTIVE SOUL

GIN BLOSSOMS

THE JEFF HEALY BAND

SISTER HAZEL

THE SMITHEREENS

TONIC

VERTICAL HORIZON

Yeah, I'm not so sure that Bush should be on that list...they were pretty huge, everyone knows who they are...Agree with Gin Blossoms, Smithereens, Candlebox (though they really only had one good album to Toad's 5 or 6) I tried to like Verticle Horizon, but they are about as middle of the road and boring as they come.

Underappreciated? Try Dismemberment Plan, Jawbox, Burning Airlines and Firewater.

The Replacements

Just because half the bands in the 90s sounded like them doesn't make the Replacements a 90s band. My vote goes for Samiam.

The Smithereens was a late 80s band.

love Toad and the Wet Sprockets. Awesome band who didn't seek out enough publicity.

elevator/ grocery store muzak.

at least they still get some play.

more than I can say(thankfully) for Natalie Merchant

Dishwalla.

"Charlie Brown's Parents" was great. Weren't they a Santa Barbara area band?

Marshall Crenshaw was from Royal Oak, Michigan, I think. At least, his mom lived there. Back in the day there was a radio station (okay, WRIF, haven't heard it in years) but the DJs would sometimes play one of Marshall's songs and afterward say, "Hello, Mrs. Crenshaw." If she was listening she would call the station and they'd put her on the air. Kinda like David Letterman's mother.

The lead singer from Toad hooked up with the Nickel Creek kids and John Paul Jones from Led Zepplin to form "The Mutual Admiration Society." They might have an album. They would perform together sometimes, especially at Merlefest in North Carolina (always the same week-end as Penn Relays). I'm sure they're on YouTube somewhere.

I put them in the same league as Hootie and DMB as 90's crappy bands.

Oh man, if you're serious about that Mutual Admiration Society, I'm excited. I'm at work now (letsrun ok, youtube not), but I'm going to do a search later.

By Nickel Creek kids do you mean just the Watkins or Chris Thile too?

I'm cheap so I got the Toad greatest hits album. I like "Good Intentions" among the others mentioned.

mich shocked wrote:

I put them in the same league as Hootie and DMB as 90's crappy bands.

Exactly. Everyone of the bands named here is associated with wuss-rock.

Yes, all three Nickel Creekers: Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins.

They were on, I can't remember, A&E's Breakfast with the Arts? Something like that, and did a number of songs and interviews for about an hour, maybe two years ago.

I was at Merlefest a few years back (in '04), and was standing near Chris Thile. The festivals are great because you can get so near to people you like. Anyway, he was introducing this guy to someone near me, and he says, "This is John Paul Jones." And I thought, wow, now that's the third person with that same name, just like the patriot and the bass player from Led Zep. Then I looked over at him and freaked out. I'm thinking, "Wow, it looks an awful lot like JohnPaulJones." Then I looked again. "Wow, I really think that's JohnPaulJones. But what would he be doing HERE? Looks just like him, only, well, older."

Then a couple hours later he's up on stage with Thile, and he starts doing the bass part to "Dazed and Confused."

As you may have heard, Nickel Creek is breaking up at the end of 2007. Perhaps there's more Mutual Admiration Society coming down the pike. Thile, especially, is into a lot of stuff.

Nickel Creek also went to Merlefest in 2005, when they weren't on the bill. They were jumping on stage with people everywhere, and were milling around the audience as well. Very accessible. Merlefest is in three weeks. I woudln't put it past them to be doing something special. The singer from Toad (can't remember his name all of a sudden) said it's a lot of work to be in M.A.S., so maybe they won't be at Merlefest, but then again, you never know. Check the discussion boards at

www.merlefest.org

.

I also know that the Gin Blossoms were touring last fall, playing very small venues, like Ann Arbor's The Ark (seats about 250), Fort Worth's Caravan of Dreams--places like that. The GBs were close friends with the Toad Sprockets. Keep your eyes peeled. They may be coming to your town.

I follow this kind of music (acoustic music, bluegrass, Americana) pretty closely. If I can find out anything in the next few days, I'll report back here.

the verve

Sucks to be you wrote:

Exactly. Everyone of the bands named here is associated with wuss-rock.

need to prove your manhood by acting like a tough guy? grow up.

Some fools need to listen to Alice In Chains.