Tad (often styled as TAD) was an American rock band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, formed in 1988 by Tad Doyle. They are often recognized as one of the first bands of the grunge era.Tad biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

History

Formation and Sub Pop years (1988–1991)

Led by Tad Doyle (born Thomas Andrew Doyle) on

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, Tad was formed in early 1988 by Doyle, a drummer turned guitar player/singer, who asked bassist Kurt Danielson to play bass for the band. Danielson's band

Bundle of Hiss Bundle of Hiss was an American grunge band formed in 1980 in Stanwood, Washington by pre- Tad member Kurt Danielson, guitarist Jeff Hopper, vocalist Kurt Schonberg and drummer Russ Bartlett. History Schonberg left the band after recording demo ...

played with Doyle's previous band (in which he played drums) H-Hour. Doyle recruited drummer Steve Wied (formerly of

Skin Yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming ...

) and guitarist Gary Thorstensen to complete the original line-up. Tad was among the first bands to be signed to the independent label

Sub Pop Records Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB Computing and technology * , an HTML tag for subscript * SUB designate ...

. In 1988, Doyle had released the "Daisy/Ritual Device" single on Sub Pop, produced by seminal Seattle producer

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

, for which Doyle wrote and performed all the music. Tad's debut album ''

God's Balls ''God's Balls'' is the debut album by the alternative rock band Tad. It was released in 1989 on Sub Pop, and re-released in 2016 as a deluxe edition. The band promoted the album by undertaking a European tour with labelmates Nirvana. Production ...

'' appeared in early 1989, and was also produced by Endino. In March 1990, the band released ''Salt Lick'', recorded by

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

. The vinyl was a six-track EP and it was later expanded into a full-length with nine tracks once it was issued on CD. It contained the song "Wood Goblins", for which a music video was produced. After a European tour with

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, Tad returned to Seattle and recorded their third album ''

8-Way Santa ''8-Way Santa'' is the second album by the Seattle grunge band Tad. It was released on February 15, 1991, through Sub Pop. Tad ran into legal trouble after the man and woman featured on the album cover saw the record and sued the band. The cov ...

'' (1991), named after a type of

blotter acid Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. Produced by

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

, the album was far more pop-oriented than its predecessors, and featured the singles "Jinx" and "Jack Pepsi". "Jack Pepsi" was released as a single, but

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

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". 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). The couple in the photograph, one of whom had since become a born-again Christian and remarried, took exception and sued. Sub Pop subsequently changed the album cover to a shot of the band.

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

After a very brief acting stint in ''

Singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

'', Tad was offered its first major-label opportunity by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

. However, Steve Wied had left, joining Willard, and later Foil.

Rey Washam Rey Washam (born Reynolds Washam, March 14, 1961, in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy nominated drummer who has been performing for more than 35 years. He has collaborated with many bands, the most notable of which include: Scratch Acid, Rapeman, ...

(formerly of

Scratch Acid Scratch Acid was an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its front man David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesu ...

) briefly filled on drums in 1991, but was later replaced by Josh Sinder, previously of

The Accüsed The Accüsed is an American crossover thrash band from Seattle founded in 1981. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands; ...

. Sinder debuted with Tad on their last Sub Pop release, the "Salem" / "Leper" single (which featured "Mud-Man", Josh's apparently mumps-afflicted brother, on the cover). Their major label debut, ''

Inhaler An inhaler (also known as a puffer, pump or allergy spray) is a medical device used for delivering medicines into the lungs through the work of a person's breathing. This allows medicines to be delivered to and absorbed in the lungs, which prov ...

'', appeared later in the year to positive reviews. The record failed to break the band, however, even though they were chosen to open for

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...

on their 1994 '' Superunknown'' tour. Giant Records dropped the band when a poster promoting ''Inhaler'' surfaced featuring

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

smoking a joint with the caption reading "It's heavy shit". In 1995, the band released ''Live Alien Broadcasts'' on Futurist Records, which was a best-of live studio recording. 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 ''Infrared Riding Hood'' is the fourth and final studio album by the American rock band Tad, released in 1995 on EastWest/ Elektra Records. It was the follow-up to their major label debut, ''Inhaler''. Production The album was produced by Jack ...

''. However, within a month of the release, the band's A&R representative was fired. As a result of that representative's termination, all of their signed bands were released and their albums ceased production, regardless of content. They continued to gig for the remainder of the year before Sinder left to form the Hot Rod Lunatics. He was replaced on drums by Mike Mongrain of Foil. Tad's final single "Oppenheimer's Pretty Nightmare" / "Accident on the Way to Church" appeared in 1998 on

Up Records Up Records was a Seattle based independent record label founded in 1994 by Chris Takino and Rich Jensen. Some of the label's best known artists were 764-Hero, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Quasi and Tad. Chris Takino died of leukemia in 200 ...

. 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 Ty, and Martin in a conversation with Doyle. Hog Molly then broke up and its members other than Doyle formed a band called The Ones. Doyle later formed the band Hoof. His other band Brothers of the Sonic Cloth has been playing in Seattle night clubs. Kurt Danielson went on to form Valis, a project that included members of

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time ...

and Mudhoney. He also formed The Quaranteens, a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

/ new wave band with Craig Paul, before moving to France. He is back in Seattle since 2008, and has started to write a novel. Danielson has also played in other local Seattle-based bands including Misericords (with fellow ex-Tad member Mike Mongrain on drums) and Vaporland (featuring ex members of

Love Battery Love Battery was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. History Love Battery was formed in 1989 by former rock band Room Nine leader Ron Nine (b. Ron Rudzitis), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Tommy "Bonehead" S ...

and

The Fluid The Fluid was an American rock band from Denver which formed in 1985, disbanded in 1993, but reconvened in 2008. The group cited the Rolling Stones and MC5 as inspirations for their sound, and was the first group based outside the Pacific North ...

). Josh Sinder has gone on to play drums in The Insurgence and also plays with Marky Felchtone from

Zeke Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to: People * Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete * Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Ame ...

in new band Hellbound For Glory. A documentary of the band titled '' Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears'' was released in February 2008. In July 2009, taddoyle.com 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 and appeared on ''Seattle Weekly'''s list of that year's best local releases. In 2009, Tad Doyle performed with the members of

and

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...

, the original singer, was not present and Doyle took on vocal duties. This marked the first performance by Soundgarden in over a decade.

Partial reunion and aftermath (2013–present)

A semi-reunion of Tad took place at the

25th anniversary show on July 13, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. There, Tad Doyle and Gary Thorstensen joined Brothers of the Sonic Cloth to play a set of songs from ''

'', ''Salt Lick'' and ''

''. Kurt Danielson went on to play with Ron Nine and Kevin Whitworth (

) and Garret Shavlik (ex-

the Fluid The Fluid was an American rock band from Denver which formed in 1985, disbanded in 1993, but reconvened in 2008. The group cited the Rolling Stones and MC5 as inspirations for their sound, and was the first group based outside the Pacific North ...

) for a self-produced album, ''Vaporland'', in 2014. A vinyl-only archival album, ''Quick and Dirty'', was released in April 2018 as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, and contains rare and unreleased tracks Tad recorded between 1995 and 1999.

Legacy

In 2017, ''Metal Injection'' ranked Tad at number 5 on their list of the "10 Heaviest Grunge Bands".

Band members

* Tad Doyle – vocals, guitar (1988–1999) * Gary Thorstensen – guitar (1988–1994) * Kurt Danielson – bass (1988–1999) * Steve Wied – drums (1988–1991) *

– drums (1991) * Josh Sinder – drums (1992–1996) * Mike Mongrain – drums (1996–1999) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1989) Sub Pop * ''Salt Lick'' (1990) Sub Pop * ''

'' (1991) Sub Pop * ''

'' (1993)

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

* ''

'' (1995) East West/ Elektra Records

Live albums

* ''

Live Alien Broadcasts ''Live Alien Broadcasts'' is the first live album of Seattle band TAD, which was released in 1995. Track listing Vinyl bonus track Personnel *Tad Doyle - Vocals, Guitar *Kurt Danielson - Bass, Vocals *Gary Thorstensen - Guitar, Vocals *Josh ...

'' (1995) Futurist Records

Compilation albums

* '' Salt Lick/God's Balls'' (1990) Sub Pop * ''Quick and Dirty'' (2018) Incineration Ceremony Recordings

Extended plays and singles

* ''Daisy/Ritual Device'' (1988) Sub Pop * ''Damaged I'' (1989) Sub Pop Records (split w/

Pussy Galore Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959 Ian Fleming James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel ''Trigg ...

) * ''Wood Goblins/Cooking With Gas'' (1989)

Glitterhouse Records Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American la ...

* ''Loser/Cooking with Gas'' (1990) Sub Pop * ''Jinx/Pig Iron'' (1990) Sub Pop * ''Jack Pepsi/Eddie Hook'' (1991) Sub Pop * ''Salem/Welt/Leper'' (1992) Sub Pop * ''Lycantrope/Just Bought the Farm'' (1992) Pusmort Records * ''Leafy Incline/Pale Corkscrew'' (1993)

* ''Dementia'' (1995) East West/ Elektra Records * ''Red Eye Angel/Bludge'' (1995) East West/Elektra Records * ''Obscene Hand/Kevorkian's Holiday'' (1997) Amphetamine Reptile Records * ''Oppenheimer's Pretty Nightmare/Accident On the Way to Church'' (1998)

Compilation and soundtrack appearances

* '' Sub Pop 200'' (1988) Sub Pop – "Sex God Missy" * ''Sub Pop Rock City'' (1989)

– "Sex God Missy" * ''Crunchhouse'' (1989) Glitterhouse Records – "Behemoth" * ''Dope, Guns 'N Fucking in the Streets, Vol. 1–3'' (1989) Amphetamine Reptile Records – "Habit & Necessity" * '' Fuck Me I'm Rich'' (1990) Sub Pop – "Ritual Device" and "Daisy" * ''

The Grunge Years ''The Grunge Years'' is a compilation album of songs by notable grunge bands released by Sub Pop in 1991. As indicated by the cover of the album, it was limited to a pressing of 500,000 copies. Track listing # " Dive" - Nirvana # "Shove ...

'' (1991) Sub Pop – "Stumblin' Man" * ''Revolution Come 'N' Gone'' (1992) Sub Pop – "Jinx" * '' Mesomorph Enduros'' (1992)

Big Cat Records Big Cat Records is a British independent record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Big Cat operated a US office in New York City for a few years. Integrated with V2 Records in 1996, ...

– "Pig Iron" * ''1989-1993: The John Peel Sub Pop Sessions'' (1993) Sub Pop – "Helot" * '' Brainscan Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1994)

Ruffhouse Records Ruffhouse Records is an American record label founded in 1989 by Chris Schwartz and Joe Nicolo as a joint venture with Columbia Records. In 1999, Schwartz and Nicolo closed the label, and Schwartz and Kevon Glickman continued with RuffNation ...

– "Grease Box" * ''Insanity'' (1994)

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

– "Luminol" * ''Bite Back: Live at the Crocodile Cafe'' (1996) PopLlama Records – "Just Bought the Farm" (live) * '' Hype! The Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1996) Sub Pop – "Giant Killer" * ''Up Next: The Up Records Compilation'' (1998)

– "Oppenheimer's Pretty Nightmare"

Guest appearances

* ''Willard'' he Sound of Fuck(1992) Steel Mill oadRunner RecordsTad Doyle - Backing Vocals on "Stain"

References

Other sources * Steve Huey
Tad biography on Yahoo! Music

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tad Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) American grunge groups Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state) Sub Pop artists Up Records artists Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 American alternative metal musical groups Hardcore punk groups from Washington (state)

History

Formation and Sub Pop years (1988–1991)

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

Post-breakup (2000–2012)

Partial reunion and aftermath (2013–present)

Legacy

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays and singles

Compilation and soundtrack appearances

Guest appearances

See also

References

External links