- Toad the Wet Sprocket are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their album Dulcinea this year
- The band jokes that they would rather come in a time with less technology
- Toad the Wet Sprocket will be touring this summer in early July
TikTok is really nothing like Toad the Wet Sprocket.
“I don’t think what we do translates well into 20-second clips,” Dean Dinning, 56, of Toad the Wet Sprocket, explains to PEOPLE in a recent interview.
“And who we are isn’t either,” adds frontman Glen Phillips, 53.
In fact, the multi-platinum alternative rock band that became legendary with hits like “Fall Down,” “Something’s Always Wrong” and “All I Want” doesn’t even seem to like social media that much. “[Social media] it feels strong at the moment, but it just adds to the noise,” Phillips says. “I’m trying to push more and more toward common ground like we used to be able to.”
The California native trio of Phillips, Dinning and Todd Nichols say they preferred to come in a time of much less technology, when the art of communication was far more primitive.
“Left to our own promotional devices, nobody would ever know we existed,” notes Phillips. “We liked making posters. I remember going to a coffee shop and making posters for local shows, but it didn’t feel like a promotion. It just felt like bad art, which I could totally throw away.”
Certainly, that bad art could probably be worth something these days, as Toad the Wet Sprocket are toasting the 30th anniversary of their platinum-selling 1994 album Dulcineawhile celebrating the fact that fans still flock to them not just to hear their music, but to hear what they have to say.
“I don’t know if anyone needs to hear what we have to say,” says Phillips, not buying into the mere idea that the band has reached some kind of prophetic status. “I used to think more along the lines that there is an artist’s responsibility to always make social commentary. And I feel like a lot of that comes out through songs anyway. I feel like these days people need belonging more than they need preaching.”
However, sometimes a preacher cannot help but preach.
“At the same time, there are so many divisions that it’s hard not to talk about the issues or spread the message because things seem important,” Phillips adds. “So even though I try to do less than that, I can’t help it, and occasionally I’ll make someone in the audience very angry.” He pauses. – It doesn’t take much these days.
“Today, everything is social commentary,” adds Dinning. “We kind of have to be careful and know where the line is. I think there are always degrees where we should push and where we shouldn’t.”
Toad the Wet Gear.
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It’s a talent they use even with each other, as the band continues to progress together as one unit, eager to add to their already impressive legacy.
“The band was in such a better space,” says Phillips. “I think we’ve grown and enjoy each other’s company more. And so, it’s transferred to the audience much better. They can feel it. And if we’re not boiling in our own juices on stage, we have the head space to really accept it. And there is mutual energy, everyone feeds each other.”
Currently gearing up for dates with Counting Crows and Barenaked Ladies, the members of Toad the Wet Sprocket are also looking forward to getting fed up with the bands they share the stage with.
“I learned a lot from Barenaked Ladies about how to be in a band, how to be with each other and how to lift people up,” says Phillips. “You can get used to hiding in your own corner all the time, especially for a band that’s been together forever. I don’t want to say they don’t have their ups and downs, but I just feel like they really try to protect each other in that way. They’re really good role models in how to be on the road.”
And as they also prepare to embark on a co-headlining summer tour with Gin Blossoms and special guest Vertical Horizon, the members of Toad the Wet Sprocket feel age creeping up on them.
And with age comes new worries.
“I was recently checked out for something in my sinuses that might have been a tumor,” Phillips casually mentions. “I don’t have a brain tumor, which I’m really thankful for. But when mortality is in front of me, I know what to do. If I have two years left to live, I have to clean out the garage right now. I just know what my to-do list is.”
He laughs about a condition that could mean he has a deviated septum that might require a “nose job,” but the emotion behind those words is palpable.
“Most of my worries about the distant future and the unknowability of the distant future become irrelevant,” Phillips continues. “I almost want my doctor to tell me every two years that I have two more years to live just so I can stay on that regimen more often.”
Toad the Wet Sprocket 2024 tour dates are as follows and tickets are available here:
JULY 17 / DEL MAR, CA @ The Sound at Del Mar^
19.-20. JULY / NOVATO, CA @ HopMonk Tavern^
JULY 22 / PORTLAND, OR @ Revolution Hall^
JULY 23 / SEATTLE, WA @ Neptune Theatre^
JULY 25 / KALISPELL, MT @ Wachholz College Center^
JULY 26 / GREAT FALLS, MT @ The Newberry^
JULY 28 / FORT COLLINS, CO @ Washington’s^
AUGUST 1 / OSHKOSH, WI @ Waterfest at Riverside Park #
AUGUST 2 / OMAHA, NE @ The Astro Theatre#
AUGUST 3 / MANKATO, MN @ Vetter Stone Amphitheater#
AUGUST 5 / GRAND RAPIDS, MI @ Meijer Gardens#
AUGUST 7 / CLEVELAND, OH @ Cain Park#
AUGUST 10 / PORTLAND, ME @ Thompson’s Point&
AUGUST 11 / LEWISTON, NY @ ARTPARK#
AUGUST 12 / DEERFIELD, MA @ Tree House Brewing^
AUGUST 13 / MEDFORD, MA @ Chevalier Theatre#
AUGUST 15 / BETHLEHEM, PA @ Wind Creek Event Center#
AUGUST 16 / CARY, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre#
AUGUST 17 / SUGAR HILL, GA @ The Bowl at Sugar Hill#
AUGUST 18 / HUBER HEIGHTS, OH @ Rose Music Center#
AUGUST 20 / RED BANK, NJ @ Count Basie Center for the Arts#
AUGUST 22 / SELBYVILLE, DE @ Freeman Arts Pavilion#
AUGUST 23 / MIDDLEFIELD, CT @ Powder Ridge Mountain Park#
AUGUST 24 / ESSEX JUNCTION, VT @ Champlain Valley Exposition#
AUGUST 30 / TEMECULA, CA @ South Coast Winery Resort & Spa
AUGUST 31 / COSTA MESA, CA @ Pacific Amphitheater!
SEPTEMBER 16 / Cedar Rapids, IA @ McGrath Amphitheater*
SEPTEMBER 17 / Moorhead, MN @ Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater*
SEPTEMBER 18 / Lincoln, NE @ Pinewood Bowl Theater*
SEPTEMBER 20 / Albuquerque, NM @ Revel*
SEPTEMBER 21 / Colorado Springs, CO @ Sunset Amphitheater*
SEPTEMBER 22 / Vail, CO @ Gerald Ford Amphitheater*
SEPTEMBER 24 / Tulsa, OK @ Tulsa Theater*
SEPTEMBER 25 / Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at The District*
SEPTEMBER 27 / Pittsburgh, PA @ Rivers Casino Event Center*
SEPTEMBER 28 / Charles Town, WV @ Hollywood Casino Event Center*
October 1 / Brookville, NY @ Tilles Center*
October 2/ Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center*
OCTOBER 4 / French Lick, IN @ French Lick Resort*
October 5 / Evanston, IL @ Cahn Auditorium^
October 17 / Columbia, SC @ Township Auditorium*
October 18 / Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium*
October 19 / Augusta, GA @ Bell Auditorium*
October 21 / Pompano Beach, FL @ Pompano Beach Amphitheater*
October 22 / Ft. Myers, FL @ Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall*
October 23 / Clearwater, FL @ The Sound at Coachman Park*
OCTOBER 25 / Macon, GA @ Macon City Auditorium*
October 26 / Biloxi, MS @ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino*
October 27 / Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium*
October 29 / Ames, IA @ Stephens Auditorium*
October 30 / Rochester, MN @ Mayo Civic Center*
NOVEMBER 1 / Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Theater*
NOVEMBER 2 / Salina, KS @ The Stiefel Theater*
NOVEMBER 3 / Sioux Falls, SD @ Washington Pavilion*
NOVEMBER 6 / Duluth, MN @ Symphony Hall*
NOVEMBER 8 / Mt. Pleasant, MI @ Soaring Eagle Casino*
Key:
^TTWS Date of title
#TTWS along with Gin Blossoms
& TTWS @ Guster’s On the Ocean Festival
! TTWS opening for Counting Crows
*TTWS opening for Barenaked Ladies
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education