Discogs
Tad were arguably the heaviest of the
major Seattle grunge bands, fashioning a loud, lumbering grind that --
unlike many of their peers -- was inspired far more by '70s metal than
punk, with a side portion of noise rock tossed in. Less tuneful and
accessible than grunge's biggest names, Tad's music simply steamrolled
over everything in its way, which likely contributed to their being the
last homegrown band on Sub Pop's grunge-era roster to snag a major-label
deal. Although the whole band dressed like Northwestern lumberjacks,
their redneck image chiefly came courtesy of 300-pound frontman Tad Doyle; their publicity usually emphasized Doyle's
previous job as a butcher, and his lyrics often sent up local
white-trash culture (though he was actually college educated, as were
his bandmates in the group's original lineup). Tad's sound evolved over
the course of their run, with varying amounts of melody entering into
the picture, but the group's sound was always loud, punishing, and
heavy, and when grunge began to fall out of favor, it helped take the
band down with it.
Tad was formed in Seattle in 1988 by lead vocalist/guitarist Tad Doyle (born Thomas A. Doyle in Boise, Idaho) and bassist Kurt Danielson, who had previously played together in a group called Bundle of Hiss. They added guitarist Gary Thorstensen (ex-Treeclimbers) and one-time Skin Yard drummer Steve Wied
to complete the lineup. Tad had earlier recorded a single in which he
played all the instruments and performed all the vocals, "Daisy" b/w
"Ritual Device." Sub Pop had released the 7", and they quickly struck a
deal with his new band. Their debut album, the assaultive God's Balls, was released in 1989 and produced by Jack Endino, who had worked with Wied in Skin Yard.
Songs like "Satan's Chainsaw," "Pork Chop," and "Nipple Belt"
established the band's collective persona, and they supported the record
as Nirvana's opening act on the Bleach tour. Their follow-up, the 1990 EP Salt Lick, was recorded during a three-day visit to Chicago, with noisemeister Steve Albini in the producer's chair.
After extensive live work, including European tours with then-labelmates Nirvana and Mudhoney,
the band had amassed plenty of material and were ready to record their
third album. Switching producers once again, Tad turned in their most
melodic Sub Pop album under the guidance of Butch Vig (of Nevermind fame) with 1991's 8-Way Santa,
which spawned the tongue-in-cheek single "Jack Pepsi." However, the
cover soon landed Tad and Sub Pop in legal hot water. The original cover
photo of a hippie-looking man fondling a woman's breast had been found
at a garage sale, and used without clearance. When the woman in the
photo discovered the record, she filed a lawsuit and Sub Pop was forced
to recall all copies of the album, later repackaging it with a new
sleeve. At roughly the same time, the cover of the "Jack Pepsi" single
featured a parody of the Pepsi-Cola logo, leading the soft drink
manufacturer to also file suit, stalling the album's progress even
further.
Despite their legal
problems, Tad was enjoying a growing cult following, boosted by Doyle's brief cameo in Cameron Crowe's
Seattle-based romantic comedy Singles. (The band's song "Jinx" was also
heard in the film, though it didn't make the soundtrack album.) Tad was
offered a major-label contract by Warner Bros subsidiary Giant, but
drummer Wied exited the group before they began work on their next album. After touring with Rey Washam of Scratch Acid on drums, Josh Sinder, formerly of hardcore punkers the Accused, became Wied's full-time replacement in time for Tad's major-label debut, Inhaler. Produced by Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis and issued in 1993, Inhaler failed to make the band into breakout stars, despite an opening slot on tour with Soundgarden.
Compounding their disappointing sales was Giant's displeasure at a
controversial promo poster for the album, which featured a picture of Bill Clinton holding a joint with the caption "This is heavy sh*t."
Giant unceremoniously dropped Tad from its roster, and guitarist Thorstensen left in 1994, reducing the band to a trio. They subsequently recorded Live Alien Broadcasts,
a live-in-the-studio look back over their career that was released by
the MCA-distributed Futurist Records in 1995. They secured a third
major-label shot with Elektra subsidiary EastWest, which released Infrared Riding Hood
later in 1995. However, the A&R executive who had signed Tad to
EastWest was fired midway through recording, and the label opted to drop
all the bands the exec had worked with. As a consequence, Tad were cut
from the label's roster the same week Infrared Riding Hood arrived in stores. Promotion was negligible, and the album sank without a trace.
Without a label, Tad
released a pair of indie singles and kept gigging for a few years
afterward; Sinder left in 1997, later joining the band Willard, and was replaced by ex-Foil member Mike Mongrain. However, Tad finally gave up the ghost in 1998. Kurt Danielson joined up with the Screaming Trees/Mudhoney side project Valis, while Tad Doyle formed a new group, Hog Molly, which released an album called Kung-Fu Cocktail Grip in 2001. Hog Molly broke up shortly after the album came out, and Doyle next fronted a short-lived band called Hoof. In 2008, he formed Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, who became a fixture on the Seattle rock scene. In 2013, at a Seattle festival celebrating Sub Pop's 25th anniversary, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth invited Gary Thorstensen on-stage to play a selection of Tad's best-known tunes. In 2016, Sub Pop reissued God's Balls, Salt Lick, and 8-Way Santa in expanded editions, all remastered by Jack Endino.
Tracklist
| 1 |
Grease Box |
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| 2 |
Throat Locust |
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| 3 |
Leafy Incline |
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| 4 |
Luminol |
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| 5 |
Ulcer |
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| 6 |
Lycanthrope |
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| 7 |
Just Bought The Farm |
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| 8 |
Rotor |
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| 9 |
Paregoric |
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| 10 |
Pansy |
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| 11 |
Gouge |
In 1996, following the final Screaming Trees album, Dust, bassist Van Conner formed a loud, spaced-out, psychedelic metal band called Valis, with himself on lead vocals and guitar. When it became clear that the Trees' hiatus was likely to become permanent, Conner
focused his attention on his onetime side project, which took its name
from a Philip K. Dick novel. The remainder of the group also had a
strong Seattle pedigree: brother and guitarist Patrick Conner had been
playing in Kitty Kitty; bassist Kurt Danielson had been a member of Tad; and Dan Peters had drummed for several Seattle notables, including the Fastbacks, Love Battery, and his full-time gig, Mudhoney.
They started gigging around the Northwest in 1997, and the following
year, they released a split EP with Kitty Kitty on the Man's Ruin label.
Peters subsequently returned to Mudhoney, and was replaced by Kitty Kitty drummer Sean Hollister. As the members took time to focus on other projects, Valis fell by the wayside for a time, but kicked back into gear in 2001, when they added keyboard and guitar-synth player Wes Weresch and signed with the Swedish label Luna Sound. In 2002, they issued their first widely available album, Vast Active Living Intelligence System, by which time Adrian Makins had replaced Danielson on bass. 
