Toad The Wet Sprocket
is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. They didn't have a band name and their first gig was approaching. They chose the name "Toad the Wet Sprocket" as a joke and temporary. But vocalist Glen Phillips later called it "a joke that went on too long."But the real origin of the name comes from a Monty Python
comedy sketch. The bit was called "Rock Notes" and was about a newscaster delivering a nonsensical music news report:Pythoner Eric Idle
, the sketch's original performer, said in 1999 that when he wrote the sketch about rock musicians, he tried to think of a name that would be so silly nobody would ever use it. He was shocked when he was driving in Los Angeles and heard a DJ say that a song was performed by Toad the Wet Sprocket.
The band is comprised of:
Glen Phillips – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, mandolin
Todd Nichols – lead guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Dean Dinning – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Randy Guss – drums, percussion
The band broke up in 1998 to pursue other projects but in 2006 began touring the United States as a band again.
Eric Idle talks about Toad the Wet Sprocket in a concert