Tad (often styled as TAD) was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

era.Tad biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

History

Formation and Sub Pop years (1988–1991)

Tad was originally formed as a solo project of Tad Doyle (born Thomas Andrew Doyle), former drummer of the band H-Hour, in early 1988 with Tad singing and playing all instruments (guitar, bass and drums), recording a 3-songs demo that later became a "Daisy / Ritual Device" single. Tad was among the first bands to be signed to the independent label

Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

. 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. Soon after Tad Doyle realized that he needed a full band - and asked bassist Kurt Danielson to play bass for the band. Danielson's band Bundle of Hiss played with Doyle's previous band H-Hour. Doyle recruited drummer Steve Wied (formerly of

Skin Yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, that was 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 Tr ...

) and guitarist Gary Thorstensen to complete the full line-up. Tad's debut album '' God's Balls'' appeared in early 1989, and was also produced by Endino. In March 1990, the band released ''Salt Lick'', recorded by

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

. 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 Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, Tad returned to Seattle and recorded their third album '' 8-Way Santa'' (1991), named after a type of blotter acid. Produced by

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...

, 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 water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

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

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

's Giant Records. However, Steve Wied had left, joining Willard, and later Foil. Rey Washam (formerly of Scratch Acid) 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 Washington (state), Washington, formed in 1981 by Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman, Dana Collins and Tommy Niemeyer. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between th ...

. Sinder debuted with Tad on their last Sub Pop release, the "Salem" / "Leper" single (which featured "Mud-Man", Josh's apparently

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gen ...

-afflicted brother, on the cover). Their major label debut, ''

Inhaler An inhaler (puffer, asthma 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 provides the ...

'', 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, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

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 and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

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 Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, another Warner label, in 1995. The same year, they released their final album '' Infrared Riding Hood''. 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 Duster (band), Duster, 764-HERO, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Quasi (band), Quasi and Tad (band ...

. 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. Chandler would later go on to join The Supersuckers in 2009. 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 and

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

. He also formed The Quaranteens, a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

/ 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 and The Fluid). Josh Sinder has gone on to play drums in The Insurgence and also plays with Marky Felchtone from Zeke 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 Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

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 known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a membe ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

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

, 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 '' God's Balls'', ''Salt Lick'' and '' 8-Way Santa''. Kurt Danielson went on to play with Ron Nine and Kevin Whitworth ( Love Battery) and Garret Shavlik (ex- the Fluid) for a self-produced album, ''Vaporland'', in 2014. He and Ron Nine then played in Purple Strange with Jared Stroud, Matthew Candenberghe and

, and issued another self-produced album of the same name in 2021. A vinyl-only archival album, ''Quick and Dirty'', was released in April 2018 as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

, 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), bass, drums (1988) * Kurt Danielson – bass (1988–1999) * Gary Thorstensen – guitar (1988–1994) * Steve Wied – drums (1988–1991) * Rey Washam – drums (1991) * Josh Sinder – drums (1992–1996) * Mike Mongrain – drums (1996–1999) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' God's Balls'' (1989)

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

* ''Salt Lick'' (1990) Sub Pop * '' 8-Way Santa'' (1991) Sub Pop * ''

'' (1993)

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

* '' Infrared Riding Hood'' (1995) East West/

Live albums

* '' Live Alien Broadcasts'' (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)

* ''Damaged I'' (1989) Sub Pop Records (split w/ Pussy Galore) * ''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/

* ''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)

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

Mesomorph Enduros ''Mesomorph Enduros'' is a various artists compilation album released in December 1992 by Big Cat Records. It was assembled by musician and composer J. G. Thirlwell, who had been asked by Big Cat to compile songs by his favorite underground Ameri ...

'' (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 – "Grease Box" * ''Insanity'' (1994)

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

– "Luminol" * ''Bite Back: Live at the Crocodile Cafe'' (1996)

PopLlama Records PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce The Young Fresh Fellows' debut album ''The Fabu ...

– "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 A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

oadRunner RecordsTad Doyle - Backing Vocals on "Stain"

References

Other sources * Steve Huey
Tad biography on Yahoo! Music

External links

Official website
*
Tad; 1991 Video Archive; Live at The Masquerade; Atlanta, Georgia
{{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)