Toad the Wet Sprocket was formed in 1986 at San Marcos High School just outside of Santa Barbara, California, when singer-songwriter Glen Phillips was just a 14-year-old freshman, and the other members were 17-year-old juniors. The band drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album from 1980. Their first public appearance was at an open-microphone talent contest in September 1986 (which they lost).
Toad the Wet Sprocket's first album came out in 1989. Named Bread and Circus, it was their first effort for Columbia Records, who had signed them out of high school. The album spawned the singles "Way Away" and "One Little Girl," which made the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, but did not receive much attention.
The follow-up, Pale, was released in 1990 and saw their sound mature. Featuring the singles "Jam" and the Modern Rock Chart hit "Come Back Down," the album was still not a massive success.
The band finally achieved fame with their third album, Fear (released in 1991), which became the band's first RIAA certified platinum album. Also, the singles "All I Want" and "Walk on the Ocean" reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1994, after years of heavy touring, the band released their follow-up to Fear, Dulcinea. This album spawned the hit singles "Fall Down", which reached #1 on the US Modern Rock charts as well as #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as "Something's Always Wrong", which also charted. This album was also certified platinum by the RIAA.
A compilation album of b-sides and rarities, In Light Syrup, was released in 1995; it included the single "Good Intentions", which was featured on the soundtrack for the television show Friends. Largely due to the strength of the single, this compilation was certified as a gold album in 2001.
The release of Coil in 1997 acted much like a follow up to 1994's Dulcinea. Featuring a more electric, rock sound, it contained the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock hit "Come Down", as well as the radio hit "Crazy Life" (which did not chart). The album, despite the success of "Come Down" as a single, failed to reach any sales benchmarks.
Toad the Wet Sprocket formally broke up in July 1998, citing creative differences. Since breaking up, the band performed together in 2002 at a Rape Crisis Center benefit and opened up for Counting Crows. In 2006 they began touring the United States as a band in small-venue, short-run tours each summer.
In 2009, bassist Dean Dinning said Toad the Wet Sprocket was now something each member considered an active project, and though they had not released a new studio album since 1997 and only did small summer tours, they no longer considered themselves "broken up". In May 2010, the band gathered at a California studio to begin re-recording some of their older hits for licensing reasons. Columbia Records owns the masters to the band's albums. Therefore, the band makes little money from them, so to be able to make a living off their own talent again, they made these re-recordings with the goal of having them used in film and TV.
On December 7, 2010, Toad the Wet Sprocket released their first new studio track in 11 years. The holiday track "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas", a cover of a Sam Phillips original, was posted on their official site, available via Bandcamp, for free download just in time for the holidays, along with a new message on their site: "We're that band that did 'Walk on the Ocean', 'All I Want', 'Something's Always Wrong', and "Fall Down'. The one with the weird name. We're back from a long slumber and look forward to saying hello some time. Keep in touch…" The band had recently signed a deal with Primary Wave to handle their back catalog and any future releases, and on December 11, 2010, the band mentioned, both on stage and in an offstage YouTube interview, that they are currently writing songs for their first new studio album since 1997's Coil. In addition, they began playing two new songs, "Friendly Fire" and "The Moment", which were being worked on for the new album.
On April 12, 2011, Toad the Wet Sprocket released a new greatest hits album titled All You Want in digital and disc form via their official website. The 11-track CD includes brand new studio versions of their hits. The band does not have access to some of the versions they did for Columbia Records in the '90s. However, they did regain full control of the songs from their first two albums, and they planned to re-release them in remastered form on their own label, Abe's Records, following the release of their upcoming studio album.
On March 22, 2013, it was announced via Toad the Wet Sprocket's Facebook page that recording of the new album had been completed. The album was produced and mixed by Mikal Blue at Revolver Studios in Thousand Oaks, California. On June 5, 2013, the band announced the first new single in 16 years on Rolling Stone's website titled "New Constellation". An album of the same name was released on the band's own Abe's Records on October 15, 2013. The band marketed the new album via the crowdsourcing website Kickstarter. The band initially set a fundraising goal of $50,000, expecting it to take about two months to raise that amount. Instead, fans contributed more than $50,000 in less than 20 hours. When the Kickstarter campaign finally came to a close, they had raised a total of $264,762.
In 2014, Toad the Wet Sprocket resumed touring and opened a number of shows for Counting Crows. They showcased some of the new material from New Constellation, the Kickstarter-funded album, including "California Wasted" and the album's title track while playing a number of their earlier hits. During summer 2015, the band went on tour with fellow '90s acts Smash Mouth and Tonic. The band released an EP called Architect of the Ruin on June 16, 2015.
In 2018, Toad the Wet Sprocket announced that they had reissued their albums fear and Dulcinea on a deluxe remastered vinyl LP available through their online store. The same year, they also released a limited deluxe 5-LP box set of colored vinyl for their albums fear, Dulcinea and Acoustic Dance Party.
In a January 2020 interview with ChicagoNow, Glen Phillips stated that "Toad has started recording again." In addition, he confirmed the band's first official lineup change, and that drummer Guss had left the band on good terms. Previous occasional touring member Josh Daubin replaced Guss.
On September 25, 2020, they released a new song entitled “Starting Now”, followed by another new song "Old Habits Die Hard" on October 23rd, from their upcoming album, set to be released in 2021.
There's another band with the same name:
2. Toad The Wet Sprocket was an NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) band active from the mid-70s to 1982. They released two singles, "Pete's Punk Song" and "Reaching the Sky", before their breakup. Their song, "Blues in A", was included on Metal for Muthas compilation (1980).
Hold Her Down
Toad The Wet Sprocket Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
take her arms and hold her down...
until she stops kicking
take her arms and hold her down...
until she she stops moving
and they don't know her
they've got nothing else they can do
and they've no reason
but still they come
and i
would have a hard time facing you
this crime
the shame of what a man can do
take her arms and hold her down...
until she stops screaming
take her arms and hold her down...
until she stops breathing
and they don't know her
but what the fuck
they've got nothing else they can do
and they've no reason
but still they come
and i
would have a hard time facing you
this crime
the shame of what a man can do
take the night back
all they've stolen
all we took from you
The lyrics to Toad The Wet Sprocket's song "Hold Her Down" are disturbing and difficult to interpret. The song is seemingly about sexual assault and the effects of toxic masculinity. The repeated phrase "take her arms and hold her down" is chilling and suggests the violent act of rape. The subsequent phrases "until she stops kicking/moving/screaming/breathing" only reinforce this idea. The singer appears to be a bystander or a witness to the act, as they comment on the people who are committing the crime- "they don't know her/but what the f***/they've got nothing else they can do/and they've no reason/but still they come". These lines suggest that the people committing the crime are doing so without motive, or out of pure aggression and violence.
The chorus of the song includes the lines "and I/would have a hard time facing you/this crime/the shame of what a man can do". Here, the singer is acknowledging the shame and disgust they feel towards the perpetrator(s) of the crime. However, the line "the shame of what a man can do" suggests that there is a larger issue at play here- that of toxic masculinity and how it perpetuates violence against women.
The final verse of the song is a call to action- "take the night back/all they've stolen/all we took from you". The singer is urging listeners to take back the power and control that has been taken from victims of sexual assault. The use of the word "we" here suggests that the singer and others are standing in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, and are actively working towards change.
Line by Line Meaning
take her arms and hold her down...
Restraining her using force
until she stops kicking
Continuous struggle from the victim that eventually subsides
until she she stops moving
Subduing the victim until they no longer move
and they don't know her
The attackers have no personal relationship or connection with the victim. She is a random target.
but what the fuck
The attackers have no legitimate reason for attacking the victim. It's an impulsive, senseless act.
they've got nothing else they can do
Attacking an innocent woman is the only option left for the attackers.
and they've no reason
The attackers have no valid justification for choosing the victim.
but still they come
Despite knowing it's a wrong act, the attackers still proceed with their heinous crime.
and i
The singer, as a man, feels ashamed and guilty for the atrocities of these attackers towards women.
would have a hard time facing you
The singer would be unable to face the victim if he were in the attackers' shoes.
this crime
The attack on the woman is a serious crime and a matter of shame for society.
the shame of what a man can do
The singer feels that men are responsible for most crimes committed against women and must be held accountable.
take the night back
Making the night safe for women again and implementing measures to prevent such violence from happening again.
all they've stolen
The attackers have stolen the victim's sense of security, dignity, and freedom.
all we took from you
As a society, we tend to overlook the problems faced by women, their physical and mental health, and their freedom. It's time to take a stand for them.
Lyrics © O/B/O CAPASSO
Written by: DINNING, GUSS, NICHOLS, PHILLIPS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
zedmelon
@Heather L' Vac @Michelle
I'm male and can't provide more than empathy (as opposed to true understanding) for sexual assault victims, but...
I suspect you are both approaching the same thing from different perspectives.
The song's music is infectious, expertly written, and the lyrics evoke powerful, primal emotion--it compels me to fight and defend someone I'll never meet--and then mourn the fact that I wasn't there to help. The subject matter belies zoning out and getting "lost in the music," like one might be able to do with other songs like Walk on the Ocean or Nightingale Song
Then again many of their lyrics are thought provoking and are a big part of why I've loved this band for three decades
:,)
My GF and I watched Freedom Writers last night. I told her it's a good film, but it put me into a heavily despondent mood--reminding me of the horrific atrocities human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another.
"like Hold Her Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket." Then I recited the lyrics for her. Both of us wiping our eyes, I searched this on YT. She made me not play it for her...she didn't want to hear it. I played it after she left the room.
<3
KS Turner
You know, 25+ years jamming to these guys and first time I have even seen the band!! One of the most underrated?? well may be unique bands of the 90's. A sound 100% their own.
Dan Kean
I live in the Philippines. I will never get that chance.
Mairi Quodomine
Song perfectly describes my assault. When I try to explain what happened I use this song. I must have played it a million times after the I first heard it. Still my favorite album. Thanks guys
Bob Lewis
Mairi Quodomine my youngest daughter was sexually assaulted twice in 2019! I was enraged. She handled it better than I did! God Bless You Both!
Carolyn Lyford Sullivan
I understand. It makes me angry.
Matty C
I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's not acceptable for our "civilized" society. I don't understand how people get their kicks from that.
CARYN GEORGE
I think this song rocks so hard. Good for you guys writing about the horrors of what "men" can do and taking back the night for those who have been through such a Godawful thing. This band is awesome.
Wood 'n' Stuff w/ Steve French
Why the quotes? "Men" only means adult male human, nothing more.
Buffalohump
@Wood 'n' Stuff w/ Steve French It means much more than that to me...
kisscatastrophe
this was written in 1988 in response to the attempted kidnapping, beating and attempted rape of two close friends of the band and of Glen's girlfriend at the time. no one was actually raped thank god, but it inspired this song. the band felt it was too much at the time of it's recording during the "Pale" sessions so they shelved it and it ended up being retooled and rerecorded for "fear" in 1991 and became the first single