Ever wondered where Toad the Wet Sprocket got their name?
(artistdirect.com) The British comedy troupe known as Monty Python put out an album sometime in the seventies called CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION. One of the tracks was called "Rock Notes" where a befuddled journalist announces: "Rick Stardust, lead electric triangle player with Toad The Wet Sprocket, has had to have an elbow removed following their recent worldwide successful tour of Finland."
The guys in Toad, teen-agers at the time, thought the name was so bad that it was good. Good enough for a fledgling band that had jokingly referred to their act as Three Young Studs and Glen. It was probably meant to be temporary at the time, and yet it has survived as their moniker for over ten years.
And there's a bit more to the story. In December of 1995 Toad had a platinum album award (DULCINEA) made up for Eric Idle, one of the original Monty Python members, and a mutual friend delivered it to the surprised comedian. The band immediately received a letter from the gracious and surprised Idle, who informed Toad that he originally thought of the name for a TV sketch because he wanted "to think of a name so silly and unusual no one would ever consider it for a group."
No one, except of course, four young men putting together their first band in Santa Barbara. When Idle first heard the band and their name on the airwaves, he said he "nearly drove off the road. It was spooky but I was also very thrilled." So were the guys in Toad when they received his thank you note.
