Interview: Glen Phillips

Toad the Wet Sprocket chose the name for their band because it sounded funny, and it was meant to be temporary. That was over 30 years ago.

The bandmembers – singer/songwriter/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist/songwriter Todd Nichols, drummer Randy Guss, and bassist Dean Dinning – knew each other from San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara. Phillips was only 15 when the band formed, Nichols and Dinning were 19, and Dinning was 20. The band had a breakthrough with their third album fear, released in 1991. This spawned the hits “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean”, which still have healthy airplay on the radio. Later hits included “Fall Down”, and “Good Intentions”. The band broke up in 1998, but have now been back together for over a decade.

This interview with Glen Phillips was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the 1/30/20 and 1/31/20 Toad the Wet Sprocket shows at the Lobero Theatre in their hometown of Santa Barbara. It was done by phone on 1/13/20. (Eli Reskow photo)