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Toadies reunite with old and new fans

Since reuniting in 2007, members of the alt-rock band Toadies have gradually recognized that they're playing to crowds comprised heavily of new fans.

"The interesting thing we're seeing now is--and maybe we weren't able to see this last year--most of the people at the shows have never even seen us before," guitarist Clark Vogeler said during a recent phone interview from his California home. "All these people are coming out for the first time and are super excited that they finally get a chance to see us. We're excited to be there, so it's a win-win situation for everybody."

Toadies are touring in support of their first new studio album in seven years, "No Deliverance," which landed in stores Tuesday (8/19). The record comes on the heels of the break-up of singer/guitarist Todd Lewis' post-Toadies project Burden Brothers.

"Our singer, Todd, he had been doing Burden Brothers for a couple years and working that really hard," Vogeler said. "Right at the end of a really long tour, two of the guys in his band just up and quit the band. He didn't know what else to do but just kind of keep writing music. He didn't know what they would be for. But as the songs came out, they started sounding like Toadies songs to him.

"So he called me. He happened to catch me at a time when I was kind of a little burned out from the work I had been doing. I'm an editor here in Los Angeles, where I edit TV shows and documentaries. I had been working really hard and kind of was looking at a reason to get out of editing for awhile. He called and said, 'Do you want to do a new Toadies album?' I was all for it, especially after hearing a couple of the songs he had written. They sound to me just like Toadies songs too, in a way that the Burden Brothers music didn't. It's interesting the way he can separate that stuff in his head."

The duo, along with drummer Mark Reznicek, bassist Doni Blair and electric sitarist Davis Harris, decided to commit themselves to recording a new album and playing shows in support of it. The itinerary is listed below.

"It kind of comes on the back of doing reunion shows last year, when every show sold out faster than we thought it would and the crowd was off the hook more than I thought it would be," Vogeler said. "It just seems like people want to still hear the Toadies. There was no reason for us not to record a new album."