Lapdog

Soon after the breakup of Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1999, Todd Nichols (vocals & guitar) and drummer Randy Guss (drums) formed Lapdog with Johnny Hawthorn (guitar & backing vocals) and Albie Dunbar (bass). Their debut, Near Tonight, delivers a suite of songs that will appeal to any TtWS listener, albeit with a bit less diversity. Highlights include the harmonized vocals on Why Believe, a solid power ballad in I Don't Mind, and all around alt-rock stalwart Perfect You.

Their sophomore effort, Mayfly, was a disappointment by comparison. Songs that sounded great in the demo versions released on their web site (such as I'm Not Impressed and Just When I Needed Someone) suffered from wooden performances and overproduction on the album. And the songwriting simply isn't up to the standards set by Near Tonight and TtWS.

Their official site lapdogmusic.com is still up, but a bit out of date.