When Lisa Umbarger, Vaden Todd Lewis, and Charles Mooney met while working at Sound Warehouse on Camp Bowie Blvd. back in the late 1980s, they forged what would become arguably the greatest rock band to ever come out of the city of Fort Worth.
“We all loved music and decided to start a band,” Umbarger said. “Charles and I were beginners, so it was like being thrown in the deep end of the pool. We had to learn to swim quickly.”
The Toadies bassist now makes her home in Aledo, but reflects fondly on her time with the band renowned for such classics as Possum Kingdom, I Come From the Water, Tyler, and Back Slider.
“It was my dream from a very young age to be in a band,” Umbarger said. “I played college sports and never really had the time to take on anything else. I was in a place where I was reevaluating my life and I made the switch to music and never looked back.”
And the fact that she, Lewis, and Mooney all happened to be working in the same store at the same time is not lost on Umbarger.
“The Toadies was catching lightning in a bottle,” Umbarger said. “We had a deep love for what we were creating and we were doing it with our best friends. The music community in DFW was amazing and we were very fortunate to be a part of this surge of great bands…Reverend Horton Heat, Tripping Daisy, Brutal Juice, Baboon, Caulk, and Slow Roosevelt to name a few.
“We all supported each other and helped propel the music scene. It’s something that is lacking in DFW now, although it is really interesting to see what Leon Bridges is doing. It feels similar and Leon is definitely lifting up the new up-and-coming talent.”
Umbarger comes from an Air Force family and grew up in many places, eventually settling in Fort Worth and graduating from Western Hills High School.
The Aledo woman said she has many great memories from her time with the Toadies, having had the opportunity to meet and play with so many of her idols.
“Although we were in a very successful band, we never lost that awe of seeing great musicians play,” Umbarger said. “When we were recording our second record, Feeler at Willie Nelson’s studio in Austin, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin stopped by the studio. It is very hard to describe how nervous and excited I was just being in the same room as that genius.”
Umbarger is still in touch with Mark Reznicek and Darrel Herbert, but sadly a falling out with Vaden Todd Lewis has never been resolved.
Umbarger said that the life of a rock star can be overwhelming and that there were times when she wished that she could just spend an evening “chilling and watching TV,” but said for the most part, it was really amazing.
“I made lifelong friends and got to see the world,” Umbarger said. “I woke up every day grateful that this is my life. The biggest challenge was the one that eventually broke the band apart. We had a lot of people telling us things and the truth got muddied. Our really tight friendships were stressed and couldn’t withstand the outside pressure. I think we all still love each other. It would be hard to go through all those years and not have fondness in your heart for these people.”
Two years ago, Umbarger began a new venture when she started her podcast Jackalope Tales with Charles Mooney, and Umbarger said the podcast has allowed her to rekindle her times with her band.
“Jackalope Tales really began when we had to do interviews for the Toadies,” Umbarger said. “We loved to spin yarns and it became a creative way to talk about touring. When Charles and I started talking, we realized that people were interested in our band stories, especially when we pulled back the curtain and talked about things other musicians were afraid to divulge. We were lucky enough to be picked up by the folks at Wicked Apple Media and started the official podcast in 2023.”
Umbarger said she loves doing the podcast but added it is not always easy.
“It is more work than most people might think,” Umbarger said. “Charles and I are a good team, but I have to admit, Charles is doing to the heavy lifting of recording and editing. He is not only a great guitarist and creative guy, he is good at tech stuff.”
People can find the podcast on Spotify, AmazonMusic, YouTube, and Apple and Umbarger said the duo is “proud to be in the top 25 of music podcasts.”
“Being in the Toadies still opens doors for me,” Umbarger said. “I am humbled by the love that people still have for the music we created. It is crazy to think about the little legacy we made from playing in a garage.”
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