Tad was formed in 1988 by lead vocalist/guitarist Tad Doyle and bassist Kurt Danielson, they had previously played together in a band called Bundle of Hiss. With the addition of guitarist Gary Thorstensen and drummer Steve Wied (briefly of Skin Yard) the lineup was completed, and they soon signed with Sub Pop. Their debut album was released in 1989, with the title God's Balls, and was produced by Jack Endino. They would then tour as the opening act for Nirvana on the Bleach tour. 1990 found them again in the studio, this time with Steve Albini producing what would become their second full length, Salt Lick. 1991's 8-Way Santa found Tad switching producers once again, now to Butch Vig (of Nevermind fame). At this point, Tad was building a growing cult following, and appeared in the movie Singles in a cameo role. Tad then had a line-up change with Steve Wied being replaced by Josh Snider, a label change to Giant (a subsidiary of Warner Brothers) and another new producer, this time J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. The new record, 1993's Inhaler failed to find a larger audience for Tad, and with Giant being displeased at a promo poster for the album featuring a picture of Bill Clinton smoking a joint with the caption "This is heavy sh*t." Giant ended up dropping the band from its roster. Thorstensen then left in 1994, and Tad became a trio. They subsequently recorded a live-in-the-studio look back over their career appropriately titled Live Alien Broadcasts that was released in 1995 on Futurist Records. They then signed to another major label, this time a subsidiary of Elektra called EastWest, which released Infrared Riding Hood later in 1995. Although they were dropped from EastWest, they kept playing shows for a few years afterward, Snider left in 1997 and was replaced by ex-Foil member Mike Mongrain. This line-up of Tad would only put out one final release on Amphetamine Reptile before disbanding. Kurt Danielson went on to join Valis along with Van Connor (Screaming Trees) and Dan Peters (Mudhoney) while Tad Doyle formed Hog Molly and released an album called Kung-Fu Cocktail Grip in 2001 on Kool Arrow Records.