Almost a month ago, hundreds of people crowded the barricades of the Fremont Theater stage with signs and homemade t-shirts, waiting for the final band to play their 15-minute set for the 3rd Annual Battle of the Bands. All for a chance to win $1,000, and a slot at the most anticipated local music festival of the year. 

The band that won the event was a four-piece group composed of fourth-year students at Cal Poly called Toad, and will celebrate their win and their recently announced three-year anniversary at 4 p.m. on the Cuesta Ridge Stage Saturday at Shabang Music Festival. 

While Toad’s popularity was very apparent in the popular vote at the Battle of the Bands, the members sat down with The Cuestonian two days before the Music Festival and talked about their beginnings and how each of them became familiar with their instruments.

“I started teaching myself guitar junior year of high school, and I started singing when I was in kindergarten,” said Annie Pagel, Toad’s lead singer and guitarist, as well as anthropology and geography major. 

Her love of singing came from her family, and she participated in musical performances in her early school years.  

“I started playing piano when I was in second grade. I always wanted to play guitar, but my dad said I had to take piano lessons before I learn guitar, because he plays guitar,” lead guitarist and experience industry management major Matthew Hendricks said. “When I was in fifth grade, my parents bought me a Squire Strat for Christmas, and that’s when I started taking lessons.” 

“I started playing guitar when I was 12, and then I did drums about four years after that,” drummer and sociology and public policy major Casey Brandt said. “It was nice that my school offered these classes where you could just get in a group of your choice, so you could form a band in class and then just play cover songs the entire quarter.” 

“I started playing junior year of high school. My friend was really good at guitar. I wanted to try and play with him, but guitar was too hard to jump into, so I just went straight to bass,” bassist and marine science major Rayne Lejano said.  “My sister had an acoustic guitar, and I’d learn bass songs on her guitar. And then when I’d go to my friend’s house, I would play on his bass.”

The band met shortly after starting Cal Poly. 

“We met our freshman year at Cal Poly in the dorms. We used to jam at the yakʔitʸutʸu parking garage,” Hendricks said. “And one day, Henry, from Skipping Breakfast, walked by the garage when we were playing and heard us, and told us that they were having a house show. So we kind of pulled together a set list, and came up with a band name, and then went from there.” 

Their early performances also consisted of performing around Cal Poly’s campus. 

“Our friend put a bunch of musicians that she knew in a group chat, and she wanted to put together a garden show at the Cal Poly garden,” Pagel said. “ I was just gonna play a solo set. And then someone texted me and asked if I would sing covers.”

Other band members got to know each other one-on-one through jam sessions in their college dorms

“I remember I kind of knew Rayne because we had mutual friends,” Hendricks said.  “And then one day I was playing guitar in my dorm. He walked by the window and yelled up and was like, ‘Yo Matt, let’s jam.’”

While Toad’s appearance at the Fremont Theater helped them win their spot at Shabang, the band credits its close connection with Libertine Brewing Company in downtown San Luis Obispo, and how that venue helped shape the band it is today. 

The band began playing at Libertine during September of its third year at Cal Poly, even before a stage was built inside. 

“When we first started playing the Libertine, all the bands were just standing on the floor,” Hendricks said. “Not really that many bands that played there.” 

“It was nicer because we could have all of our friends, for sure, come get in and see our show in the beginning stages, when they used to have a stage, just like in the center of the room,” Brandt said. “Since then, they’ve developed their live music scene a lot better, to the point where they now have a stage, and they have touring artists stopping by in town.” 

As the venue increased in popularity, the band has now played at Libertine almost ten times. They appreciated how Libertine was a space where friends could attend and watch them perform. The venue featured specialty drinks inspired by the band. Libertine was also the location of one of the band’s most memorable performances, the Halloween night concert, where the band dressed up as the characters of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and performed the film’s music. Libertine was also where they went after the Battle of the Bands event to celebrate their win with friends and loved ones. 

“It’s been really cool to watch it grow,” Hendricks said. “I feel like building up that venue has really helped the SLO music scene grow too, because it gives a lot of college bands opportunities to play in a bigger space and venue. Makes you feel pretty legit.”

“Even though it’s only 21 and up who can come watch, you can still play if you’re not 21,” Pagel said. “So it still gives the younger bands a chance to come in and experience what it’s like to have a better sound system and a bigger stage.”

“We’ve gotten to be really good friends with the guy, John, there that does all the booking,” Brandt said. “So I would say we’ve watched the Libertine grow, and maybe in John’s eyes, he would say that we’ve helped it grow too.” 

While the band expressed their love for performing at venues around SLO, they also express the stress that comes with balancing being fourth-year students and musicians. 

“It can be pretty brutal, because we all have jobs, we’re all full-time students and involved in other things than just music. So getting all of our schedules coordinated is kind of a miracle sometimes,” Pagel said. “I mean, for me, it’s my favorite part of the week when I get to come and play music, and favorite part of any month when we get to do a show. So it’s totally worth it.”

“We kind of realized that in order to get consistent practices going, we kind of need to book shows to do that,” Brandt said. “So we just kept continuing to book shows.” 

Though the band started their performances with covers by artists such as The Beatles, Elton John and Jimi Hendrix, shortly after, with aspirations of participating in future Battle of the Bands, Toad moved to writing and releasing original music on Soundcloud. 

“I’ll write songs for myself and then bring them to practice. And then we’ll make it our own and change things up,” Pagel said. “Everyone adds something, it always makes the song way better.”

The band is now looking ahead to its plans for after graduation, and what that will mean for future performances. According to Brandt, the members will be planning to stay in SLO for a certain time after graduation. 

“I think we all want to keep playing, whether it’s with the band, by ourselves or with other bands, I think it’s all important to us. To not give up music,” Pagel said. 

With the Shabang Live Music & Arts Festival kicking off Friday, the band is excited to make its Shabang debut on day two of the festival. Compared to the Battle of the Bands, band members said the event will be less nerve-racking, more exciting and the outdoor show that the band has been craving. 

“We’re one of the first two sets, so all of our friends will be there. It will be nice, low pressure,” Lejano said.

For more information about Toad performing at Shabang Music Festival this weekend, visit Shabang’s website, and follow The Cuestonian for more Shabang coverage.