RIP "Tank" From Toad's

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It was about four o'clock this morning that I read

(00:02):
a post from Toad's place that my main man, Tank
has passed. Anthony Tank Dunbar. I might have even thought
he'd already passed. If I'm being perfectly honest. It was
the eighties and the nineties. Well look, man, they say
right here in the play he worked at Toads for
over forty years. Fact of the matter is, the majority

(00:26):
of my interaction with Tank came as an enthusiastic Toad's patron.
I don't know that this sounds so it's so uncomfortable
to say. I don't know if I ever had a
conversation with him where he knew of me as a
radio guy. Even all that stuff I did with Casey
one to one at Toad's in the late nineties, I think

(00:50):
Tank I was just one of thousands upon thousands of
familiar faces who partied there, who he watched puke in
front of the place. It is a legend in the
bouncing world. And you know, and I mentioned him often
on this show and certainly the case he won a
one show. But like I said, he did not suffer fools.

(01:12):
He was not a guy that was good of that
changes nothing for me. You're now a morning radio guy,
and I'm supposed to let you in through this door,
you know. And I've watched you puke everywhere in here.
I watch you make out with girls and the corners
in here. Although he never had to, he threw many
of my many guys I grew up with. He would

(01:34):
just lift them up and carry people out. He didn't
get into the exchanges, physically picked you up, carried you out.
I didn't even realize this, but Toad's has posted it
on their Facebook page. Tank played briefly for the Eagles.
It's not surprising. He had the football player you know
stature about him, and they write a person bigger than life,

(01:56):
with an even bigger heart. Most people loved him, some
were afraid of him, but all respected him. I think
everybody loved him. I remember watching people getting carried out
by Tank, and there was no flailing arms or anything
like that. Once you were lifted up by Tank, you
were like, well, I'm on my way out. I love
Tank and I'm certainly not going to try to kick

(02:17):
him in and wiggle. And I never saw that. If anything,
it's a I think they even wrote it somewhere on here. Yeah. Yeah.
To this day, people that were thrown out of Toad's
Place by Tank hold that moment as a badge of honor,
and he would even get asked for his autograph in
unusual places and times. It's true, and it's a sad

(02:38):
day for New Haveners and for Toad's Place denizens. Rest
in peace. Tank,