The Squirrels
| The Squirrels | |
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The Squirrels performing at Mr. Spot's Chai House in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Ernest Anyway and the Mighty, Mighty Squirrels New Age Urban Squirrels Squirrels Group '87 Ron Voyage and the New Squirrels Squirrels Live Unit Crosby, Squirrels, and Nate |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Genres | Alternative |
| Years active | 1984–2009, 2017- |
| Labels | PopLlama Records |
| Associated acts | The Pudz |
| Website | www |
| Members | (2017 lineup) Rob Morgan Joey Kline Jimmy "J. T." Thomas Bruce Laven Keith Lowe Bill Ray (Final 2010 lineup) Rob Morgan Joey Kline Hollis The Bug (aka John Fleischman) Matt Fox Aaron "A.T." Taylor Rusty Urie |
| Past members | Scott McCaughey, Tad Hutchison, Jimbo Sangster, Chuck Carroll, Kurt Bloch, John Ramberg, Bill Larsen, Crispi, Riki, Eric Erickson, Craig Ferguson, Mark Nichols, Kevin Crosby, Jon Nay, Nate Johnson, Tom Vail, Mick Vee, Charles Wheeler, Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, Dave "Gimpy" Guinn, Andy Davenhall, J. Stotler, T.J. Hanify, Mark Hoyt, Mary K, Mike Musburger, Don Pawlak, Baby Cheevers, Cookie, Tom Morrison |
The Squirrels are a novelty pop band based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1984 by lead vocalist Rob Morgan (founder, as well, of the Poplust zine), the band went through numerous lineups, but has stuck to the aesthetic that Peter Blecha describes as "cross-pollinat[ing] bubblegum sensibilities with punk attitudes."
Although most of the Squirrels material has been, technically speaking, cover versions, they are by no means a typical cover band. They have a theatrical stage sense derived from Alice Cooper and The Tubes (for a while in the mid-1990s, their stage paraphernalia included a working guillotine), and an approach to arrangements that Morgan has described as "… the Frankenstein method of song arrangement… 'Well, we like these verses, but the chorus on that song is way better. So we'll just graft it right on there, make a whole new beast.' We just start fooling around, and then we go 'Hey, this Alice Cooper song fits right on there, and to hell with the chorus. Let's put the chorus of "Runaway" by Del Shannon in there because it's better!'"
In late 2008, the Squirrels announced a year ahead of time that they would be breaking up the band and referred to their last year's gigs as the "Death With Dignity Tour"; their last show in that era was the December 12, 2009 20th Annual XXXmas show. The band returned to the stage in 2017.
Rob Morgan arrived in Seattle in 1977 from Edmonds, Washington, and lived initially in the same University District party house that spawned The U-Men and The Look. His first band, The Fishsticks (1979), was a rather chaotic and amateurish affair, but its successor, The Pudz (1980–1982), became a Seattle legend: in an exhibit at the Experience Music Project, Mark Arm narrates the story of The Pudz warming up at Seattle's Showbox for a gig by UK punk band 999. As The Pudz played their set, performing the likes of The Ohio Express' "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" and the R. B. Greaves hit "Take a Letter, Maria", a group of people in front of the stage jeered and pelted them. Arm's version of the story suggests a large group of hecklers, but according to Morgan it was "a small group… trying desperately to out 'punk rock' each other, while the rest of the audience… smart enough to realize that punk was much more of a mindset than a hairstyle & a jacket… looked on in befuddled amusement—"
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Wikipedia