Squirrel Bait was an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

active from 1983 to 1988. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

sound of the late 1980s as well as

math rock Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...

. Squirrel Bait, along with

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

, are often noted as precursors to the

emocore Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

("emotional hardcore") sound that arose from the D.C. hardcore punk scene with bands like Rites of Spring, Beefeater and

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

Squirrel Bait signaled the second coming of American punk – bands of little brothers and sisters who got to grow up on Black Flag and Hüsker Dü without a preparatory course in
Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...
. ... Like a hundred other little Düs across the country, Squirrel Bait managed to make a couple of records before spintering off to form five more bands. Unlike most of that punk rock loam, the members of Squirrel Bait chewed up their legacy and shat out something curious and consequential.Weisband, E & Marks,,C (editors) 1995. ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' 1st ed. Vintage books,

History

Origins: 1983–1987

The band started as a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

trio of high school friends, originally known as Squirrelbait Youth, with

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine (band), Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet a ...

on guitar and vocals, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and Rich Schuler playing drums for the band's first

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

in August 1983. By the time Squirrel Bait recorded their second demo in 1984, Peter Searcy had taken over vocal duties and

Britt Walford Britt Walford (born March 16, 1970) is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint. Early life Walford grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and attended the J. Graham Bro ...

was playing drums. Three of this demo's songs would later appear on the band's vinyl releases. Walford left and was replaced by Ben Daughtrey on drums and

Brian McMahan Brian McMahan (born January 26, 1969) is an American musician from Louisville, Kentucky. He was a guitarist and vocalist in the seminal rock bands Squirrel Bait and Slint. After the breakup of the latter in November 1990, he went on to play with ...

joined on second guitar. The band continued to play locally and toured to nearby cities where they opened for

and Chicago-based bands Naked Raygun and

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

, who recommended Squirrel Bait to their label, Homestead Records. Through Homestead, Squirrel Bait released an

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous EP in 1985, a single in 1986 and an LP in 1987, all of which were later compiled onto a single CD.

Breakup: 1988

In the midst of the young band's success, Grubbs and Johnson had moved away to college, and artistic tensions were causing a " jocks-vs.-

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

s" split in the band. These differences ultimately resulted in the band's break-up in 1988.

Post–breakup careers

Grubbs was subsequently a member of

Bitch Magnet Bitch Magnet was an American post-hardcore band who formed in 1986 at Oberlin College in Ohio and later moved to North Carolina. History Bitch Magnet released their first record in 1988. All of the band's albums were released on Communion Re ...

Bastro Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented wit ...

, Gastr del Sol and The Red Krayola and has released a number of solo projects. Daughtrey played with

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

and then with Love Jones. McMahan reunited with original Squirrel Bait drummer Britt Walford to form

Slint Slint was an American Rock music, rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986 after the dissolution of two local bands, Squirrel Bait and Maurice. It initially consisted of guitarist-vocalist Brian McMahan, guitaris ...

, and Both also appeared on the first single by

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

. McMahan also formed The For Carnation and played with Palace Music. Walford would later play in Evergreen and

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ( ...

(as Shannon Doughton). Johnson played in Bastro with Grubbs but then chose not to make a career in music, opting instead for a career as an attorney in Louisville. Searcy played with Big Wheel and Starbilly before embarking on a solo career. In 1997, Grubbs reissued Squirrel Bait's vinyl releases on Dexter's Cigar, an imprint of the Drag City label. The band's demo and live recordings have resurfaced on the internet.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Skag Heaven'' (1987) – Homestead Records

Demos

* First demo (1983, self-released cassette) * Second demo (1984, self-released cassette)

EPs

* '' Squirrel Bait'' (1985) – Homestead Records

Singles

* ''Kid Dynamite'' 7" (1986) – Homestead * ''Motorola Cloudburst'' 7" (1987) – The Pope Fanzine

References

External links

Squirrel Bait
on Myspace * Allmusic.com review of "Sun God" track from the first EP* {{Authority control Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Alternative rock groups from Kentucky Indie rock musical groups from Kentucky American post-hardcore musical groups American punk rock groups Homestead Records artists Drag City (record label) artists