The Squirrels are a novelty

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

band based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Founded in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

by lead vocalist Rob Morgan (founder, as well, of the ''Poplust''

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

), the band went through numerous lineups, but has stuck to the aesthetic that

Peter Blecha Peter Charles Blecha is an American historian, curator, essayist, author, musician, and director of the Seattle-based Northwest Music Archives. He is primarily known for research related to aspects of Pacific Northwest musical history. In additio ...

describes as "cross-pollinat ng

bubblegum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

sensibilities with

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

attitudes." Although most of the Squirrels material has been, technically speaking,

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, they are by no means a typical cover band. They have a theatrical stage sense derived from

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

and

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...

(for a while in the mid-1990s, their stage paraphernalia included a working

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

), and an approach to arrangements that Morgan has described as "... the

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

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 Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

" by

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

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.

History

Rob Morgan arrived in Seattle in 1977 from

Edmonds, Washington Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located in the southwest corner of the county, facing Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located ...

, and lived initially in the same University District party house that spawned

The U-Men The U-Men were an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later ...

and

The Look "The Look" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was released in early 1989 as the fourth single from their second studio album, '' Look Sharp!'' (1988). It became an international hit, and was one of the most successful singles of 1989. It t ...

. His first band, The Fishsticks (1979), was a rather chaotic and amateurish affair, but its successor,

The Pudz 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 ...

(1980–1982), became a Seattle legend: in an exhibit at the

Experience Music Project The Museum of Pop Culture (or MoPOP) is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...

narrates the story of The Pudz warming up at Seattle's Showbox for a gig by UK punk band

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Media Books * 999 (anthology), ''99 ...

. As The Pudz played their set, performing the likes of The Ohio Express' "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" and the

R. B. Greaves Ronald Bertram Aloysius Greaves III (28 November 1943 – 27 September 2012) was an American singer who had chart success in 1969 with the pop single "Take a Letter Maria". A number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, ...

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—" The Pudz' sole single—a Dave Locksley original called "Take Me To Your, (Leader)" b/w "Take A Letter Maria"— was as close to a "hit" as one could have in the DIY era, receiving airplay on college radio up and down the West Coast. The single sold out quickly and was later incorporated into The Squirrels' CD ''Scrapin' For Hits''. In 2000, "Leader" was included in an

2-CD retrospective of Northwest Rock, which also featured more famous groups like

The Sonics The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on Punk rock, punk and Garage rock, garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspir ...

Paul Revere & The Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

. The Pudz broke up when lead guitarist Dave Locksley left town; Rob briefly put together a band called The Pamona Boners, then in 1984 he managed to draft the

Young Fresh Fellows Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

(YFF) to back him under the name Ernest Anyway and the Mighty, Mighty Squirrels, seen in retrospect as the first Squirrels lineup. This proved to be only a temporary expedient: most of the Fellows chose to concentrate on their own band, leaving Rob & YFF drummer Tad Hutchison to put together a new lineup that they christened New Age Urban Squirrels. This lineup, featuring Rob's high school buddy and fellow Fishstick Eric Erickson on guitar, really began to develop the band's cut-and-paste method of arranging, welding songs on top of songs live onstage a good two decades before the current DJ craze of mash ups. In 1986 local label

PopLlama Records PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce The Young Fresh Fellows' debut album ''The Fabu ...

released an album split evenly between the first two Squirrels lineups, with the Mighty Squirrels side consisting entirely of covers of songs by seminal British rockers

Johnny Kidd and the Pirates Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (known simply as The Pirates after their reunion) were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, during which they achieved considerabl ...

, a band that most Americans had never heard of. Over the next few years the band ran through numerous names: Squirrels Group '87, Ron Voyage and the New Squirrels, Squirrels Live Unit—one lineup that included longtime bassist Kevin Crosby and drummer Nate Johnson went by "Crosby, Squirrels, and Nate"—before finally settling down to just The Squirrels. The equally varied lineups intersected such Seattle groups as YFF,

The Fastbacks Fastbacks are a Seattle, Washington, punk rock band. Formed in 1979 by songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960), and friends Lulu Gargiulo (guitar and vocals, born October 12, 1960) and Kim Warnick (bass and vocals, born April 7, 1 ...

, The Dynette Set,

The Posies The Posies were an American rock band. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are influ ...

, and Pure Joy, and included several people with extensive musical theater experience. Guitarist/vocalist Joey Kline, who joined in 1985 and would become a long-term Squirrel, often "borrowed" musicians for the Squirrels from his many other musical projects. Other than Morgan and Kline, the band has had considerable turnover, with many musicians coming and going several times over the years. Erickson died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in 1996. Among the other frequent contributors have been jazz and soul guitarist Jimmy "J.T." Thomas, drummers Hollis the Bug & James "Cookie" Cookman, guitar wiz Aaron "A.T." Taylor, and bassist Matt Fox; for a time, a woman named Mary K. would show up on stage for every show and (almost inaudibly) "play" a

slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented and developed by American naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943 and successfully demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia on November 27, 1945. It can perform a number of tricks, ...

. The band has also had guest appearances by the likes of Re Styles of the Tubes, Roy Loney of

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage He ...

, Tortelvis of

Dread Zeppelin Dread Zeppelin was an American reggae rock band. Formed in 1989 in Sierra Madre, California, the band combined hard rock and reggae styles with humor. They are best known for performing the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style as sung by a La ...

, and

Skerik Skerik (born November 19, 1964) is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics. He is a f ...

of Critters Buggin'. By 2005, the band had taken on more of a "hobby rocker" status: with the band performing only a handful of shows a year, almost entirely within the Seattle city limits. Still, they maintained a steady & fairly rabid fanbase, with fans routinely flying in from all over the country for the band's annual XXXmas X-travaganza, an institution since 1990 that featured the Drunken Angel Bodyguards. After a long hiatus, the band revived in 2017 in the wake of the election of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

for a "Squirrels Trump Hate" tour. At this time Adam McKinney described them in the ''Weekly Volcano'' as "musical anarchists" and "a huge point of pride for the Puget Sound music scene." Andrew Hamlin, writing in Seattle weekly ''The Stranger'' described them as "still one of the city's greatest bands, now and forever. ... Rob Morgan... knows every rock-and-roll song ever recorded and can kill on at least five of them at the same time."

Music

Many of the songs the Squirrels perform live have never been released, because their tendency to combine elements of multiple songs raises issues with

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

law and tests the limits of

fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...

. Nonetheless, they have released numerous recordings over the years, some of them in general releases, others in limited editions. The Squirrels' single "Oz On 45" (1988) was a "

Stars on 45 Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland, it was always known as Starsou ...

"-style reworking of songs from ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' (and a fragment of a song about Oz by Mark Nichols). It was one of the 142 seven-inch records that British DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

had set aside in a box, to be grabbed if his house ever caught fire and he had to abandon the rest of his collection. (It had a typically eccentric B-side:

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s, with hits including " Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair" and "Get Down". His songs are of ...

's "

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. Recorded in 1971, it became a worldwide hit. The song did not originally appear on his 1972 studio album '' Back to Front'', but has been included in reissues ...

".) Perhaps the most widely respected Squirrels album is ''The Not-So-Bright Side of the Moon'' (2000), a song-by-song cover of the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'', described by

Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...

, of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' as a "...brilliant through-the-looking-glass reimagining of Pink Floyd's classic..." The best recorded evidence of the Squirrels recombinant approach can be found on their Christmas recordings, such as "Smoke on the Housetop" (combining

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

's "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album '' Machine Head''. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is ...

" with B.R. Hanby's "Up on the Housetop"), "Peaceful Easy Town of Bethlehem" (combining The

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" with "

O Little Town of Bethlehem "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a Christmas carol. Based on an 1868 text written by Phillips Brooks, the carol is popular on both sides of the Atlantic, but to different tunes: in the United States and Canada, to "St. Louis" by Brooks' collabora ...

"), or the lyrics of the carol "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...

" sung to the tune of the Three Dog Night song of the same name.

Discography

* The Pudz, "Take a letter Maria" b/w "Take me to your (leader)". 1981 Teenie Wompum Records (45 RPM); "Take me to your, (leader)" was also included in the 1981 Engram Records compilation '' Seattle Syndrome Volume One'' and in ''Wild And Wooly-The Northwest Rock Collection'', 2000

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

double CD. * New Age Urban Squirrels, "

Get Down Get Down may refer to: * Get down, a stance or movement in traditional African culture, in African American culture, and throughout the Black African diaspora Film and television * ''Get Down'' (film) or ''Treed Murray'', a 2001 Canadian film * ...

" (Gilbert O'Sullivan) on 1986 Popllama sampler ''12 Inch Combo Deluxe''. * New Age Urban Squirrels ''Five Virgins'', Ernest Anyway and the Mighty, Mighty Squirrels ''Sing the Hits of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates''; 1986 "split" LP, PopLlama * The Squirrels Group "Oz on 45" b/w "Alone Again (Naturally)" 1988 Popllama (45 RPM) * Mark Nichols / Puddletown Youth Symphony, "Little Boy Goes to Hell" 1988 Popllama ** A musical by Nichols; released as a box set of four 7-inch 45 RPM records with book illustrated by Rob Morgan; cast included Morgan, Kline, Nichols, Tad Hutchinson, Tom Vail (all sometime Squirrels) and many others. * The Mighty Squirrels, "Game of Love" and "Laughin' Your Head Off"; on compilation ''Oh, GOD! My Mom's on Channel 10!'', 1989 Nardwuar the Human Serviette (Canada) LP * The Squirrels Group, ''What Gives? (15 Big Ones)'', 1990 Popllama CD * The Squirrels, "Beautiful Sunday / Seasons in the Sun / The Hustle"; split 7-inch EP with Show Business Giants (''Blobs, Vol. 2''), 1991 Way Out! Records (Canada) * The Squirrels, "Betsy", on compilation ''Clam Chowder and Ice vs. Big Macs and Bombers'', 1992 Nardwuar the Human Serviette (Canada) LP * The Squirrels, "Seasons in the Sun / The Hustle", on compilation ''20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions'', 1992 Pravda Records CD * The Squirrels, ''Don't Fear The Snowman (The Squirrels' Christmas Album)'' 1992 Popllama cassette * The Squirrels, ''Harsh Toke of Reality'' 1993 Popllama CD * The Squirrels, "Let It Be" on compilation ''The EXOTIC BEATLES part 2'', 1994 Exotica Records (United Kingdom) * The Squirrels, ''Son of Snowman / Don't Fear the Snowman'' (Expanded Xmas album!) 1994 Poplust Audio/PopLlama cassette * Roy Loney & the Longshots, ''Full Grown Head'' 1994 Shake Records (Canada), 1995 Real Cool Records (Japan) ** Band includes Joey Kline, Jimbo Sangster, Scott McCaughey, Tad Hutchison, all sometime Squirrels; Rob Morgan is "guest vocalist" on 2 tracks. * The Squirrels, "Too Bad", on compilation ''Peace Wave'' (Seattle Peace Concerts compilation CD Vol. 2) 1996 Seattle Peace Concerts CD * The Squirrels, ''Scrapin' for Hits'' (27 song "Best Of" CD), 1996 Poplust Audio CD * The Squirrels, " With All My Might", on Sparks tribute ''Amateur Hour-When Do I Get To Do It My Way''; AAIIEE (with Rob Morgan on vocals) "At Home At Work At Play"; 1999 Fan Mael Records (The Netherlands) * The Squirrels, ''The Not-So-Bright Side Of The Moon'', 2000: Popllama Products * The Squirrels, ''Digital Snowman'' (expanded CD-R version of the Christmas album) 2000 Poplust Audio * The Squirrels, ''Live Bootleg Vol. One'' (limited edition CD-R, booklet) 2001 Poplust Audio Archival Series * The Squirrels, "Hawaii Take 5-0", on compilation ''Hold The Vocals: A Tribute to the Instrumental Hits of the 50s 60s 70s'' 2001 GO-Kustom Rekords * The Squirrels, ''Rock Polisher'', recorded 2002, not yet released. * The Squirrels, ''SQ/25'', 2009 Spirderdog Records/Rancho Canyon Music, under license from Poplust Audio

References

External links

* Forme
Official site

Semi-official site
on band-member Jimmy Thomas's domain * Dennis R. White
Rob Morgan and The Squirrels
Jive Time Records Northwest Music History
YouTube channel of band member Jimmy Thomas
contains several Squirrels videos, mostly live footage but also two "The Squirrels From Home" videos produced during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Squirrels American pop music groups PopLlama Records artists Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1984

History

Music

Discography

References

Further reading

External links