About Me
Founded in 1984 by Rob "Capt." Morgan (Poplust Magazine publisher & former vocalist for Seattle's bubble-punk legends THE PUDZ), The Squirrels are a highly theatrical & comedic outfit that can best be described as a semi-surrealistic bubble gum rock & roll musical comedy workshop. Sort of. Either that, or you could just compare them to an AM/FM radio from another dimension that's gone totally out of control (sort of like a cross between a '70s High School dance band from Hell & a low-rent version of The Mothers). Again, sort of. Perhaps it's supposed to be "ART" or something. Maybe, as one ex-member-who-shall-go-nameless so candidly put it 'back in the day', the whole thing is basically just "a men's club with instruments". With, like, bubbles & stuff.In the end, the truth is that it's really sort of pointless to try & explain, analyze or pigeonhole what The Squirrels do at all. It is what it is, and BOY, what an "IS" it is am be ARE. Specializing in offering up what the band likes to call "total entertainment" (a term coined by Rob's long time heroes The Tubes), The Squirrels' world incorporates twisted takes on hits of the 60s, 70s & beyond, bizarre originals, rapid fire improv & low budget theatrics to create an act that truly has to be experienced to be fully understood. It's like a freakin' punk vaudeville Top 40 NIGHTMARE! And don't even ASK me about that damn talking Cabbage Patch Doll... OR that freaky Giant Dancing Squirrel. I mean, we don't wanna scare any little kids around here. Seriously. YIKES.
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Anyway, over the years a veritable who's-whooo of Seattle musicians have joined Morgan in the project including members of such well known & influential NW bands as The Young Fresh Fellows, The Posies, The Frazz, Prudence Dredge (Dredge guitarist/vocalist Joey Kline- now leading The Plaintiffs- has played in 89.2% of the Squirrels lineups to date), The Fastbacks, Radio Nationals, Bitter End, The Chicken Noodle Soups, Sister Psychic, & Duffy Bishop & The Rhythm Dogs. Rob & his seemingly ever evolving cast of co-horts have released numerous albums, singles & what not under The Squirrels name over the years, mostly on Conrad Uno's Popllama Products label. Critics seem to LOVE 'em (knock on wood), & tend to cite the highly acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute/parody "The Not-So-Bright Side Of The Moon" from 2000 &/or 1988's uber-schizo "Oz On 45 / Alone Again, Naturally" single (one of legendary British DJ John Peel's all time personal favorites) as the catalog's high water marks. Meanwhile, longtime fans often site the 1990 "What Gives?" CD (long out of print & capable of fetching stupid money on internet auction sites) as well as the band's overly joyous & truly frightening Christmas album "Digital Snowman" as personal favorites. On the live front Rob, Joey & the gang have played literally hundreds of shows together over the years in a variety of venues all over the West Coast: punk clubs, jazz clubs, festivals, parties, colleges, weddings, giant coffee pots- you name it, they've probably done it!
As of this writing, Rob, Joey & the gang are still out there doing the occasional club show, and are in the process of booking dates for what has been dubbed the "Death With Dignity Tour of Ballard" in 2009. Yes, folks- it's true. After kicking around the Seattle scene for 30 years, The Capt. is finally looking to retire.... sort of. See, the plan is to keep the project alive through more CDs & web-related-weirdness & the like, but as far as being a full time live band, it looks like The Squirrels will be going on indefinite hiatus immediately after XXXmas Show Number 20 on 12/12/09. The band are currently working on a new 4 song EP to commemorate their 25th Anniversary in Summer '09 as well- more on that later. And hey, fear not- the sporadic "reunion" gig just seems inevitable (it's more a matter of 'when' than 'if'). What IS for certain is that while they are often imitated (but never duplicated), the fabulous Squirrels Group are truly one of a kind. And we can all thank God for THAT, if you catch my drift. Oh, & if some strange reason you still want even more info on these freaks, please log on to thesquirrels.com ASAP (see link to the left) - it's a HOOT. Informative, too! (NOTE: there is also a pretty decent entry on the band posted on Wikipedia- head on over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Squirrels to check that out! And thanks to everyone who contributed.)
/ PS- The Squirrels are STILL looking for someone to put out "Rock Polisher", the follow up to TNSBSOTM, so all you label peeps &/or potential investors best be headin' on over to http://www.thesquirrels.com/poplust/2002CD.htm for more info on what is sadly shaping up to be the "Great Lost Squirrels Album"...it really is quite the Magnum Opus. Or something. Anyway, they ain't done YET, peoples!TO BE CONTINUED. Oh, & "Long Live Rock" & stuff like that. Ya know?
Bux Dirmedosequez (world famous music historian, brainiac & all around swell guy.
