''Skag Heaven'' is the only full length Studio Album by the American punk rock band

Squirrel Bait Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1987. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as ...

, released in 1987 through Homestead Records. Squirrel Bait disbanded after the album's release and the band's members went on to form

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

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 with ...

and a number of other influential

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

and

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

bands.

Background

After the release of their

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous EP, guitarist David Grubbs and bassist Clark Johnson went off to college, providing an obstacle for the band to rehearse or work on new material together. When Grubbs and Johnson returned for the summer, Squirrel Bait went on tour, supporting

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

, and

Volcano Suns Volcano Suns was an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts formed by Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott in 1984.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 559 History The band was founded i ...

in various cities around the U.S. The tour was also a road test for their new songs that would comprise a new album. After the group recorded, Grubbs and Johnson returned to school and prompted the end of the band before the album's release.

Single

The band went into the studio with engineer Howie Gano in 1986 and recorded the songs "Kid Dynamite" and "Slake Train Coming". While listening to the mixes, guitarist

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, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale ...

invited Karl Meyer of local band Human Zoo to do some backtracked vocals based on a dream related by Julian Bevan from the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

band Sluggo: "Tiny people, tiny people. So small you can fit them in the palm of your hand. Prove that they're not real and win a hundred dollars." The lyrics can be heard, slowed down and played backwards, during the song's final instrumental section. At concerts, the band would speak the words (forwards) during the song. Grubbs re-recorded this backtracking for the LP version of the song. The single's two songs were not originally intended for inclusion on ''Skag Heaven'', but the band only had eight songs for the album and wanted to release something longer than their first EP.

Additional songs

For ''Skag Heaven'', Grubbs wrote most of the band's music and lyrics, the sole exception being "Too Close to the Fire", the sole Squirrel Bait song penned by vocalist Peter Searcy. The band also reworked a version of the song "Black Light Poster Child", which originally appeared on an earlier demo tape with

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 ...

on drums. The LP version contained different lyrics. The mostly instrumental "Rose Island Road" takes its title from a winding country road that held sentimental value to the members of Squirrel Bait and their friends. The road would later serve as a backdrop for the car on the cover of the first album by Brian McMahan's post-Squirrel Bait group

. The album's final song is a version of

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

' "Tape to California". Guitarist David Grubbs would later cover Ochs with his own post-Squirrel Bait band,

Track listing

All songs written by Squirrel Bait except for "Tape from California" by

Personnel

;Squirrel Bait *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Clark Johnson –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck 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 ...

–

Peter Searcy Peter Searcy is a musician from Louisville, Kentucky. Spin Magazine, Scott Irwin, and Amanda Green have compared Searcy's straightforward songwriting style and voice to those of Paul Westerberg. Like Paul Westerberg of The Replacements, Searc ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Ben Daughtrey –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, front design ;Additional musicians and production *Guy Dove –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*Howie Gano –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

References

{{Authority control 1987 debut albums Squirrel Bait albums Homestead Records albums