The Squirrels are a novelty pop band based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. 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 Southeast A ...

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

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

), 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. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

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 Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

and

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 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 early day ...

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

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

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

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

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". In 1999, he was ind ...

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 no ...

, and lived initially in the same

University District University District can refer to a location in the United States: *University District, Detroit, Michigan * University District, Columbus, Ohio *University District, San Bernardino, California *University District, Seattle The University District ...

party house that spawned

The U-Men The U-Men was 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 gr ...

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 ...

. 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, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

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, So ...

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 Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...

. As The Pudz played their set, performing the likes of

The Ohio Express The Ohio Express is an American bubblegum pop band formed in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967. Though marketed as a band, it would be more accurate to say that the name "Ohio Express" served as a brand name used by Jerry Kasenetz's and Jeffry Katz's Su ...

' "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 chart, this single sold ...

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, Tacoma, Washington (state), Washington that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on Punk rock, punk and Garage rock, garage music worl ...

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 in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

. 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 is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

(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 Fab ...

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, 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 were 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, ...

, The Dynette Set,

The Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. 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 i ...

, 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 and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in 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 by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its ow ...

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

Roy Loney Roy Loney (April 13, 1946 – December 13, 2019) was an American rock musician, best known as the original lead singer of the Flamin' Groovies. The Groovies original line-up issued releases on Epic Records and Kama Sutra Records, which ''Rolling S ...

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 Head' ...

, Tortelvis of

Dread Zeppelin Dread Zeppelin is an American reggae rock band. Formed in 1989 in Sierra Madre, California, the band combines 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 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 founding member of Critt ...

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 served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

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 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, education ...

law and tests the limits of

fair use Fair use is a 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 balance the interests ...

. 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 UK and Ireland it was known as Starsound (aka ...

"-style reworking of songs from '' The Wizard of Oz'' (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), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

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". O'Sullivan's s ...

's "

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was recorded in 1972 at the same time as his album '' Back to Front'' and was a worldwide hit. The single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''Bi ...

".) 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 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 experimentation, philo ...

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 Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'', 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'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for 15 ...

, of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' 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 music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

's "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, first released from the band's sixth studio album ''Machine Head'' (1972), which chronicles the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino. In a 2004 publication by ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

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

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

' "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, to "St. Louis" by Brooks' collaborator, Lewis R ...

"), or the lyrics of the carol "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...

" 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 ''Seattle Syndrome Volume One'' is a compilation of Seattle-based bands and artists released on vinyl and cassette in late 1981 on Engram Records.Tow, Stephen: ''The Strangest Tribe. How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge.'' Sasquatch ...

'' and in ''Wild And Wooly-The Northwest Rock Collection'', 2000

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a 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, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

double CD. * New Age Urban Squirrels, "

Get Down Get down is a stance, posture or movement in many traditional African cultures and throughout the African diaspora. It involves bending at the waist and knees, bringing the body low to the ground in moments of ecstasy or intensity. Bending at the ...

" (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 Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...

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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. {{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