Square was a short-lived musical trio from

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

who moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

in early 2000. It was composed of Sean Beste (vocals and keyboards), James Valentine (guitars) and

Ryland Steen Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

(drums). Their sound has been described as including elements of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, pop, and jazz fusion. The band moved to

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

after entering an

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an inte ...

-sponsored band competition. They won the grand prize, beating 600 other entrants. Shortly after winning the competition, they released their only full-length album, ''This Magnificent '', on an

indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

called ''Lucy Smith Music''. The band started playing many gigs in the area, including some with local band

Kara's Flowers Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Mor ...

. In 2001, the members of Kara's Flowers asked Valentine to join their group, an invitation that he accepted, effectively dissolving Square. Kara's Flowers changed its name to Maroon 5 and became one of the most commercially successful acts of the mid-2000s. Steen later joined the established ska band

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

. Beste (who was initially upset and unhappy by Valentine's decision to leave Square but says he no longer harbors any ill will) started a band called The Excuse and moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

for several years. He has since returned to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

area and has done some work with the band

Maxeen Maxeen was an American three-piece rock band based in Long Beach, California, United States. Signed to SideOneDummy Records in 2003, Maxeen released their debut eponymous album which was on an enhanced CD containing a photo slideshow with image ...

Band members

;1999 – 2001 *Sean Beste – vocals, keyboards * James Valentine – lead guitar *

– drums

References

External links

Square Official Website (Webarchive)

Square CD Baby website (Webarchive)

Square's MySpace page
Musical groups from Nebraska {{US-rock-band-stub