Drag City Records
Squirrel Bait – Skag Heaven – New LP
Regular price
$ 28.00
Squirrel Bait was a punk rock band formed in the early 1980s in Louisville, Kentucky by guitarist David Grubbs and bassist Clark Johnson. The group's first demo tape, released under the name Squirrelbait Youth, featured drummer Rich Schuler and saw Grubbs handle both guitar and vocals. This lineup self-released a second tape in 1983. After Rich Schuler moved away, Britt Walford took over on drums and Peter Searcy joined as singer. In July 1984, this lineup recorded ten songs. Two songs from this studio session would appear on Squirrel Bait's self-titled EP for Homestead the following year. These recordings feature a more driving, melodic sound than the hardcore thrash of their early tapes. In May 1985, the band, now featuring Ben Daughtrey on drums and Brian McMahan on second guitar, returned to Sound on Sound to record six more songs. The band's debut self-titled EP, released in the fall of 1985, received much critical acclaim. The same lineup recorded the band's only LP, 1987's Skag Heaven. The group broke up after its release, owing to personal and musical differences within the band and Grubbs and Johnson's decision to leave Louisville for college.
"I was gonna say something about how Skag Heaven was unfairly maligned at the time as pseudo-Husker Dude Music but that would be a lie. Fact is, people LOST THEIR SHIT when they heard these Louisville teens* for the first time and with good reason. They were melodic / anthemic enough to engage those without a passing interest in pre-punk, post-punk or punk in the present moment. Those who ordinarily didn't give a hoot about anything remotely tuneful, sat up and, well, acknowledged the tunes... A cover of Phil Ochs' Tape From California informed for once and all that these were not garden-variety white trash youths.
*- this was another lie, by the way. We routinely fibbed about Squirrel Bait's respective ages in order to pique the curiosity of music journalists who leaned towards the chicken hawk side of things. A little trick we learned from Maurice Starr.
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