The Squirrels

This article is about the pop band. For other uses, see The Squirrels (disambiguation).
The Squirrels
The Squirrels performing at Mr. Spot's Chai House in 2006
Background information
Also known asErnest Anyway and the Mighty, Mighty Squirrels
New Age Urban Squirrels
Squirrels Group '87
Ron Voyage and the New Squirrels
Squirrels Live Unit
Crosby, Squirrels, and Nate
OriginSeattle, Washington, United States
GenresAlternative
Years active1984 (1984)–2009 (2009), 2017 (2017)-
LabelsPopLlama Records
Members(2017 lineup[1])
Rob Morgan
Joey Kline
Jimmy "J. T." Thomas
Bruce Laven
Keith Lowe
Bill Ray

(Final 2010 lineup)
Rob Morgan
Joey Kline
Hollis The Bug (aka John Fleischman)
Matt Fox
Aaron "A.T." Taylor
Rusty Urie
Past membersScott McCaughey, Tad Hutchison, Jimbo Sangster, Chuck Carroll, Kurt Bloch, John Ramberg, Bill Larsen, Crispi, Riki, Eric Erickson, Craig Ferguson, Mark Nichols, Kevin Crosby, Jon Nay, Nate Johnson, Tom Vail, Mick Vee, Charles Wheeler, Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, Dave "Gimpy" Guinn, Andy Davenhall, J. Stotler, T.J. Hanify, Mark Hoyt, Mary K, Mike Musburger, Don Pawlak, Baby Cheevers, Cookie, Tom Morrison
Websitewww.thesquirrels.com

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 describes as "cross-pollinat[ing] bubblegum sensibilities with punk attitudes."[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Although most of the Squirrels material has been, technically speaking, cover versions, they are by no means a typical cover band. They have a theatrical stage sense derived from Alice Cooper and The Tubes (for a while in the mid-1990s, their stage paraphernalia included a working guillotine), and an approach to arrangements that Morgan has described as "... the Frankenstein 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" by Del Shannon in there because it's better!'"[2]

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.[11] The band returned to the stage in 2017.[12]

  1. ^ "About" page, Squirrels Facebook page, 2017-01-25. Accessed online 2017-04-17. As of 2021-02-03, this URL has been superseded by something unrelated, and it was not captured on the Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Krugman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Webb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Register-Guard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Berman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Slaughter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CD review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lane was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Upcoming Squirrels Shows, thesquirrels.com. Accessed 2009-07-26.
  12. ^ Facebook post, Squirrels Facebook page, 2017-01-25. Accessed online 2017-04-17. As of 2021-02-03, this page has moved to https://www.facebook.com/poplust/posts/10154125308952791.