Hello little squirrel…
2-track “EP” demo - Fall 1982
Don’t Let The Beat
As the band’s idea of being an entity, their identity, started to emerge, so did the need to document it. They needed a tape to promote themselves with prospective venues, and also to release something publicly, to spread the word. The vinyl “EP” format was in vogue, more than a single but less than an album, a quickie. The notion of pressing one involved money, and initiative, the first being in short supply. But that didn’t stop them trying.
The notions converged into four songs chosen for production. They were selected to showcase talent, versatility, and hopefully, marketability. The wilder thrash numbers were bypassed in favor of broader dance favorites, aligning with the uber-popular Police. As he keyboard torch passed from Lisa to Russ, they regrouped sonically. Russ with his expertise, gear, and enthusiasm enabled the Thanksgiving weekend sessions.
Telegraph
Russ: “My family had “inherited” an old Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder from the music director at our church. Reel-to-reel recorders were nothing special at the time, but this Sony had a special feature-the record could be turned on or off for each track individually so overdubbing was possible! Too Kewl!
On Friday, I brought the deck over to the Squirrel Hut. Peter, Danny and Matt were there, so we set up the studio to record their instruments on the first track. The mixer we were using only had 6 channels and a mono output. I don’t remember how many mics we had (some were Radio Shack specials), but we managed to get a decent sound.
I think the first day the guys recorded track one for the songs “Don’t Let the Beat Pass You By” and “Telegraph”. Being not very sophisticated about recording at the time, it was record the entire song all the way through. If there were mistakes, either go back and re-record the entire thing or let the mistake go.
Wanna Do You
Over the weekend, Paul was on hand for the overdubs and two more songs “Wanna Do You” and his own “Doomsday Prophets”. The results were informative. “Doomsday Prophets” came off a winner, very tight. “Don’t Let The Beat” and “Wanna Do You” while indeed danceable, drifted slightly, but held the pace.”Telegraph”, the rocker, outgrew it’s garage boots, becoming a saturated wall of sound anthem, perhaps due to the release after concentrating so hard on the others. And, there was Russ, playing the almighty Casiotone!
Echo, or analog delay, became a prominent feature, on guitars and vocals. Diverse influences such as Robert Fripp/Brian Eno, U2’s Edge, and dub reggae filtered into the mix, seldom in moderation.
Doomsday Prophets
Well, it didn’t make it to vinyl (although that would have been a cool artifact!), but a couple dozen copies made the rounds of friends (thanks Ben H.!), bookers, and “ArtViews”, Ed Danilowicz’ show on WHQR. In retropsect it represents what the Squirrels were about as much as any subsequent effort. It’s complete, succicnt, and shows both the early enthusiasm and the intense care about what they were doing. The ambition.
