It’s always sad when a band with potential dies in a sudden burst of bad luck. This is the case with Florida’s For Squirrels.
The band formed during the grunge revolution in 1993. They traveled up and down the east coast in an attempt to gain recognition. In January 1995, the band signed with Sony/550 records. The four guys, of Jack Vigliatura IV on vocals, guitarist Travis Tooke, drummer Jack Greigo and bassist Bill White, recorded and released their major label debut Example. Before the album hit the streets, the band met with bad luck. Their tour van blew a tire and singer Vigliatura, White, and manager Tim Bender were killed in the accident. Both Tooke and Greigo suffered injuries.
And so it goes. The band’s album was released to a warm reception on college radio. This was when I was first exposed to them with the release of their Kurt Cobain dedicated tune ”Mighty K.C”.
Little can be said about For Squirrels since their career lasted just over two years before their lives were shattered in the van accident. But, what can be said is that this was a very promising group of guys with talent on their side. The album is on a whole pretty darned complete. Their sound is somewhere between typical grunge bands and more melodic groups like Ben Folds Five and even Soul Asylum.
The first song is ”8:02 PM”. It’s got great heavy guitars and feedback in addition to what appear to be melodic vocals thanks to Vigliatura. It’s a fast song that focuses much more on the musical whole than it does on vocals, meanings, or words. It’s a good song, not the best, but definitely worthy of my ears.
”Orangeworker” mixes pianos and bass with pretty darned good vocals. This is one of the best of the album. It sounds at least somewhat like R.E.M. circa earlier albums from the mid-1980’s. It’s a good track to say the very least. Definitely worth a listen.
Pounding drums and energy introduce ”Superstar”. The sound is actually reminiscent of mid-1990’s one hit wonders Seven Mary Three. This is a rock song on the whole. The only thing that separates it from rock is that fact that Vigliatura can and does manage to sing. It’s a fun track with a loud sound. I like it.
My introduction to For Squirrels came in the form of ”Mighty K.C.”. It’s a good, sad, depressing track…especially when you think about the fact that it’s ironically a tribute to Cobain. This one also sounds very much like R.E.M.. The sound is slower and softer than some of the other ones. The chorus picks up to a drum and guitar laden festival. It’s a good track, and a very special tribute to a man who had so much more to give.
”Under Smithville” is definitely alternative rock. It’s sparse with few heavy guitars. It’s more of a singalong than a rock song. It’s good, not great, just good. ”Long Live The King” is actually a ska song ala Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I like the heavy chorus and the fact that the song shows that the band is more than just wimpy alternative music.
Beginning with southern rock influenced riffs, ”The Immortal Dog and Pony Show” actually borders on Pink Floyd-esque psychedelics. It’s an interesting track with a pretty good sound on the whole.
”Stark Pretty” begins sounding like modern day punk mixed with ska mixed with rock. It’s not one of the best on the album, but it’s not bad. None of these songs are too bad. But, some aren’t great…like this one for example.
”Disenchanted” kind of annoys me a bit. It somehow sounds like a singsongy nursery rhyme and Vigliatura’s vocals just aren’t up to the standards the band sets in other songs. Finally, ”Eskimo Sandune” sounds like a song from a David Lynch film at times. It’s interesting and quirky and worthy of a listen. It’s by no means a great song, just good and interesting.
As I said before, there isn’t much to actually talk about here. This was a new band made up of four young guys from Florida. It shows great potential, but nothing more. It’s sad that they were never given the time to prove themselves. But, their sound could have easily been well received by fans…especially in the wake of grunge.
I give the band 3.5/5.0 stars. I wish I could given them four, but the songs are just better than average with the exception of two or three tracks that happened to be better than that.
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