Squirrel Bait – Sun God…. 80’s Underground Mondays

I absolutely love this band’s sound…and you have to admit they were thinking outside of the box with the band name. 

They were originally known as Squirrelbait Youth, with David Grubbs on guitar and vocals, Clark Johnson, Ben Daughtrey and Brian McMahan joined on second guitar.

They were known as a pop punk band that came out in 1983 from Louisville, Kentucky. Squirrel Bait (I love typing that) opened for such bands as Hüsker Dü and Chicago-based bands Naked Raygun and Big Black, who recommended Squirrel Bait to their label, Homestead Records.

Through Homestead, Squirrel Bait released an eponymous EP in 1985, a single in 1986 and an LP in 1987, all of which were later compiled onto a single CD. The Squirrel Bait  record released in 1985 didn’t make any waves at first.. What helped them was Bob Mould from Husker Du and Evan Dando of the Lemonheads talking it up among others in the music press, people began to notice this band. 

The band broke up in 1987 and most of the members joined other bands and David Grubbs did the same and started to release solo albums as late as 2017. 

Sun God

I feel the power of the sun on my back
So good
That heat’s good
That light has a mind to take it away

Take it away…

Let something go
If it comes back it’s a good thing
A good life
A good feeling
But it has a mind to take it away

Take it away…
Take it away and it’s gone

I feel the power of the sun on my back
So good…that heat’s good
That light has a mind to take it away

Take it away…
Take it away and it’s gone

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

29 thoughts on “Squirrel Bait – Sun God…. 80’s Underground Mondays”

    1. Yes it’s hard to forget their name!
      That is a good point about the grunge…I didn’t know what to expect when I saw their name…I was pleasantly surprised.

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  5. fun name! Decent sounding song, like someone else noted, rather an early-grunge feel to it that suggests maybe if they’d kept at it a few more years, they might have had their chance. Who knows. Can’t think of a lot of pop/rock acts out of Kentucky.

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    2. I ran across this today and we were talking the other day the difference in the solid state and tube consoles etc… here is what the Beatles engineer said about Abbey Road…this explains it better than I can…

      Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio’s valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its “kinder, gentler” feel relative to their previous albums.

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    1. Yes it does…I didn’t notice until someone said something…oh goodness I HATE asking this…I’ll make a deal with you…if you would read my Sunday post you don’t have to read another! lol. No the reason I ask is not because of the song…it’s because of the story…it’s unbelievable…from having everything go your way to the worse. A lot of readers didn’t see it Sunday…I wish I would have saved it for the week. I like the song but the circumstances were crazy. Again I’m not pushing likes or me…just their story.

      https://powerpop.blog/2021/10/03/billy-rancher-and-the-unreal-gods-uptown/

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      1. I’m glad to be referred back to a special post. I seem to be about a day behind these days, and some posts are getting away from me. That was indeed the highest of highs and most devastating end for a band.

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      2. I think the post blended in with some others that day….I had many regulars miss it…most posts I could care less about but that one was different.

        Also I am sorry for double posting on your blog…trying to change it and I didn’t realize I clicked post.

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