Squirtgun

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Squirtgun is an American punk rock band from Lafayette, Indiana formed by record producer Mass Giorgini in 1993.^[1][2][3][4]

History

1993–1998

Squirtgun originally consisted of Mass Giorgini (Bass, Vocals), Matt Hart (Vocals, Guitar), Flav Giorgini (Guitar), and Dan Lumley (Drums), growing out of previous West Lafayette, IN bands Rattail Grenadier and Teeth and the Man.

The band signed to

In 1996 the band released their second EP, Mary Ann, a tribute to the character from Gilligan's Island. A video was filmed for the title track, and featured an appearance from Mary Ann herself, actress Dawn Wells. The video was released in the Spring of 1997 and shown on MTV's 120 Minutes and put into regular rotation on MTV2.

Squirtgun's second full-length, Another Sunny Afternoon, was also released in the Spring of '97. Several songs from Another Sunny Afternoon were featured in major motion pictures and TV shows, including "Come On Let's Go" in The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, "You're the Greatest" on Fox Television Network's Clueless sitcom, "My Jeannette" in the Disney film My Date with the President's Daughter and "Hey Louise" in the Disney film Alley Cats Strike.

Hiatus

In fall 1998, Squirtgun went on a hiatus in order to pursue other interests and other band projects.

Mass and Dan joined

While Mass is primarily known for having founded Sonic Iguana Studios and for his production career, having produced music for Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, the Smugglers and many other punk bands, he is also an accomplished academician. Mass earned a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature with a focus on the Golden Age from Purdue University and has appeared at numerous academic conferences and published book chapters and articles in literary and scholarly journals.^{[citation needed]} He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Purdue University in Italian, Spanish, and Theatre, and was also an assistant professor of Humanities at Ivy Tech Community College in Lafayette, Indiana. Mass continues to produce and master albums for several international recording artists.^{[citation needed]}

Matt received his MFA in creative writing and began teaching in the Academic Studies Department at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, a four-year college of Art and Design, and has since been promoted to head of their Liberal Arts department. His poems and reviews have been published in numerous literary journals, including Conduit, Ploughshares, and Spinning Jenny. He is the editor of Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking & Light Industrial Safety.^{[citation needed]}

Flav also took an academic route, earning a Ph.D. degree in molecular genetics and publishing manuscripts in several respected scientific journals, including Development and Molecular and Cellular Biology. He also founded guitarpunk.com and the GPC guitar company, designing original guitars used by bands such as Alkaline Trio, Screeching Weasel, The Queers, Allister and many more.

Dan Lumley was a founding member of Squirtgun, and also spent several years working as a drum tech and editing engineer at Sonic Iguana Studios, assisting on albums by bands such as

Zac Damon has performed with Squirtgun since 1995, when he toured as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist immediately following the release of the band's debut Lookout Records album. Damon has regularly participated in touring and recording with Squirtgun, performing with the band extensively across the United States and Europe. Damon also wrote a pair of songs recorded by the band: "Dysfynctional," which appeared on the Squirtgun/Teen Idols split EP "The Dysfunctional Shadowman," and "Trial and Error," which appeared on the album "Fade to Bright." Damon is also in the current lineup of Squirtgun, which most recently performed at the Lookouting Festival at 924 Gilman in Berkeley, California on January 7, 2017.

In the summer of 2001, Squirtgun regrouped and began work on the album Fade To Bright, for Honest Don's Records. Fade To Bright was released in Summer 2003, supported by a US tour. In the Fall of 2003, legendary punk rock drummer Mike Felumlee (Smoking Popes, Alkaline Trio) replaced Dan on drums, and Squirtgun hit the road with The Ataris, Hopesfall, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. Also, in 2003 Squirtgun recorded "Make it wreck", a song with the contribution of the vocalist of Anti-Flag, Geovanny Duran (the vocalist of El Guato, a ska/punk Costa Rican band), and two more important punk rockers. In the spring of 2004, Squirtgun toured the U.K.

2008–present

Squirtgun played their first show in almost 4 years in their hometown of Lafayette on February 9, 2008 at 'The Venue'. Over 400 people attended the show, however, almost 600 showed up for the performance; the owners were forced to prevent a large number of people from entering the business because the building was far beyond its safe capacity. It was a benefit show for the local

• Zac Damon - lead vocals, guitar (1995–1998, 2001–2004, 2008–present)
• Mass Giorgini - vocals, bass (1993–1998, 2001–2004, 2008–present)
• Kevin Sierzega - vocals (2001–2004, 2008–present)
• Dan Panic - drums (2016–present)

Former members

• Matt Hart - lead vocals, guitar (1993–1998)
• Flav Giorgini - guitar (1993–1998)
• Matt Leonard - lead vocals, guitar (1996–1998)
• Dan Lumley - drums (1993–1998)
• Mike Felumlee - drums (2001–2004, 2008–2016)

Discography

Albums

• Squirtgun (Lookout! Records)^[6]
• Another Sunny Afternoon (Lookout! Records)
• Fade to Bright (Honest Don's/Fat Wreck Chords)
• Broadcast 02.09.08 (Kid Tested/Go-Kart Records)

EPs and Singles

• Shenanigans EP (1995) (Lookout! Records)
• Blue Christmas Single (1995) (Sonic Iguana Records)
• Mary Ann EP (1996) (Lookout! Records)
• White Christmas Single (1997) (Sonic Iguana Records)
• Jingle-Bell Rock Single (1999) (Interpunk Records)
• Live in Italy Split Single with the Real Swinger (2000) (Ballroom Blitz Records)
• The Dysfunctional Shadowman Split EP with Teen Idols (2002) (Asian Man Records)

References