The Squareshooters' Final Show Tonight

Download: The Squareshooters - "Don't Answer"
Download: The Squareshooters - "$10 Camera"

The Squareshooters will be playing their final show tonight (Friday, January 26, 2007) at Big V's, everything starts at 10 p.m. and it's an ID show.

This isn't a break up about how much they hate each other, it is a break up decided by the responsibilities of growing up. I spoke with a very sick and sleepy Sam Gerard on the phone last night, who made the following statement:

"Mostly, it's like, I can't play those songs any more. I don't want to be in a band that sounds like Modest Mouse anymore. I feel constricted by it. I have to write Squareshooters songs that sound like Pavement. There's just a time when you get bored with it, and it just happened like that. I want to do something new. I'm finally happy doing music stuff, the happiest I've been in a year, in a long time."

The Squareshooters released two records as splits on Afternoon Records and Squareshooter Records, the EP ...Get Kicked Out of High School and their recent full-length that came out in August 2006 I Am The Keeper.

"$10 Camera" was my first love in the Squareshooters universe. Sam came to a show at the Triple Rock about three years ago and handed me a four-song demo that had nothing but their cute little arrow-through-a-square logo on it. To be perfectly honest, I didn't like it. In fact, I was about to give up on it after the third track when "$10 Camera" came on and it completely blew me away. The Squareshooters then spent 10 agonizing months cranking out their EP with off-and-on recording sessions, while Sam seemed to show up with newer, better songs every week.

The EP came out and it seemed like the local kids really picked up on it -- in fact, I know of a pretty good story about a Squareshooter-induced riot breaking out at a YMCA in Hudson, Wisc. when the show ran long and the Squareshooters couldn't play. I'm serious, eight squad cars showed up to break up the crazed crowd of kids and Joe Schweigert (the SS guitarist whose 21st birthday was a mere few hours away) got a minor. Big things were to come.

The Squareshooters then hunkered back into the studio to cut I Am The Keeper before their east coast tour this last August with One for the Team. Keeper was a gem of indie-rock classics that seemed to get passed the radars of local indie-heads. Flat out, Keeper was one of the best and most underrated releases of 2006 and I am sad to see the band break up. However, there are rumors of new bands afoot, so hope is not lost.

(Ian Anderson)