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Rattail Grenadier was founded in 1984 by Mass Giorgini (bassist) and Flav Giorgini (guitarist). They began as a three-piece, with drummer Steve Best filling out the line-up, and Flav and Mass sharing lead vocal duties. They soon added second guitarist Kevin Galbraith, and by the end of their first month of active existence had added drummer Dan Lumley, with Steve Best moving to the role of lead vocalist. By 1986, the band had returned to being a trio, with Flav and Mass sharing lead vocals, and Dan Lumley retaining the drumming position. In May of 1996, Rattail Grenadier released a self-produced full-length album entitled Three Blind, featuring cover art by Kevin Neireiter (interestingly, Squirtgun's Fade to Bright album of 2003 featured Mass, Flav, and Dan as band members, with cover art by Kevin Neireiter).
Coinciding with this release, Rattail Grenadier began performing more shows outside of their home region, performing with internationally recognized punk acts such as Toxic Reasons, Rollins Band, Dag Nasty, the Zero Boys, Naked Raygun, Material Issue, and many more. In late 1988, Roadkill Records released the self-titled Rattail Grenadier (Produced by Paul Mahern, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Iggy Pop), and exposed the band -- again a quartet with Steve Best on lead vocals -- to an international punk audience.
Simultaneous label releases of albums by the Bhopal Stiffs and Screeching Weasel turned the label into an immediate phenomenon in the punk scene, and were followed by several more by bands such as No Empathy, Sludgeworth, the Effigies, and Sloppy Seconds. Several tours followed, including one that included a headlining spot at seminal punk venue CBGB's in 1989.
In 1990, Steve Best was replaced by singer Rick Harris and the melodic hardcore sound of the band began to lean a bit closer to its hardcore element, leading many critics to consider it a "crossover" band -- a name applied frequently during that period to bands combining the frantic pace of hardcore punk with the heavier breakdowns and drum beats typical of the recently developed speed metal genre.
In 1991, now signed to Assault Force/Helter Skelter, the band released Too Much of a Good Thing. More touring followed, but the band primarily played in the Midwest, due to the academic obligations of its members. In 1992, singer Rick Harris left the band in order to pursue a PhD in Biology at UC Berkeley. He was replaced by Quentin Flory, formerly of PED, a reknowned New Jersey hardcore band of the period.
The sound of the band developed dramatically during this period, with heavy influence from several simultaneous and divergent sources. The strongest of these influences was that of the melodic punk rock typical of punk's (and Rattail Grenadier's) earlier years.
The band released two songs with Quentin Flory, the first a contribution to a regional compilation, and also featured a guest appearance on lead guitar by John Strohm of the Lemonheads, was titled "Highest Tree." The second, "Come on Back," was included on, PUNK USA, a Lookout Records compilation organized by Screeching Weasel frontman Ben Weasel.
The band was in the process of recording a new album, with fifth member Matt Hart sharing second guitar and co-lead vocal duties, when Mass and Flav's father, Aldo, was diagnosed with brain cancer, putting a halt to the plans of the band. When the album was eventually completed, Quentin had left the band, and the remaining members decided to rename the group, especially in light of their marked sonic shift, a decided return to their earliest roots, reflecting the influence of bands such as the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, the Zero Boys, and the Clash. This album eventually became Squirtgun's debut self-titled album, issued by Lookout Records, and including the song "Social," which was featured as the opening track to 1995's Kevin Smith film Mallrats, now a cult-classic.
[edit] Sources
- The Touser Press Record Guide, by Ira Robbins. "Interview with Squirtgun founder Mass Giorgini" by Deana Dasein, Punk Planet, Sept/Oct 1996. Punk Is A Four-Letter Word by Ben Weasel. "Rattail Grenadier" focus article, Alternative Press, January 1989.
74.132.232.23 23:41, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria A7 and/or guidelines on musical artists. Please provide more information on why this musical artist is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. Bennyboyz3000 07:51, 12 August 2007 (UTC)