1) A Chicago punk band.
1) A Chicago punk band.
2) A Calgary-based lo-fi punk band. http://squidsye.bandcamp.com/
3) An indie-pop band from Los Angeles https://thesquidsla.bandcamp.com/
1) The Squids are a Chicago-based punk band that was created by Chicago born singer/songwriter Joey Spatafora and William LaTour also known as LaTour. The Squids appeared to break up recently[ though it is never clear when they will resurface. The Squids toured and recorded from 1990 to 2002. They were the break out band at the 6th Annual Chicago FreeFest.[3]
Spatafora, LaTour and The Squids bass player Emery Joe Yost went back into LaTour's studio Chateau LaTour in 2005 to record a batch of Squid songs which have not yet been released.
Other band members included Bolander Davis on guitar (Davis passed in 1996 from liver cancer. He was replaced in the line-up by Robert Fesus), Judy Johnson on bass, and Jimmy Vass on drums. The bands more noted line-up changes include the addition of Yost on bass in 1994, Dave Hunt on drums in 1996, and keyboard player Scot Bahry who would sit in for LaTour when he was on tour to promote the LaTour albums.
The Squids were created by accident in 1989 in the Chicago basement of LaTour after LaTour and Joey Spatafora attended a concert at The Cabaret Metro in Chicago (now known as Metro Chicago). They went to see the The Dead Milkmen open up for The Ramones. Immediately that night they decided to re-record the entire catalog of demo-songs they were working on with their group Shock Radio (which included future Squids bass player Emery Yost) in a Ramones/Shaggs like punk style that they jokingly referred to as Squid Music.
They removed the drum machine which they used in their previous band and opted to enlist drummer Jimmy Vass who lived next door to the LaTour household on Montrose Avenue. Right before the bands first public performance (April 1, 1990 at The Sanctuary on Rush Street in Chicago) they chose to name the band The Squids as they thought it was a name that would represent homage to The Shaggs, and would be as memorable as The Beatles. The Squids were soon after invited to play on the stage of The Cabaret Metro September 26, 1990, and played there regularly. The band auditioned hundreds of musicians in the spring of 1990 before tapping former Barbie Army bassist Judy Johnson and Bonk Nobles bassist Bolander Davis to play guitar for The Squids. This was the line-up that recorded the bands first release Bingo City.
The Squids first rehearsal hall was Dress Rehearsals at 1610 W. Wood Street in Chicago in the early 90's, and they would go over new material in the studio across from another famous Chicago band named Styx who were popular in Chicago in the late 70's. While Styx was preparing for a comeback in the early 90's, The Squids would yell at them to turn it down from the studio next door, especially when they would play Mr. Roboto. Joey Spatafora in 2010 now credits Styx as being one of his favorite bands of all time.
In 1995, the very first annual North by Northeast Music Festival and Conference (NXNE) in Toronto Canada, selected The Squids and heavy metal band Cutlass, to represent Chicago that first year of the still going event. The Squids performed on the closing night of the festival in the Cabana Room at the historical Spadina Hotel on Saturday June 17, 1995.
LaTour has been credited for leading the musical direction of the band, and both LaTour and Spatafora grew up listening to Top-40 radio giving them a knack for composing original radio friendly songs, and then trashing them into a punk style recording and performance. Both credit The Shaggs, The Ramones, The Cars, Spinal Tap, and "Weird Al" Yankovic as main influences for the development of The Squids. Spatafora's very first inkling to sing in a rock and roll band started when he received the first self titled album by the hard rock group Kiss on his 9th birthday in 1974. The gift was from his mother's best girlfriend in an effort to inspire, but with rumors circulating of Kiss being a negative influence on youth, Joey's mother quickly threw the album in the trash can after just a few days of observing him emulating Kiss vocalist Paul Stanley performing an entire Kiss concert in his bedroom mirror for hours. Joey quickly and effortlessly committed the lyrics to memorization while shouting out the vocals using a hair brush as a microphone, and a plastic whiffle ball bat for a guitar. The Squids re-inacted the defining childhood memory in 2005 with the bands final recording entitled "Weeeee!! A KISS Concert!!".
"Time has made The Squids and all of their music highly relevant." - Zarathrusta, punk rock music historian.
Members have at various points included:
Joey Spatafora, Billy Latour, Emery Yost, Scot Bahry, Bob Fesus, Jimmy Vass, Judy Johnson (currently known as Tosha Avon ), Bolander Davis, Dave Hunt, Guy Dominick, Paul William, Guy Giusto, Nick Panowko, Skip Pederson, Greg McDaniel, Peter Alexakos, John Yost, Pat Burns and Claude
Dirt
The Squids Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lyrics by Joey Spatafora
Music by LaTour
Hello Everyone
I'm stuck on an island
And the only thing to eat around here
Is Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Some of you people might think
That this song sounds like that one song called "Boots"
You know, Boots! Boots! Boots!
But it's really not
This song goes Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Whoa oh oh woah oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Who oh oh whoa oh, oh oh whoa oh, oh whoa oh, oh whoa oh
Can you see my dirty teeth
That's from eating all this dirt you know
Even when it rains outside
It's Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
There's dirt over there
Dirt is everywhere
On a jet airplane
Somewhere in the sky
It's Dirt, Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Whoa oh oh whoa oh
Cuz I get so excited now
Whoa oh oh whoa oh
Cuz I don't know where to put it all
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
The Squids' "Dirt" is a funny yet entertaining song about being stranded on an island and having to survive on just dirt. At the start of the song, the singer introduces himself and informs the audience that he is stuck on an island and the only thing to eat around is dirt. He repeats the word dirt multiple times, creating humorous anticipation and making the audience wonder what the song is all about. He then assures the audience that even though the song may seem like other songs, it is different and unique as it's all about dirt.
As the song progresses, the singer emphasizes how much dirt he has to consume, leading to him having dirty teeth. He mentions that dirt is everywhere, even somewhere in the sky, indicating the challenging situation he's in. The chorus has the singer repeating the word dirt excitedly, bringing out the mood of the song clearly.
The song is a humorous take on how people in desperate situations can accomplish anything, even if it requires them to consume dirt. It's a fun and upbeat song meant to delight the listener while making them laugh.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello Everyone
Greeting to all
I'm stuck on an island
The singer is trapped on an island
And the only thing to eat around here
There is nothing else to eat on the island
Is Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
The only available food is dirt
Some of you people might think
Some listeners may have a particular thought
That this song sounds like that one song called "Boots"
The song may sound similar to another song called "Boots"
You know, Boots! Boots! Boots!
Reiteration of the similarities to the song "Boots"
But it's really not
Despite the similarities, the songs are different
This song goes Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
The song is actually about dirt
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Reiteration of the topic of the song
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Expression of excitement about dirt
Whoa oh oh woah oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Reiteration of the excitement about dirt
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
Continuation of excitement about dirt
Whoa oh oh whoa oh, Dirt! Dirt!
More excitement about dirt
Who oh oh whoa oh, oh oh whoa oh, oh whoa oh, oh whoa oh
Incoherent expression of excitement about dirt
Can you see my dirty teeth
The dirt has stained the artist's teeth
That's from eating all this dirt you know
The cause of the artist's dirty teeth
Even when it rains outside
The presence of rain does not change the situation
It's Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
The ubiquity of dirt on the island
There's dirt over there
An observation of the presence of dirt
Dirt is everywhere
Dirt is widespread on the island
On a jet airplane
A sudden shift to a different location
Somewhere in the sky
An ambiguous location in the sky
It's Dirt, Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Dirt even exists in unexpected places
Whoa oh oh whoa oh
Continued expression of excitement
Cuz I get so excited now
Reason for the expression of excitement
Whoa oh oh whoa oh
Further expression of excitement
Cuz I don't know where to put it all
Possible reason for the eating of excessive amounts of dirt
Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Closing reiteration of the topic of the song
Contributed by Natalie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TheOfficialSquids
The #1 song on the N1M Top 100 Punk music charts for the week of November 27th through December 3rd of 2019 is "Dirt".........about 30 years after it's official release! Wanted to thank Thirsty Craig for posting this video which we feel may have helped the push for this song to go #1 on the charts so many years and decades later!!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" remains in the #1 spot on the N1M Top 100 Punk Chart for it's third week at #1, during the holidays December 25th through December 31st, 2019!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk song all over the world! 6 weeks now at #1 on the N1M Top 100 Punk songs week of January 15th through January 21st, 2020!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" closes out the decade in 2019 as the #1 Punk song on the N1M Top 100 Punk chart, and begins the new decade in 2020 as the #1 punk song to kick off the new decade for the week of January 1st through January 7th 2020, for it's 4th week at #1!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still #1 through january 29th! 7th week on top!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk Song all over the world! 78 weeks now at #1 on the N1M Top 100 Punk Songs Chart week of June 9th through June 16th of 2021 !!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk Song on the N1M Top 100 Punk Songs chart through September 29th, 2020! 42 weels at #1!!!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk song all over the world! 56 weeks now at #1 on the N1M Top 100 Punk songs chart through January 6th, of 2021! "Dirt" has been #1 EVERY WEKK OF 2020!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk Song all over the world! 72 weeks now at #1 on the N1M Top 100 Punk Songs Chart week of April 27th through May 5th of 2021 !!
@TheOfficialSquids
"Dirt" is still the #1 Punk song all over the world 54 weeks now on the N1M Top 100 Punk songs chart through December 23rd, 2020!