2003
Tech Triumph
Louisiana Tech University

Dane Adrian: Squint

Originally from: Houghton, Mich.

Home: Ruston, La.

Graduation from Tech: 2000, B.S., Industrial Engineering

My position: Lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Squint.

My career path: After graduating high school, I made a serious commitment to my band and decided to move from Michigan’s remote upper peninsula to a more centralized place. We moved to Ruston because I wanted to get my engineering degree at Tech and also live in a place that was in proximity to larger cities and college towns so that our band could tour.

About our latest record: “Tinsel Life” is doing really well. The album has climbed to No. 18 on the commercial specialty radio chart.

Reflections on rock music: I follow the philosophy that rock music has to be honest. Honesty is what the grit of rock and roll should be about. So I always stick to being personal and truthful in my lyrics.

Exposure: Squint is an independent band. We do everything ourselves without a manager. Being in Louisiana, we operate under the radar. But whether you like it or not, L.A. and New York are where the music business happens. They don’t see what’s going on in the heart of the Bible Belt. Even bands based in Dallas and Atlanta have similar problems. On the flip side, if we were living in one of those towns, it would be very easy to get lost. We want to build up and be a big fish in a small pond.

Advice to someone who wants to enter my field: You have to wake up every day and work hard. Practice. Network because it’s still a business of who you know. You have to operate on both planes of music and business. Go to New York and L.A. and meet key people. I have sat in so many attorneys’ offices in New York and L.A. I walked in the door and said, “This is what I’m doing.” They are interested because they make their living off people like me. They’re out there looking and going to shows.

Living in Ruston: It is great to be based in Ruston. For one, the cost of living is cheap. When you’re on the road 150 days a year, covering rent in a New York City apartment would not be practical. When you’re on tour, the best thing in the world is to come home to a small town where in five minutes you can get food and groceries compared to a big city where doing anything is a half-day commitment. Ruston is a comfy place to live.

Triumphs in my life: Having donated more than $5,000 to Parkinson’s disease research through Squint’s annual festival, Squintfest. Also, hearing our band on TV for the first time was surreal. When I was in Michigan over the holidays I turned on MTV’s “Road Rules” and all of a sudden our song came on! It was a moment where I realized that what started as nothing, 10 years later, is an entity.

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