TECHTALK ONLINE - WINTER 2001
SQUINT PERFECTS FORTHCOMING ALBUM
By MELISSA MCCOLLISTER
Staff Writer

As the crow flies, the microscopic town of Houghton, Mich., is 1,029 miles
from Ruston. However, the two founding members of the local band Squint
took a more rectangular journey to Ruston as they traveled down the east coast
of Florida and along the gulf shoreline, turning north at New Orleans.

"We left because we were in such an isolated part of Michigan and touring was
difficult," Dane Adrian, the vocalist for the band and a Tech alumnus, said. "We
needed somewhere else to go, and we liked Ruston and the fact that it was so
centrally located."

The two original members of the band, Adrian and guitarist Matt Fredrickson,
moved to Ruston in 1995 and began touring shortly after with their bass player
known as Young Charles, a senior political science major. The band's drummer,
known only as Tote, moved to Ruston and rejoined the band after obtaining a
bio-psychology degree in 1997 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Squint's first album, "Beeker," was recorded in 1998 in Houston. After its release,
the band began touring constantly for the next three years, performing in close to
200 shows per year. However, the group's most infamous performance may have
been as an opening act for the Goo Goo Dolls in 1999 at the Thomas Assembly
Center.

"I still have people mentioning that show to me because so many of them saw it,"
Adrian said. Squint was also placed in the lineup of the Mentos tour with Stroke 9
and Sumack when scheduled artist Pink could not perform at Tech last spring,
according to the band's Web site, www.squint.com.

The band stopped touring last year in order to devote time to writing another album.
"We were tired of playing the same stuff, and we needed more time to concentrate
on writing new songs," Fredrickson said. "And by taking time off, the songs would
have more cohesion on the album because they were written in the same time span."

The group recorded its currently untitled second album in Los Angeles this past
summer with producer Ed Stasium, who has also worked with Soul Asylum, The
Ramones, Mick Jagger, The Smithereens and many other acts.

"It's very flattering to have Ed as a producer," Tote said. "He really believes in what
he's doing."

The songs from the new album will be tested on local fans as the members of the
band watch for a reaction.

"We really value our hometown fans, and we really aren't sure if something we have
written is good until we play it for them to see what they think," Adrian said.

The songwriting process is an extensive one for the band, with most of the songs
building on beginning guitar riffs written by Fredrickson. After he has something solid,
Fredrickson then takes the piece to Adrian, who adds the lyrics.

"I try to write around ideas and things I have seen or experienced. I'll also listen to the
mood of what [Fredrickson] wrote and just start to tell a story," Adrian said.

Finally, each member will discuss the song and input his own suggestions for
improvement. "We sit down and talk about the songs more than we used to," Tote said.

Squint plans to begin touring more heavily in the spring with the release of their new
album. Adrian said, "We're looking forward to playing new songs, and I think it will be
refreshing for us as well as our fans."

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