Squaz … no it’s not a foreign word or an exercise class; it’s a band. If you are saying “what?!” that’s exactly what the members of Squaz want you to do. “It makes people curious,” said Chris Pumphrey, Squaz’s lead singer and guitarist. “We picked a word with no meaning, something that no one could identify with anything else. We want our music to define the name and give it meaning.”
Although they classify themselves as a punk rock band, they play tunes for every mood, with influences like The Doors, The Clash, and “just everybody,” said Pumphrey. “It’s like if Elvis sang for Sublime.” Squaz is heavy into the idea of separation between music and message. Pumphrey, who writes most of the band’s music, tries to make the lyrics general so that the listeners can give their own meaning to it. “We just want to make some noise and have some fun,” he said. Their songs have many different themes but the two most popular are nature imagery and women. “I love women and they play a big role in our tunes,” Pumphrey said.
The band began about a year and a half ago with Pumphrey and his buddy Jeff Demario who was a drummer until Pumphrey went out and bought him a bass which he wound up really loving.
The third member of this trio was originally Mick Stellner, a 17-year-old high school student. When Stellner moved to Connecticut six months ago, the drummer position was filled by Sean McCauslin, who was already in another band but agreed to join Squaz after he produced their demo CD and saw how much fun they were having in the recording studio. “We have so much fun. We were like kids in the studio. Stellner the high school kid was the most serious one,” Pumphrey said. He had been trying to start a band for a long time and was glad to finally find people with the same “mindset.” According to Pumphrey Squaz is all about the music, not the stereotypical band member behavior: being a slacker or a drug addict.
Squaz has done about seven shows, mostly playing for people they know. Pumphrey said most people in the music business don’t like to book bands until they have been around about a year because so many new bands break up fast.
Their biggest and most fun show was when they played in downtown West Palm Beach. They sing both original songs-they have about 10 or 15 including the three on their demo CD-and cover songs like the Beatles’ “Day Tripper.” “If we can do the Beatles without pissing anyone off then we know we are doing something right,” said Pumphrey. Commenting on the popularity of their music, “We like to think we have a following,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone who has seen us will come back.”
In the distant future Squaz would like to go world wide and make a living off of their music. For now they are in the studio focusing on songwriting sessions. They plan on revamping with Apple iTunes instead of making a CD. “The album is a thing of the past,” said Pumphrey. “Whole, good albums are rare. People make their own mixes these days anyway, why fight it. I never want to make songs just to fill an album. That isn’t what music is about.” Make sure to check out Squaz at one of their upcoming gigs-Earth Day in Lake Worth on Apr. 22 and Father Fest in West Palm on Father’s Day. For more information about Squaz, pictures, and t-shirts go to their website www.squazmonsters.com.
