When the Louisville music scene is discussed, Squarewell is not a name that gets mentioned a lot. It's not a material issue. The local quartet released a full-length record in 2004, a little more than a year after it formed. Labels in Germany and England however, released that record, "Two Toy Model." And by the admission of singer/guitarist Jeff Drake, Squarewell has probably played out of town and even in Europe more than in its old Kentucky home. Still, Squarewell's rise from garage band to Euro-sensation was, in a word,
fast. "We were really concentrating on the band," Drake said. "We were doing it full-time, and we used all our contacts from other bands to get on the road."

Background:
Squarewell came together in summer 2003 when My Life Denial, a band with
Drake and drummer Martin Kehl, broke up. Bassist Paul Dailey and guitarists
Matt Jaggers and Brandon Duggins rounded out the lineup for about a year.
When Dailey left, he was replaced by Bryan Jones. After the band returned
from a European tour last summer, Duggins left to join another band, and
Drake took on more guitar duties instead of adding another member.

Sound:
When the lineup finally settled, Jones found himself with a larger role.
"The new stuff changed the way we were writing," Drake said. "We were going
for a more Dischord-ish sound like Fugazi and Q And Not U. You could pretty
much describe our older stuff as straight indie rock. Now, we're a little
heavier and more disjointed.

Outlook:
Squarewell just returned from recording five songs at Black Lodge Recording
in Kansas. Some of that material will be on an EP that should be released in
April, and some will be on a split CD with the Swiss band Fugo.

If you want to check out the nerds live - several of the guys are physics
enthusiasts, Drake said - they will be playing at Uncle Pleasant's on April
7 with Unit Like Stereo and Amherst.