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The Split Squad
The Split Squad at the Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ, April 28, 2014.
Background information
OriginNew York City, United States
GenresRock and roll, Blues rock, Power pop, pop music,
Years activeNovember, 2011–present
LabelsRed Chuck Records
MembersClem Burke, Michael Giblin, Josh Kantor, Eddie Munoz, Keith Streng
Websitewww.thesplitsquad.com

Introduction

The Split Squad is a rock band composed of Clem Burke (drums), Michael Giblin (bass/vocals), Josh Kantor (keyboards), Eddie Munoz (guitar/backing vocals), and Keith Streng (guitar/vocals). Each member came to the public's attention as a member of another band, e.g., Burke is in Blondie, Giblin founded the Parallax Project, Kantor is in The Baseball Project, Munoz is in The Plimsouls, and Streng is in The Fleshtones. Since many of the members of the band follow baseball, this led Annie Laurent Streng, Keith Streng's former wife, to propose the band's name. The term refers to the practice, during Major League Baseball's Spring training, of teams often playing "split-squad games". This occurs when a team splits into two sub-teams, or squads, and each squad plays a game against another team on the same day. In addition to touring on both coasts and Canada, the band's debut album, Now Hear This... was released in CD format on January 21, 2014. The album was released on vinyl in time for Record Store Day - April 19, 2014.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Formation

The formation of the group can be attributed to the friendship Parallax Project bandleader Giblin had with Munoz of The Plimsouls, and Giblin's inclination to work collaboratively with other musicians. Giblin and Munoz had worked together off and on through the 1990s, and rekindled their friendship in the mid-2000's during a SXSW Festival. This led to Giblin organizing an East Coast tour for The Plimsouls in 2006.[11] A few years later, Giblin organized several shows where Parallax Project shared the bill with Magic Christian[12] and The Fleshtones. This brought Giblin into close contact with Burke and Streng. Over the course of that tour, Streng and Giblin started talking about forming a new band. Munoz enthusiastically endorsed the formation, and joined as the second guitarist. Burke liked everyone involved and agreed to join. Around the same time, Giblin had become friends with Josh Kantor, keyboardist in Jim's Big Ego, a band he'd arranged to have perform in Harrisburg, PA. Later, Parallax Project shared the bill with The Baseball Project, which Kantor also was in, so when the band was recording the album in David Minehan's Woolly Mammoth studio in Boston, they contacted Kantor, who added keyboards to some of the tracks. Kantor tours with the rest of the band when show dates don't interfere with his job as the Fenway Park organist for the Boston Red Sox.

Another way to consider how the members came to know one another is to look at the relevant bands they've been in over the years:

Clem Burke->Blondie->Eurythmics->The Romantics->The Plimsouls->Magic Christian->Empty Hearts
Michael Giblin->The Plimsouls (organized East Coast tour)->Jim's Big Ego (invited them to perform in his hometown)->Magic Christian (tour manager)->The Baseball Project (with Parallax Project)
Josh Kantor->Jim's Big Ego->The Baseball Project
Eddie Munoz->The Plimsouls->Action Dogs->The Fontanelles->The Phantom Chords(with Dave Vanian)->Magic Christian->Parallax Project
Keith Streng->The Fleshtones->Action Dogs->Full Time Men

The band played for the first time with The Dream Syndicate in November 2011 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. A number of notable underground rock personalities sat in with them, including Chuck Prophet, Peter Buck, Jason Victor (The Dream Syndicate), Amy Gore, and Nikki Corvette.

The Split Squad performing at the Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ, on April 28, 2014

Tours

The Split Squad has performed at both the 2013 and 2014 South By Southwest music festivals. From Nov. 9 - Nov. 15, 2013 the band launched the "West Of Wherever Tour 2013" with The Fleshtones, touring cities in California, Portland OR, Seattle WA, then finished in Vancouver,BC Canada. From April 24–28, 2014, the band played 4 dates on the East Coast ( in Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey), and performed live on the Evan "Funk" Davies show in the studios of WFMU. Their 13 date "Summer 2014 Tour", from July 3 - August 3, 2014, starting in the Midwest, then touring up the East Coast, the Mid-Atlantic, and Toronto and Hamilton,ON Canada. The early (July 3–6) shows had Florent Barbier on drums, as Burke was on tour with Blondie. Linda Pitmon also fills in on drums when Burke is unavailable.

Future Activities

In August 2014, the group returned to Boston and the Woolly Mammoth Studio to record an original Christmas song, "Another Lonely Christmas”, to be released in Fall 2014 as part of a compilation album, "A Kool Kat Kristmas Vol. 2". Proceeds will benefit the Susan Giblin Foundation for Animal Wellness and Welfare.

Discography

Albums

Now Hear This... (2014) RCO1311 (vinyl) RCO1321 (CD)

Members

  • Clem Burke - drums
  • Michael Giblin - lead vocals & bass guitar
  • Josh Kantor - keyboards
  • Eddie Munoz - backing vocals & guitar
  • Keith Streng - Vocals & guitar

Bench Members

  • Florent Barbier - drums
  • Scott McCaughey - vocals & guitar
  • Linda Pitmon - drums

References

  1. ^ Good, Dave (Nov 1, 2013). "The Avengers of rock and roll: meet the Split Squad". San Diego Reader. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "Now Hear This vinyl version now Available!". The Split Squad. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Rock Supergroup The Split Squad to Appear at SXSW 2014". Broadway World. March 5, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  4. ^ Pearis, Bill (April 25, 2014). "The Split Squad (mems of Blondie, Plimsouls & more) made an LP, playing East Coast dates (NYC tonight w/ The Figgs)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Crespo, Charley (April 25, 2014). "The Split Squad, The Bowery Electric". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Knsrex, Scott (January 15, 2014). "Friends Making A Big Righteous Racket, Meet The Split Squad". 53rd and 3rd Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. ^ De Blase, Frank (July 30, 2014). "ROCK / Split Squad". City Newspaper. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  8. ^ "Rock & Roll Supergroup The Split Squad Celebrate the Release of their Debut Album with West Coast Tour". PRWeb. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  9. ^ Davies, Evan (April 30, 2014). "The Split Squad (1 Albums, 9 Tracks)". Free Music Archive. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  10. ^ "The Split Squad / Schedule / sxsw.com". South by Southwest. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ^ Giblin, Michael. "Parallax Project Journal pages". The Parallax Project. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  12. ^ "Magic Christian - band formation". Magic Christian. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
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