RIP The SQUAT

well, since things closed up some time ago and new folks are scheduled to take up residence at our beloved 516 at some point in the next few weeks, i guess it's about time for this post. y'all knew it was coming so lemme get sappy:

the squat has, as you probably already know, officially shut its doors to the public and hosted its final shows. i'm not much of a wordsmith but i want to extend an absolutely massive "GEE THANKS" to all of you who ever played, came to, posted about, or even so much as considered coming to a show at the squat. the first house show i ever went to was on lee place, just across the street from the squat, so hosting shows there felt kinda poetic in a way. having all you beautiful people come in to share in the tunes, art, and good vibes was quite possibly the coolest experience ever and we at the squat are so thankful for all your support throughout our (sadly short) tenure as a venue.

to extend some more specific thanks, i wanna give a shoutout to these wonderful people: Grant Ulysses Hiram, who first got me in contact with the marvelous Evan Braswell and turned our goofy lil party house into something more; Evan himself, who has been amazingly helpful and patient since the very beginning and really made the squat into what it was; the marvelous Zack Willis of Middle Kid, who graced us with so many awesome shows and was a fixture at the rare one he didn't play at; Max Detrich, who has been a hero and is doing great things with the Slayground and Subversive Zine, which you should all be reading; Roy Ghim, who gave us a spotlight in the local press (the article may or may not be pinned to my fridge); the awesome people at New Spire Arts, who are doing GREAT things for the frederick arts community and who i'm sure will be a fixture in the future of our hip lil city's performance and arts programming; the roomies, friends, randos, and randos-who-became-friends who lent a hand with keeping the peace and making sure shows ran like a well-oiled machine; our sweet and patient neighbors who were ludicrously kind to us considering our noise and general mess; the freakin AMAZING BANDS of course, and, last but not least, each and every one of you who came out to see a show. yeah, i'm tacky, but my gratitude is sincere. seeing all those faces dancing and having a good time in our weird green (haunted??) basement was always a trip, and we at the squat will remember those good times forever.

there's a billion other people i'd like to thank as well but this post is really long already so please rest assured that if i haven't explicitly mentioned you here i still deeply appreciate you and everything you did for us at the squat!

frederick's music and art scene has so much to offer and i urge you all to seek it out and stay in touch with it!!! go see local shows, share events, and support the great people who are creating amazing works for everyone to enjoy. while you're at it, make some cool stuff yourself! write for Subversive, play at an open mic or other show, or if you've got the space and the ability, open up your garage, basement or living room for a night and let your local creatives strut their stuff. keep an eye on groups like New Spire Arts and Area 31 for great art education and discussion programs— there's a lot going on in our city, but you have to show up and seek it out!

this is long-winded and overly emotional but i'm sure you've learned not to expect anything less from me. hosting shows was tough at times, but the friendliness and respect of all those who came made it all more than worth it. thanks again to all of you for the TOTALLY WILD times we shared and i hope to see you around town sometime soon!!!!

—peace&love from ur friend rex

🏚🖤

House Show Venue Not Legally Designated as Venue, House Tenants were upset with the city’s decision to condemn their home.

🚨BIG WEEK AT THE SQUAT🚨

Monday: Joe Waine Band, Ghost Soda, Tha Raw, and Middle Kid

Tuesday: Figure Eight, (more) Middle Kid, Normal State, and OnePlusTwo

Friday: Cheshi, Joseph & the Beasts, and Sunniva

Come by and bring $5 for the bands 💃🏼

John had a few (a lot) drinks and made the calander. Busy month, if you don't make it to at least one of these shows we aren't friends anymore!

:/

Bad news today... Squat Mousey, the mouse that lived under the porch couch died overnight. He drowned himself in the dogs water bowl, suppose he couldn't take the weight of the mouse world anymore :/ So, everybody, if you come by the squat this week it's Squat Mousey memorial week on the chalkboard, and we'd much appreciate it if you'd show your respects.

🐭🍃

we don't let oakley and clyde come to shows for this reason

Dog At Basement Show Stealing Attention Away From Bands A popular local dog struck again at a basement show last week, upstaging touring band Strong Reaction by captivating the audience with his adorable antics.

thank you to mess, gloop, my friday anthem and middle kid for kicking endless ass at our very first show!!! special thanks to ryan for setting things up and a big big thank thank thank you to everyone who came out and made this show so great. we wanna see all of you at the next one!!!

Happy Halloween

🚨🐶 !!!!!! HELP NAME MY PUPPY !!!!!! 🐶🚨

guys: ur friend rex is about to be a dog mom. THIS VERY EVE i am embarking on a trip to pick up a wee pupper. HOWEVER: we don't have a name for her!!! post great names that you think we could give to a pupper that looks like this!

or: if you have an extra dollar or two burning a hole in ur pocket, you could throw it to us via our SQUAT DOG gofundme here:

https://www.gofundme.com/2u04d6s

but more importantly throw some names at me!!!!!!

—peace&love from ur friend rex

if anyone wants to donate $$$ to help me and my roomies get a dog that'd be real nice of you

Click here to support SQUAT DOG by Cole Johnson HEY!!! We here at the Squat are tryna get a dog to enrich the lives of everyone who comes to our house. That beautiful fella in the campaign picture is Blu, he's a husky at the Frederick Animal Shelter who we just applied to adopt!! But obviously dogs are really really expensive so if you wanna h...

BIG NEWS GANG: we are getting a dog!!!!! within the next two weeks there will officially be a doggo living at the squat. if you have any spare toys or other dog-ly donations, we'd really appreciate them! prepare to be inundated with dog pics in the very near future!!