Biography
Peter Searcy first earned notice as the lead singer and primary songwriter in the cult-status teen punk outfit Squirrel Bait. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, he began classical training on cello and violin at an early age. The music of Hüsker Dü and Minor Threat left a deep mark on him, prompting Searcy in 1984 to assemble Squirrel Bait alongside guitarists David Grubbs and Brian McMahan, bassist Clark Johnson, and drummer Britt Walford. Though the members averaged only fifteen years old, the band quickly signed with the independent Homestead label and released its self-titled debut EP in 1985, drawing widespread critical praise. Searcy’s raw, Paul Westerberg-inflected vocal style defined the group, which produced just one full-length album, 1987’s Skag Heaven, before disbanding. The band’s thrash-pop sound nonetheless cast a long shadow, foreshadowing grunge by roughly five years, while its alumni assumed prominent roles in indie music: McMahan and Walford later formed the influential Slint, and Grubbs and Johnson reunited in Bastro, with Grubbs going on to establish Gastr del Sol. Searcy next launched Big Wheel, whose first release, East End, appeared in 1989; the band followed with Holiday Manor in 1992 and Slowtown in 1993 before splitting. His subsequent project, Starbilly, issued a single album, 1995’s Master Vibrator, then collapsed, after which Searcy moved to Atlanta, took work as a waiter, and performed sporadically. His solo career began with Could You Please and Thank You, issued by Time Bomb in early 2000. Couch Songs, recorded in Louisville with Butch Walker, arrived in 2004 during his short tenure on Initial. Seeking to recapture the direct rock energy of his earliest work, Searcy assembled a full band in 2006 and began writing new material. The resulting 2007 album Spark was captured largely live in the studio, drawing on a year of intensive rehearsals to restore the working-band ethos of his initial recordings.
Albums
