(originally recorded: Aug 14, 1985; digital release: June 2009)

Digital Release Notes:

Flush off the success of the winter's triumphant Showcase and Jerseyman Dance gigs, the BNS boys worked through the spring and summer writing their first batch of original songs -- most written in Jim's bedroom.

Ant ripped off the Violent Femmes and The Alarm to bring the The American Way chords to the table. Jim complained that "we ain't got no political views" around which to write lyrics. The lightblub went off, and the rest of the song was a collective effort.

Next Best Thing and Chicken Soup were next. Ant providing most-to-all of the chords, Jim providing titles and lyrics for the choruses, and the boys bashing out the full lyrics together. Ant brought The Drinking Song chord changes to the band, the topic was near and dear to their hearts, but the boys ran out of words after only three lines.

With freshman years at college looming, Jim convinced his parents (primarily his Dad) to allow them a backyard farewell kegger-cum-concert. Lars likely provided the ID; Weisman the chutzpah. God knows what PA they used. The word went out amongst Mount Olive friends, a boom box was plugged into an outlet, and what you hear is the one-and-only recording of this event. For 23 years Jim carted this cassette between upstate New York, west Philly, the Florida panhandle, and northeast Jersey.

Here, finally, is a digital version. All between-song chatter has been retained. If you listen carefully, you can hear the voices of Adam Victor, Tom Stafford, Bill Meyers, Joe Belock, and Cyndy Dingus. Mike Dandurand may actually have dodged getting his voice recorded. And -- yes -- you can hear the crickets from Jim's childhood backyard on that warm summer night 23 years (and counting) ago.

The party? A rousing success. The rawness can still be heard, but among the music and back-and-forth banter is heard a few nice ideas and a genuine sense of fun and accomplishment. If memory serves, the cops were called by a neighbor who complained "they played the same song over and over and over again."

Just past midnight, Jim was found by his father passed out on a small slope on the west side of his house. An unopened can of beer in each pocket.

Within days after this backyard concert, the boys were off to college and another chapter in the BNS story was to be written.

Brave New Squirrel was:

• Tom Rosko: vocals, harmonica
• Anthony Marchese: guitar, vocals
• Jim Robertson: keyboard
• Mike Weisman: bass
• John Chapman: drums

[2, 4, 6, 8] Bill Lutz on trombone

[6, 8] Freddie Weisman on clarinet

[7, 8] Marco from Finland (apparently an exchange student) on guitar

Album artwork: Jim Robertson
Website: Jim Robertson