Squirrel Bait was a punk rock band formed in the early 1980s in Louisville, Kentucky by guitarist David Grubbs and bassist Clark Johnson. The group’s first demo tape, released under the name Squirrelbait Youth, featured drummer Rich Schuler and saw Grubbs handle both guitar and vocals. This lineup self-released a second tape in 1983.

After Rich Schuler moved away, Britt Walford took over on drums and Peter Searcy joined as singer. In July 1984, this lineup recorded ten songs at Sound on Sound with engineer Howie Gano for possible release on [l183915]. Two songs from this studio session would appear on Squirrel Bait’s self-titled EP for Homestead the following year, while Tense/Earth Shattering would eventually be released in 1987 under the alias Motorola Cloudburst. These recordings feature a more driving, melodic sound than the hardcore thrash of their early tapes.

In May 1985, the band, now featuring Ben Daughtrey on drums and Brian McMahan on second guitar, returned to Sound on Sound to record six more songs. The band’s debut self-titled EP, released in the fall of 1985, received much critical acclaim. The same lineup recorded the band’s only LP, 1987’s Skag Heaven. The group broke up after its release, owing to personal and musical differences within the band and Grubbs and Johnson’s decision to leave Louisville for college. Grubbs and Johnson would reunite in Bastro, and McMahan and Walford, who while never in Squirrel Bait at the same time had played together in various bands since middle school, went on to form Slint. In the mid 1990s, Grubbs reissued the self-titled EP and Skag Heaven on his short-lived Dexter’s Cigar imprint for Drag City.