The Baton Rouge punk scene is alive and kicking, and one of the latest bands to drop new material is Squirt Gun Warriors.
“We were all band kids in high school, and we just started playing then,” said Mike Crapanzano, lead singer and keyboard player. “Other guys have kind of come and gone. That was probably five years ago when we started playing together, but we say we’ve been a band for three.”
Originally ska was a big influence on the band, along with the do-it-yourself nature of punk.
“There were a lot of bands that were a little bit older than us and it just didn’t look like it was hard,” Crapanzano said. “A lot of touring bands were coming through, and just having those touring bands coming through Baton Rouge and seeing what they were doing with the DIY attitude was what got us into it.”
Although the roots of the band’s sound have stayed the same, the band has branched out in regard to its sound.
“These days, we’re not just screaming from the mountaintops that we’re a ska band,” Crapanzano said. “We still listen to ska and we still make ska music, but we’re not so narrow minded about it.”
“We kind of got more into the rudiments of Jamaican music,” said Chris Bryant, drummer for the band. “It’s not necessarily straight roots/reggae, but it has this reggae-rhythm-on-the-drums dubbiness to it.”
The band recently released “Don’t Fence Me In,” its first album. To celebrate the band is playing the Hartley/Vey Studio Theatre.
“We played there with Fishbone maybe a year and a half ago, two years ago, but this is our first time headlining,” Crapanzano said. “It’s nerve wracking, but it’s exciting.”
After debuting the new album, the band has plans to promote it further, although the big events won’t take place until the summer
“We don’t have an awful lot of plans,” Crapanzano said. “I think when summer rolls around we’re definitely going to be back on the road touring again and promoting the record. Until then, I think we’re probably just do shows where they are and just get the word out about the record.”
Squirt Gun Warriors, with support from Joystick and Moonsugar, are playing at the Hartley/Vey Studio Theatre on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. The band’s debut album is also available for streaming and download on Bandcamp.
“These days, we’re not just screaming from the mountaintops that we’re a ska band. We still listen to ska and we still make ska music, but we’re not so narrow minded about it.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Angela Major

Aiden Dykes, the guitarist and backup vocalist for the band Squirt Gun Warriors, jams on the guitar Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014 in a practice space.