history the year was 1994. a boy named troy recently departed from a band known as 'the obscene pineapples'. his friend mike had just begun playing the guitar. mike's cousin rob was playing his drums along with his favorite heavy metal albums. mike and rob joined powers, and troy was soon to follow. this trio known as 'the flaming squirrels' went through various incarnations and styles before disbanding due to an overall lack of motivation and cooperation. to many this would seem to be the end of a short and somewhat un-interesting story. the band never played a show. they never made an album. not even a demo. but there was a legacy. many, many, many stickers, posters, flyers, and business cards had been created. the name and the myth spread and grew into something even those illustrious three could not dream or control. many cars were adorned with bumper stickers. many guitar cases and bedroom walls had stickers and posters mounted upon them. many people with severe reality issues claimed to be 'huge fans' and to have 'gone to all their shows'. some people even claimed to 'like their old stuff' and that they were thier 'favorite band'. there was an irresistable force driving the idea of the band. mike and troy were powerless against this force. they hefted the amplifiers, they toted the guitars. they kept the spirit alive and the flaming squirrels sang again. many times they tried to stop to put it in the past and move on, but always were they drawn back together to play those old familiar tunes. fate would conveniently have them appear in the same coffee house on the same night with an open mic and a couple spare guitars. the band existed for quite a while as a semi-random occurence in the webster groves coffee house pony espresso and at java, jazz, and blues in st. charles. they could be found there on weekday nights sometimes together, sometimes alone. after a performance on one fateful summer evening, they met major tom. he was also spending his time in coffee-house-open-mic-solo-limbo and had just purchased a bass. major tom was enlisted. finally our marionettes gave in and created a web page. this is the culmination. the present the flaming squirrels still play at java, jazz, and blues on monday nights and have acquired a regular gig at sally t's on friday and/or saturday afternoons. desperately seeking a drummer, they've recorded a demo tape using synthesized tracks for drums and other background sounds. they are very open to collaboration with other musicians/artists. any instrument or style of playing is welcome. they LOVE to experiment. to jam or to obtain a demo tape, t-shirt, poster, sticker, rash of annoying phone calls, or to pre-order one of their upcoming full length CDs, please contact either mike or troy (see contact info at the bottom of this page). mike is currently working on getting his degree in music education from a local college. he sometimes attends karaoke nights, and jams with other local blues and folk musicians. troy is working on other musical projects. one called seals of similar size is a completely digital project. he has released one full length CD through mp3.com (which is a kick ass site. if you've never heard of it, check it out!) which you can obtain or preview at www.mp3.com/soss. major tom has a self-titled solo project which has also released a CD and an EP on mp3.com. his site is www.mp3.com/majortom. email him for more info. contact info to get the latest information and updates about flaming squirrels activities and machinations, send e-mail to flamingsquirrels@yahoo.com to be signed up for thier online mailing list. if you'd like information on ordering one of thier CDs, tapes, or t-shirts, receiving free propaganda, or having them play a show at your home or establishment, then simply contact them by one of the methods listed below. the flaming squirrels can be reached at: telephone: 1 (314) 353-5393 (troy) 1 (314) 608-1562 (mike) paper mail: 785 Saddle Dr. St. Louis, MO 63031 email: flamingsquirrels@yahoo.com (main mailing address) illium37@yahoo.com (troy) phantomoftheopera@musician.org (mike) MajorTom@iname.com (tom)