Rusty Squeezebox

Other than pounding on a Radio Shack organ as a youngster and playing trumpet in the third grade, Rusty Squeezebox (born David Ramsey) had no musical training prior to buying a bass to satiate his Prince-worshipping friend and then forming the band Ach Nein as a junior in high school. The band didn't last much more than a year, but before their demise, Squeezebox took up guitar, which would eventually become his main instrument. He also began fooling around on his brother's drum kit, which was around the same time in the mid-'80s that Mike Randle asked him to replace the drummer in his mod band, Bad Press. It was a partnership that would ultimately prove long-lasting and productive. Squeezebox's stint in Bad Press lasted into 1988, after which he left the band to try out for the drum spot in Los Angeles' ska-pop band the Untouchables who had already earned a modicum of success in the U.S. and U.K. with a number of college-radio hits. He joined the band in 1989 and played with them off and on through January 1999. That span also proved to be a busy period for Squeezebox's own musical projects. He formed the band Treehouse in 1989 with brother Eric Ramsey and former Bad Press mate Garfield Wolfe. They changed their name to Voodoo Love and recorded a strong 16-track demo but ended up breaking up due to Wolfe's drug problem. In 1991 Squeezebox again hooked up with old friend Mike Randle. They started playing music and learning about the recording process together, becoming cohorts and ultimately forming Baby Lemonade in 1992 with David Green and Henry Liu (later replaced by Dave Chapple). The band would spend the rest of the decade developing into one of the great rock bands on the Los Angeles underground scene. Baby Lemonade immediately created a small buzz throughout the...