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THE SKWAREZ
THE SKWARES - The Real Story

THE SKWARES is an American Funk and R&B Band from Memphis, Tennessee -- a city well known for its abundance of home-grown musical talent. And the young musicians who became THE SKWARES were among them. As students in the Northside High School Jazz Band, they decided to form a spin-off group during the 1977-1979 school year. But they were a “Jazz Band” that never played Jazz. Instead, they expressed themselves musically with their own

funky R&B style that more closely resembled what had become widely known as the “Memphis Sound.”

The original line-up of the group consisted of trumpeters Willie L. Bonds, Tony W. Smith, Michael Anderson, James Durham, and William “Billy” Jones; saxophonists William Lockett and Gary Myers; drummers William Shamaka Polk and drummer/percussionist Phillip Jones; flute and vocals Sandra Robinson; clarinet and vocals Yolanda “Pancake” Watkins and Kimberly Jordan.

The group’s popularity grew as they appeared in city-wide talent shows throughout Memphis and repeatedly placed first and second. After that impressive showing, they became more confident that they had something special and might be able to turn professional. But they also knew they had established their own musical identity beyond the Northside Jazz Band and it was time to officially re-brand themselves as a group.

While in the Jazz Band, the founding members played multiple instruments and developed the versatility to expand the creative range of their music. Willie Bonds, Tony Smith and Michael Anderson all doubled on bass guitar and guitar, while Philip Jones took on a full drum set. In the meantime, the group concentrated on the long-needed name change to reflect their transition from their jazz roots. Collectively, they decided on the A.M.F.M. Band, which stood for America’s Most Funkiest Musicians.

Under the A.M.F.M. banner, Eric Shotwell joined saxophonist William Lockett on lead vocals and the group began to build the name and fan base throughout Memphis. Soon they had recaptured their popularity from the talent show circuit and became one of the hottest bands in the city. But success under that name was short-lived after it was claimed by a group out of Brunswick, New York called Vaughan Mason and Crew. When the Crew went out on their own, the Memphians were left in a state of shock and on the hunt for a new name.

It helped that they were still in school and gigging in city-wide talent shows because that was where Tony Smith spotted a kick-ass bass player he knew named Bryan D. Jones. Bryan accepted an invitation to audition and he immediately jelled with the group. But lead vocalist Eric Shotwell decided to join a rival band, Galaxy, possibly lured away by their international touring. Now the search was on not only for a new name, but another lead vocalist.

Fortunately, the richness of the Memphis music scene provided the needed talent that once again came from a rival band called Zavion that had two vocalists. One of them, Thomas Hardy, became lead singer for the group, which still needed a name. After a brainstorming session, they came up with a clever play on words for hip young musicians: The Squares, which they spelled THE SKWARES.

Now they were ready to pursue their future as a professional band and take THE SKWARES on the road. By this time, the personnel included Thomas Hardy on vocals; Bryan Jones on bass; Willie Bonds and William Jones on trumpet; Gary Myers on saxophone; and James Durham on valve trombone. They had been gigging around the country without a permanent keyboard player, so Tony Smith doubled on guitar and stage right keyboards while Willie Bonds doubled on trumpet and stage left keyboards. They made it work and made it happen for appreciative audiences across the country.

Things were going smoothly for THE SKWARES until one weekend when they were unable to rent a van or Winnebago in Memphis to travel to Austin, Texas for a gig, so they had to settle for two cars. Willie, Bryan, Michael and Phillip (ex-drummer working as a roadie) were in one of the cars. In the second car, pulling the U-Haul trailer with the equipment, were Tony, Thomas, William Shamaka, and Alvo the roadie.

After gigging for four nights in Austin, they were all tired as they headed back home and the occupants of each car made a fateful decision. Willie, Bryan, Michael and Phillip pushed on to Memphis despite their fatigue. But Tony, Thomas, William Shamaka and Alvo, who were in the car with the trailer, pulled over on the side of the expressway to get some rest. About 4:00 in the morning, the car was struck by a Waco paper company truck whose driver had fallen asleep and almost killed the guys. While their lives were miraculously spared, the U-Haul took the greatest impact of the crash and all of the group’s equipment was lost.

THE SKWARES took this setback as an opportunity to woodshed and work on original material to pursue a record deal. In 1983, they finally landed a recording contract with Atlantic-Cotillion, releasing the singles “Tricky,” “Slam Dunk Affair ,” “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Step by Step” for the label. The album was produced by Jimmy Douglass (aka “The Senator”). After touring overseas in Japan, THE SKWARES were released by Atlantic-Cotillion. The group then picked up a single deal with a Harlem-based company called PMP (Practice Makes Perfect) Records and released a self-produced 12-inch single called “To the Limit” in 1988.

While promoting the new single, THE SKWARES signed a deal with Polygram Records for an album including the singles “Don’t Mess with My Heart” and “Be My Delight.” It was produced by the legendary Charlie Wilson (“Uncle Charlie”) of The GAP Band. The group is currently in talks to re-release their catalog in 2024.

From an eventful journey that started at Northside High School in Memphis nearly four decades ago, a new chapter for THE SKWARES is now beginning. Stay tuned.

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