Formed in 1995 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the members of Squeezetoy spent their early years playing high school parties and opening for larger acts at small local venues. After parting a year for college, Jason Martin (vocals), Brian and Daniel Dickerson (twin guitar and bass players), and Zack Johnson (drums) reunited to play local fraternity shows as well as headlining medium-sized venues. In 2000, the guys graduated from N.C. State and UNC respectively and also added a second vocalist to the group named Omotade Adeniyi. "O" was a rising local hip-hop star from the group Lower Thirds. Shortly thereafter, the band secured opening slots at the Vans Warped Tour 2000. Squeezetoy's exposure to the tour, the bands, and the fans encouraged the guys to stick with their new lineup and focus on writing and performing.
Fusing hip-hop, reggae, rock, and classical guitar, Squeezetoy quickly became known as a "high- energy" live act with the ability to captivate rock, hip-hop, pop, and jam rock audiences alike. "It's all about the synergy between the audience and the band," states Omotade "we expect full crowd participation from beginning to end," he says. Word quickly spread locally among rock fans about these "high synergy" shows and the bands unique ability to perform unrehearsed "freestyle" sessions, which had immediate appeal to hip-hop and jam band fans as well.
In 2001, Squeezetoy was picked by Pamela Anderson as "Unsigned band of the year" out of 2000 bands in North America in a contest sponsored by Beer.com. After playing another date at the Vans Warped Tour, the band was flown to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to open the main stage at the Rolling Rock Town Fair playing alongside Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, Staind, Live, Deftones, Oleander, and Tantric. Only a month later, the band spent two weeks in Los Angeles hanging with Pamela and Kid Rock and recording their 2001 release "When you're here...you're there" at the notorious Westlake Studios (Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Limp Bizkit's "Significant Other"). By the fall of 2001, the band returned to the east coast with press in Spin, on CNN, Entertainment Tonight, and at AOL.com, which helped the band begin distributing thousands of the 10,000 complimentary copies of the new EP.
In 2002, Squeezetoy secured a booking agent and began touring North Carolina and the southeast circuit playing small venues with the support of Budweiser and their True Music campaign. The band also got the opportunity to open for national acts such as Aerosmith/Kid Rock, Chili Peppers/Snoop Dogg, Filter, Cowboy Mouth, The Exies, Jimmies Chicken Shack, 2 Skinnee Js, Outkast, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Phunk Junkeez, and Slightly Stoopid. During this time the band distributed 6000+ copies of their EP and began getting airtime at 96 Rock in Raleigh, 106.5 The END in Charlotte, 107.5 The Wave in Wilmington, and 99X in Atlanta.
During 2003, the band continued its grassroots touring playing over 100 shows on the east coast from Michigan to Florida. The band took time out in August to record their new EP "Contact" produced by Eddie Eyeball of the 2 Skinnee Js. Released in early 2004, the EP received critical acclaim by Southern Publications and Radio Stations.
Squeezetoy pushed into 2004 with a complete East Coast Tour, then went overseas to the middle east to perform for troops in 6 different countries (including Iraq). Upon returning back to the US, they picked up a nationwide tour with Afroman(Because I got High) and has started selling hundreds of units in Japan.
With 200+ shows in 2004, Squeezetoy has continued its live show touring in 2005 and has begun creating new material which encompasses the groups maturity and experience in the music industry.
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