“But there is no maybe. What happened happened. It’s just what it is.”

Heavy philosophy? No, just Squirrel Bait — and much more.

A band born in the early ’80s punk scene, Squirrel Bait was inspired by Husker Du and Black Flag. Believe it or not, the members of this band were only in high school — ages 15-19. The oldest was Ben Daughtrey.

Ben, being a 19-year-old dropout from Atherton, joined the band after Britt Walford, the original drummer for the band, quit. Ben was six years old when he began drumming. He was influenced by a lot of funk, punk and rock.

In his teens Ben began to explore his musical reach by joining three bands, a punk band, a funk band, and a heavy-metal band. Let’s focus on the metal band. The metal band was called Tooker. It wasn’t scream music — or any of that junk today. It was metal, the original metal, Motörhead and Led Zeppelin, the good stuff.

The story goes on. Ben moves into the Highlands of Louisville and meets an odd character named Byron Hoagland. Byron lived in the neighborhood and they hit it off really well.

“We have always been friends,” Ben said. “Even today when I live in L.A. we have a spiritual connection, like we’re brothers. It’s awesome!”

Byron specialized in playing a nasty bass line. The two were inseparable, but then Squirrel Bait came along. Ben said, “I don’t remember how me and (vocalist) Peter (Searcy) met. All I know is they found out about me somehow. And boy, was I stoked.”

Ben went to the rehearsal room, as he was invited by Peter and the rest of the band, Clark Johnson (bass) Brian McMahan (guitar) David Grubbs (guitar). They all met in Clark’s basement, the rehearsal room. “When we played, we all clicked,” Ben said. “It’s an amazing thing when you click with other people musically.”

The time came. Ben was set on a journey that would change his life — and the lives of the other members forever. During summer break of ’84 the group made their first album, appropriately called “Squirrel Bait.” The album was a hit for underground music and made a mark on many people.

Ben and the gang were on their way to fame. The next summer they went on tour while making another album. So… How in the world were children 15 to 19 able to go on a tour of the East Coast and Midwest?

“I have no idea…” Ben took a moment to think. “I think our parents trusted us, especially Brian’s parents, because he was only 15 or 16! I have no clue why they let us do it.”

I have always wanted to go on a tour at my ripe age of 16, do what Lorde did and prove to the world that kids can be creative. If you have ever listened to their stuff, it sounds like a pre-Nirvana group. As a matter of fact, Squirrel Bait was one of the many inspirations that led that iconic band to be who they are today. Anyway, kids that talented needed to be heard.

“I don’t think I ever dreamed big enough to think that I would be touring half the country at 19. I mean I knew I was good and everything, but I never thought I would have made it this far,” Ben recollects.

It’s true, you don’t see too many kids winning Grammys (Lorde) or MTV VMAs (also Lorde). So it’s very rare to see. They opened for Husker Du, and a ton more bands. At the peak of the young artists’ careers, they decided to just crash it. Ben had no part in breaking up the band; he loved it.

Clark, David and Brian had all their academic careers picked out. The music was just for fun, so when Ben and Peter got a taste of fame….well.

“We wanted it… bad,” Ben recalled. “When we thought that we were cool enough, we just decided to break up. For no reason!”

But wait! It’s not over yet.

Byron and Ben were still hanging out and just playing music.

“After I left, Byron and I said, ‘Lets make more bands,'” and boy, did they. They made about three or four other bands, one being called Fancy Pants, which had a little fame. They also played for a band called the Lemonheads, a pretty awesome band, a band way bigger than Squirrel Bait — so big they went on Conan. Look it up on YouTube. They were by far the funniest, most innovative band I have heard in a long time.

Ben and Byron played on tour, and as he simply put it, “All of it was a lot of fun.” Ben and Byron’s pinnacle was most definitely Love Jones.

My dad and Ben and Byron were and still are very good friends, so I heard a lot of them. I even went to rehearsals. I still listen. I suggest you check them out. Ben did that for a long time, up until two years ago when the band officially quit and released their final album. But there was conflict and breaking up in the ’90s.

“I had my wife, and a daughter. I was afraid I was never going to see my kid grow up,” Ben recites from his most recent memories.

It was quite a predicament. Ben would have to give up his newfound fame and replace it with a wife and child. The band broke up in the early ’90s but did reunion shows here in Louisville.

Where is everyone now? Well, they’re all scattered around, Clark Johnson is a lawyer here in Louisville and doing very well for himself. David Grubbs is an underground music star. Peter Searcy is still singing to this day. Brian McMahan formed the legendary band that is Slint. Byron is also doing very well for himself. Finally, Ben. Ben is in L.A. as a TV producer and is currently working on a show for the Discovery Channel called “Breaking Point,” which will be airing in the near future.

So as a final question I asked him would he ever play music again. He immediately responded with, “Yes. But not for the fame, only for the music.” A fantastic answer.

Anyone who truly loves music will agree with this. It isn’t about fame or money or drugs. It’s about the things that spew from your mind and splatter on a paper in odd shapes. It doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it. It matters if you like it. Remember the part about Nirvana? How it helped inspire them?

Ben added, “Makes you wonder what would’ve happened if Squirrel Bait turned into something like Nirvana.”

I responded with “Yeah, maybe, if you guys went with the record deal.”

He said, “But there is no maybe. What happened happened. It’s just what it is.”

I will never forget that quote.