Ignore what any Chinese New Year calendar may tell you about this being the Year of the Horse. For anyone following a certain four-piece band from Southern California, it is clearly the Year of the Snake. With an album released March 4th named just that, Silver Snakes have pounded their way amid an ensemble of distortion back into the forefront of current rock music. Moving on from their 2011 release Pictures Of A Floating World, the band have managed to incorporate a wider range of styles, from some honest sludge tones to an aesthetic which sits comfortably next to grunge. Acclaim soon followed, as Rocksound described the record as ‘an impressive and diverse 44-minutes.’ With the album currently being promoted via a tour in the US, I managed to get in touch with lead singer/guitarist Alex Estrada on Silver Snakes chances of coming to Europe, recording for the new album, and most importantly, which Disney character he would most like to spend a day with.
B.G.M.: First off, congratulations on Year of the Snake, this is a fantastic album. Could you give me a little background to how you began work on this record?
Alex Estrada: Thank you. The first songs for the record were written in Nov of 2012. I drove up to a cabin in Lake Arrowhead, CA and locked myself away for a bit to work on demos. I ended up writing “All Your Eye”, “Red” and “Sundance” on the first day and then worked on a bunch of weird, Industrial sounding songs that we ending up scrapping. The rest of the record was written over the course of the 6 weeks leading up to our first day in the studio. I wanted it to be as raw as possible, and figured that starting over from scratch and relying heavily on our instincts in the studio would help us achieve that.
I know you own your own recording studio, and that you did the recording for this album yourselves. How was that whole process?
It was fairly painless. We tracked drums with Roger Camero at his “Bright Lights Studio” in Orange County, and tracked the rest at my studio in Downtown LA. We spent around 2 weeks on the recording before sending it off to Brian McTernan for mixing. I’m really happy with how it all turned out.
How do you guys approach writing the music itself?
I demo a lot of songs on my own at my studio and then typically just send them off to the guys before we meet up to practice. A few sections end up changing once we are all in a room together, and then go on to be further refined while recording.
Are there any thematic elements to the album?
Lyrically, it’s about the year of the snake. Situations I was in, and the anticipation as to how they would turn out in the second half of the year.
If Year of the Snake was to exist as some sort of mythical creature, what would it look like?
The Man From Another Place.
You guys definitely have your own take on playing a post-hardcore style of music, with “Smokestack” a particular favourite of mine off of the new album. How would you describe the music you play to someone that has never listened to you before?
Loud, dark rock music. We are a rock band. I think all the sub-genres are silly. We get called post-hardcore, Hardcore, Grunge, Alt Rock etc.. It’s just rock music to me.
Having played shows with bands ranging from Junius to La Dispute, I think it’s fair to say Silver Snakes have gigged with some pretty special acts. If you had to pick two bands to go on tour with, either still active or defunct, who would you go with and why?
Lack and Cult Of Luna would be my personal choices. Lack was a band from Denmark that broke up around 2008. They have always been one of the biggest influences on our band, and sharing the stage with them would definitely be a dream come true. We are all huge fans of Cult Of Luna. Being able to see them every night would be amazing.
Could you describe your live show in three words?
What just happened
Any special pre-show rituals?
Absinthe, beers, and bowls seem to be a reoccurring theme in this band. No dorky chants or anything like that.
What is the most memorable gig you’ve ever played?
Getting to play with Shiner was a good one. Never thought I’d get to see that band, much less share the stage with them.
You’ve been playing the US in support of the new record. Any chance you guys will be coming to Europe any time soon?
We really hope so. We talk about it all the time. We’ve been bugging the shit out of The Ocean on this tour to take us out there soon. I’d love to tour Europe with Wovenhand. That’s my goal for the year.
If you could hang out for a day with any Disney character, who would you pick and why?
One of the Princesses. Probably Jasmine.
As a band from L.A. who is trying to make a name for yourselves in such a saturated market, what would your advice be to any youngsters aspiring to become musicians?
Do whatever you want. Don’t idolize other bands, don’t worry about labels. Play the music you want to hear, nothing else matters.