Snake Island!

The two highlights I caught were Snake Island playing a blistering, well-crafted set of garage-ish rock that was too well-played, too “put together’ to really be considered “garage.” The word “slick” came to mind, along with “professional” and “tight.” - Lazy I

Rick Carson, a record producer and engineer at Make Believe, is looking forward to working with Snake Island! on its upcoming record.

“As far as Omaha bands go, I think they have a very bright future,” Carson said. - Daily Nebraskan

Same night across town- Snake Island played the dirty, gritty, and jam packed O’leavers Pub which is one of Omaha’s legendary rock n’ roll landmarks. It was a very fitting venue for the band who seem to sound better each time I stumble upon seeing them. - Mouse Mouse

I talked to Snake Island! guitar player Allen Schleich about the band’s first tour, their sound and Allen’s penchant for eating 60 tacos in one sitting:

Q What brings you to Beaumont, all the way from Omaha?
A Our car. Well, actually JT of The Escatones out of Houston, who I found through some intense Google searching for similar bands, was insurmountably helpful in booking us some gigs in and around Texas.

Beaumont, naturally, is a good spot to play between Houston and our next stop on the tour, New Orleans, and JT knew Tequila Rok would be a good gig, so he set us up.

Q I’m guessing this isn’t your first tour — how do you stay sane on the road?
A A little surprise, this is the band’s first true “tour.” As individual musicians we’ve all hit the road and as a band we’ve done a few out of town gigs; but this is our first nationwide trek as Snake Island!

As far as staying sane, personally, I embrace the insanity. Tour is a roller-coaster and at the low points of eating nothing but Ramen and playing to no one but the bartender and waitress, you just have to know there’s going to be a packed house the next day and someone might buy you pizza. Or your car will break down. Whatever happens — happens, and you have to make the most of it.

Q According to your bio you are, “shamans of love; runaway sons of a post-nuclear age and most exulted revelators of the secret cosmic Id.” I like that. This isn’t so much of a question as it is a statement, I guess.
A We’re also mustache enthusiasts.

Q What’s the story behind your band’s name?
A We like adventure, mysteries and travel, much like the Hardy Boys or Duran Duran. Our singer Garrett came up with the name and I’m pretty sure it was after reading too many Hardy Boys novels.

Q You guys play a style of music that seems to be really catching people’s attention right now — kind of a psch-y new style of blues. I’ve been listening to the new Little Hurricane album a lot and you guys kind of reminded me of them. What other new bands have you come across that are doing interesting things in the vein of music y’all are playing?
A We performed with The Night Beats who have got some fantastic psychedelic sounds. Swamp Walk from our home town of Omaha has got a cool Doom-y/Sabbath-y thing going right now, too.

We’re set to play with a lot of cool bands on tour too, like Deep Space out of Austin and Richard The Lionhearted out of Columbio, Mo., for instance.

Q If I read correctly, it seems that you once held the record for most tacos eaten in one sitting in Lincoln. I’m guessing that’s one of your prouder achievements in life?
A I’m incredibly proud. I held the beef taco record at 54 and the bean taco record at 69. The record stood for a year and a half. I’m only 5’11 and 160 lbs. and I can definitely eat more tacos (or anything) than guys twice my size. - Beaumont Enterprise

Rock Paper Dynamite are returning to Omaha, just in time for Snake Island to leave town on tour. Rock Paper Dynamite pulled up stakes last year for North Carolina, but now they seem to be splitting time between here and there. The band's presence in Omaha is a welcome one, as they play a brand of no-frills, good-time rock 'n' roll that's scarce in town. Meanwhile, Snake Island will be headed out on a three-week tour starting with this show. The psych-rock band is also re-releasing their self-titled EP on vinyl and cassette at the show. Fellow black-cast psych-roots band Dim Light and the youthful, bluesy Decatures round at this all-star local bill. - The Reader

Snake Island! slithered south to play 21 shows for our first tour from June 22-July 15. Since every day is a story in itself, we’ll trim the fat and personal accounts to give a brief overview on the tour as a whole. There were mostly great times, but also small frustrations. At some point in the tour, Garrett described being on the road as a “super fun nightmare,” which to me seemed accurate since the bad times made for great stories the next day.

The coolest venue we played may have been the Bottletree in Birmingham, Ala. Unfortunately this was probably our least attended show on the road. However, they were by far the most accommodating venue. They fed us and then let us stay in a couple of ’70s-style campers overnight that were fenced in by barbed wire. These things had big TVs, Atari, bedding, A/C, baskets of clean socks, massage chairs, etc.

The song "Dirty Bones" inspires a guest to join the band at Tequila Rok in Beaumont, Texas.

Houston, New Orleans and Chicago were possibly the three coolest cities we played in. Houston surprised us as our favorite city in Texas. Everyone talks about Austin these days, but they should be talking about Houston. New Orleans had a lot of character and was preserved more than most places you go. It makes you feel like you’re in a Tarantino movie at night. Chicago was a good place to be winding down on tour. It’s a big city with good food, great bands and no public bathrooms anywhere.

There were some awesome moments, some of which crossed the line between amazing and weird. In Detroit, a guy threw an empty beer can at me while I played drums, and then threw his Iron Maiden shirt at me. I threw it back at him, and then he just threw it at me again. He swiped his card at the bar for $50 in $1 bills and ran on stage throwing all the money at us, literally making it rain. After that, he put his hat on Garrett’s head, stage dove straight into the floor, pissed himself and then ran off with one of our shirts. Our minds were blown. Who was this guy?

We got really used to the uncertainty of where we were sleeping each day. It was one of those things that we usually had to figure out at the show we were playing by asking around. There was only one night that we didn’t get a plan figured out, which led to us sleeping in the woods with no camping gear. This was not necessarily an ideal scenario, but you can only get lucky so often. If we did get a place to stay, there was the chance that they wanted to party all night. Going to bed after 4 a.m. became routine.

Snake Island! performs two songs in a mashup at Hairhole in Columbia, Mo.

The more interesting stories are about the people we met on the road. We met a 53-year-old local crackhead avant-garde music legend in Texas, saw someone breathe in the fumes of their burnt chest hair followed by shaving a question mark in it, and had people lighting sparklers inside on the 4th of July. Someone even asked if they could take Garrett’s socks off for him.

Despite someone attempting to break into our trailer in New Orleans, playing a show with a broken tom head, and unpredictable sleeping patterns, the tour was a success. We made friends with awesome bands such as Thunder Brother, Tennessee Scum, Strange Baby, Soft Jolts and others. All in all, there were more good times than bad. We’ll begin recording our full-length record in August at Make Believe studios. New record, new lineup, new songs. We’re ready to shed our skin and hit the road again. - Hear Nebraska

This New Years Eve, Snake Island is ringing in the new with a venomous hit that will be a certified, memorable way to send off 2011. The boys will be releasing a new 12-inch vinyl, and will be throwing a release bash at the Sandbox to accommodate their new addition - HearNe.org

Snake Island!’s sultry garage rock thrills fans of blues rock, rockabilly and psychedelic rock alike - Shout!

Snake Island! used their opening set as a continued announcement of their rapidly-developing raw power. The band now hits on touchstones like the Doors, the Gun Club and 13th Floor Elevators in a way that easily conveys both knowledge and their own innate creative streak within those influences. The closest contemporary may just be Austin, Tex.'s Black Angels, though Snake Island! throbs with elements of surf, rockabilly and other biker-rock moves that the Angels just drone away from - The Reader

Hard rockers and Omaha Entertainment Award-nominated Snake Island!, headline this year’s annual Goth Ball — and fittingly so since this year’s GB theme is “Venom.” Lead guitarist Allan Schleich took time to discuss with The Reader the band’s first studio release, nudity and what and what makes their sound unique compared to other bands in Omaha. - The Reader

Boasting a tight sound, Snake Island is a young band with a great bluesy, rock feel. Despite somewhat erratic and awkward stage presence, the band used this tension to draw audience members into their drink-inducing rock. With callbacks to The Doors, long instrumental interludes gave listeners a chance to focus on their musical talent. We were all appreciative that the band understood their purpose was to play great music rather than banter in between songs. The sound was clean, threaded tightly and stayed solid throughout the set. I’m confident that when their presence grows into their musical talent, Snake Island will have a significant future on the local music scene. - HearNe.org