Snakes Like Converse

The name Snakes Like Converse emerged when Izzy and myself (Lindy) were filming a movie for class. We were sitting back in the woods, pretending to be homeless bums when a couple snakes got curious and came around to see who had invaded their territory. Lucky for us, though, they were more curious than angry. One of them got close enough to slither across Izzy's shoe when one of us mentioned that snakes like converse, and thus- the name was born.

Before we named ourselves, we only had one song written (Summer's Lifeline) in the summer of '07. Once we decided on a memorable, unique band name, we made a myspace and took off. Since there were only two of us in the beginning, we were limited to acoustic shows (which were actually a lot of fun, now that I'm thinking about it.) We started out playing small gigs around our school and town as an acoustic show. But we didn't want to stay quiet for long.

Soon after we bought a four track recorder and that Christmas I purchased my current electric guitar. We quickly became naturals at recording and mixing (in the corner of my bedroom, mind you) our music ourselves. At the very end of '08 we had turned our only song, Summer's Lifeline into a full set, electric performance piece.

We continued this way for the next year, writing and recording on our four track. I learned bass, and we used a drum machine so we could get the sound of a full band.

But one day me and Izzy were standing on line to see a show in NYC when we heard about a battle of the bands in The Knitting Factory. Without hesitation we signed up. But there was no way we were going to settle for an acoustic show at a battle of the bands.

We quickly found a drummer (Jacob Sellars), another guitarist (Jared Weiss), and a bassist (Gabe Schilling) to sit in for the battle of the bands. They learned our music within a month, and before we knew it, we were playing with a full band, live, in NYC.

Then college came, and Izzy and I decided to go to Plattsburgh, so we could keep the band together. Right now, we continue to write music (but now we've upgraded to garage band) as we look for other serious musicians to play live with.

We met Garth Clark at college, who is an amazing bassist. Although he's only been with us for a month, it feels like it's been years.

We're always writing music, simply because it comes naturally. Izzy and I are never going to stop playing (even if it's only acoustic shows in the lobby of our dorm) because we've never done anything as fulfilling as being in a band like this one. I hope you feel what I feel when we play our music live, because there's nothing like it.