Snake! Snake! Snakes!
Gig Seeker Pro

Snake! Snake! Snakes!

Phoenix, Arizona, United States | SELF

Phoenix, Arizona, United States | SELF
Band Pop Rock

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"10 Arizona Bands You Should Listen To Now"

With their cohesive power-folk-rock, SSS have been on a steady rise since releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2010. Their songs have been picked up by college radio stations across the country and they’ve been working hard on releasing a proper LP to introduce the band to an even larger fandom. (PASTE Magazine) - Paste Magazine


"Twenty Must-See Bands at SXSW 2012"

This based power-folk quartet is one of the 10 Arizona bands we recommend you listen to right this moment. Their cohesive and powerful melodies are along the lines of Interpol and Joy Division, which charmed college radio stations across the country and earned their EP a spot on CMJ’s charts. Lead by Jonathan Messenger’s soothing vocals and swirling arrangements, the band is taking a break from recording their debut LP to stop by SXSW along with an army of bands from the desert. It’s their cohesive live sound, however, that appears to have them ready to tackle 2012 in full force.—Adam Vitcavage (PASTE Magazine) - Paste Magazine


"Best of Twenty-Ten"

The number 10 spot on the countdown goes to a band that shows a lot of promise. Snake, Snake Snakes call Phoenix their home, and if they take the right steps are the next big thing to come out the desolate wasteland, that is the Phoenix Music Scene. They have been described as Arcade Fire meets Radiohead and so far from what I have see that’s apt. The baseline of “We Come Out at Night” is the driving force of the song. It will hook you until the end. - land.sea.&air


"Self-Titled EP Review"

Snakes! Snakes! Snakes! reign from Phoenix ( no wonder the name) and have supported fellow statesman, Jimmy Eat World. Their debut EP came out last summer and has been floating around the net. We just found time to have a better listen and found the songs moving and captivating. The swirling lush guitar sounds, dramatic string arrangements and moody vocals draw comparisons to Arcade Fire, Joy Division and Interpol. For the last year Snakes! have been playing around Downtown Phoenix’s dynamic Art scene playing art galleries, bars, and clubs perfecting their sound and solidifying a line up. This EP is awesome. Snakes! has a lot of potential andf promise. - From Go To Whoa


"Self-Titled EP Promo"

* - DJ Bynar's Indie Disco


"Self-Titled EP Review"

This self-titled EP by Phoenix-based Snake! Snake! Snakes! made it to #46 on the CMJ charts. Produced by Bob Hoag (The Format, Joel Plaskett, Dear and the Headlights), the album sparkles with light melodies awash in lush atmospheres, strong vocals, and domineering choruses. “City on Fire” opens the album with a fantastic building chorus armed with huge anthems and vocals stirred with punctuating percussion and moody instrumentation. Precise melodies and dramatic arrangements make it easy for people to mumble words like Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, and Interpol but don’t get caught up in the comparisons because nothing about this dynamic group is stereotypical or expected. Danceable rhythms douse you with knee bouncing mania. The vocals are special as are each fabulously arranged song. This is the future of the college pop music scene. - Smother Magazine


"Self-Titled EP Review"

Pg. 21 - Warp Magazine


"Self-Titled EP Review"

I'm in love. Wie schon seit langem nicht mehr. Hört hier mal rein, und verliebt euch ebenso in Snake! Snake! Snakes! aus Arizona. Hier könnt ihr euch ihre ganze EP anhören und sie beispielsweise hier zu eurem Eigentum machen. - Musique Magnetique


"Snake! Snake! Snakes! Getting a Push for National College Radio Play"

It's a quiet Friday afternoon at Carly's Bistro, and the members of Phoenix indie-rock act Snake! Snake! Snakes! shuffle in one by one. First comes guitarist/vocalist Jon Messenger, followed by bassist Chris Sanchez and, finally, drummer David Cooper, who slides down into his chair with uncalculated ease. The group announces that we regrettably won't be joined by the band's keyboardist, George "Georgie" Rodriguez, who's in California for the weekend.
Snake! Snake! Snakes!: The latest Flying Blanket product.
courtesy of Snake! Snake! Snakes!
Snake! Snake! Snakes!: The latest Flying Blanket product.
Details
Snake! Snake! Snakes! are scheduled to perform on Wednesday, August 11, at the Rhythm Room.
Related Content

* Why Arcade Fire Is the Best Canadian Band of All Time
October 7, 2010
* Arcade Fire, Caribou, Steve Martin, and More in This Week's Issue
October 7, 2010
* What's Selling: Stinkweeds
August 16, 2010
* What Does The Suburbs Hitting #1 Mean for Indie Rock?
August 16, 2010
* Arcade Fire Outduels Eminem, Lands Top Spot on Billboard Charts
August 11, 2010

More About

* The Mountain Goats (Band)
* Jon Messenger
* Chris Sanchez
* Indie Rock and Indie Pop
* Arts, Entertainment, and Media

The lunch rush has passed, and we're nearly alone in the cafe, with only a few patrons sipping afternoon beers and wine at scattered tables. A mix of vintage Mountain Goats songs plays overhead — the old stuff, warbly and distorted by cheap tape — and I can't help mentally comparing the lo-fi, homespun recordings on the stereo with the new disc from the Triple-S crew. The guys sitting down at Carly's exemplify the current trend of indie kids fetishizing '70s –style stadium fare; all huge drums, cavernous guitars and gigantic vocals, à la Arcade Fire. Snakes sound a world removed from the Mountain Goats' old sound, as trendy as it was a few years ago.

SSS is in for a busy day. Sanchez has to work soon, and Messenger and Cooper are heading to a studio to record radio promos. Their new, self-titled EP was the ninth-most-added record on college radio, according to industry publication CMJ, and has steadily been gaining airplay.

Cooper tries out his best "smooth radio announcer" voice while Messenger shakes his head in amazement. He's been piloting the band for six years, though various incarnations and with rotating lineups, and it feels as though it's finally starting to take off.

Their label, Common Wall Media, has just inked a distribution with Modern Art, the former Phoenix-based label situated in New York. Given the steadily rising profile of Common Wall and Modern Arts — thanks to prominent records by Back Ted N-Ted, Miniature Tigers, and Gospel Claws — I ask the band how it feels to be part of the music industry mechanism, complete with a set of publicists pushing their record nationwide.

"It's a great feeling," Cooper boasts. "It's great to know that people around America are hearing it and feeling as excited about it as we are."

"It's a new feeling," Messenger adds, sounding genuinely dumbstruck. "It feels like it's been a long journey to get where we are now."

The band's journey has thus far consisted of one continuous hurdle: keeping a drummer in the band.

"We just were putting all our efforts toward making it through our drummer situation," Messenger says. "We didn't have a solidified band to actually push anything for a long time. We'd have a drummer, we'd think it was good, then things would start slowing down, and we couldn't record [because a drummer quit]."

Cooper found his way into the Snakes' fold when he moved next door to Messenger.

"I use to hear the band practicing," he says. "I'd pause my movie or whatever and just listen. I never imagined I'd end up playing with them."

"We went through nine or 10 drummers," Messengers says. "We even tried having no drummer, just the three of us playing percussion in addition to guitar and stuff," Sanchez adds. "It was kind of cool, but it just wasn't the sound. Things really came together with Cooper."

With a solid lineup intact and some financial assistance from Common Wall, the band headed into Bob Hoag's Flying Blanket Studios, a drastic departure from their previous recording experiences.

"At first it was a struggle. It was really different," Sanchez says. "We were used to bedroom recordings."

"[Hoag] does double the amount of work that a producer or engineer would do," Messenger says, describing how as the band settled into their surroundings, they began to feel more comfortable. "He's got a name for himself for a reason. A lot of bands hear the sounds that come out of there but don't know the amount of effort he puts into stuff."

The band decided to scale back their intentions in the studio and focus on recording their five best songs.

"We were like, we could have eight songs that sound all right," Cooper says. "Or five - The Phoenix NewTimes


"Self-Titled EP Review"

A friend e-mailed me a few days ago, hinting that I should write about more local bands in Nothing Not New. Though I've written about Authority Zero and Eyes Set to Kill (and I will be writing about the new Jimmy Eat World record tomorrow, probably), those acts are national bands by this point. It's true that I've mostly avoided writing about local bands, because I figured that's what Michael Lopez's You Asked for It feature is for, and that's really the purview of someone who considers himself a critic, like my editor, Martin Cizmar.


So in the e-mail, the guy attached the new EP by Phoenix quartet Snake! Snake! Snakes!, a band that colleague Jason P. Woodbury profiled in the August 5 issue of New Times. Though I'm hesitant to write about the locals, everyone seems to be talking about this band (playing tonight at the Rhythm Room, incidentally), so I might as well add my two cents.




This five-song EP reveals a real solid band, one probably destined to achieve a level of national success that the vast majority of local bands will not enjoy. The passionate performance on the EP shows off a confidence in the material that you don't often see in first recordings. It sounds as though the band's been together for years and years, but the current lineup is relatively new.


The songwriting is good, if not terribly original. It's late-2000s indie rock with a capital "I." These guys are clearly tapping into the widespread love for the Walkmen and, especially, Arcade Fire, an influence they unabashedly wear on their sleeve. Why not? AF is huge and getting huger by the day. S!S!S! does a damn approximation of AF, with sing-from-the-mountaintop choruses and the sort of let-the-listener-in kind of songwriting that few bands can actually pull off.


Seems to me, S!S!S! has enough big hooks, musical chops, and ability to rock out when they need to and pull back when needed to go somewhere bigger than the local indie-rock scene. Perhaps the biggest drawback of S!S!S! is the name. I can't think of a local band that has suffers a higher talent-to-name ratio. The way I see it, you want 1:1 ratio, where talent and band name are suited to each other. I'd say Triple S!'s ratio is about 10:1 -- tons of talent and long-term promise, absolutely miserable band name. Please, Modern Art Records, make the boys change it.

Best song: The driving, moody "We Come Out at Night"
Rotation: Medium
Deja vu: The crowd tonight at Rhythm Room: Stand there and look serious.
I'd rather listen to: Hot Snakes or Deadly Snakes would do.
Grade: B
- Phoenix NewTimes Blog "Nothing Not New"


"Self-Titled EP Review"

To the delight of all, Phoenix, Ariz.-based SNAKE! SNAKE! SNAKES! released its self-titled EP Aug. 11.

The band immediately draws in listeners with its mature and sumptuous sound. Jonathan Messenger’s ghostly voice haunts each track, backed by fellow snakes Christopher Sanchez and George Rodriguez.

Every song on its six-track EP is highlighted by arrangements that build up, climaxing in an epic fusion of indie rock and classic new wave. Think The Shins meets Joy Division. Yes. They are worth listening to if you can manage to find some time.

The band is scheduled to begin touring this fall. I wouldn’t miss a chance to hear their material live. Their songs are the kind of melodic art so rarely heard from an amateur act.

Their sound manages to be reminiscent of classics like Joy Division and Interpol, yet still remain incredibly fresh. A must-listen for 2010.

- RedandBlack.com


"Self-Titled EP Review"

Their venom venom venoms is musical genius genius geniuses. Though I can't figure out how to stretch this already weak snake metaphor I will say that this sounds like indie rock Joy Division meets calm Pixies meets lush Mountain Goats. - Roctober


"Self-Titled EP Review"

Grand (and often grandiose) songs that ring out well past their rootsy roots. The Kings of Leon reference on the press sticker is well-earned, although these boys are rather more conceptual.

And they move things along better, too. I'm all for that, by the way. It's all well and good to make epochal songs that try to encapsulate the world in four minutes, but if you forget about the groove I just can't get interested. Snake! Snake! Snakes! always keeps its songs in motion.

One of those EPs that instantly prompts a craving for more. I don't know exactly what world these boys came from, but I'm glad they're here now.
- Aid and Abet


"Self-Titled EP Review"

For some, songs tend to call forth hidden emotions, and the indie, folk rock band Snake! Snake! Snakes! are certainly on top of that. One run though their debut self-titled EP and these guys – Jonathan Messenger (vocals/guitar), Christopher Sanchez (vocals/bass), George Rodriguez (piano) and David Cooper (percussion) – get you right in the gut. Their music is a potent force to twist your loving thoughts and shake up your mushy, fragile heart.

The Arizona band lists Interpol, Bob Dylan, Muse, Radiohead, Bloc Party, Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie as influences. If you like any of the aforementioned musicians, then let Snakes! slither their way into your heart. Just listen to “City on Fire” and “We Come Out at Night.” These two songs show that this band, much like the limbless creature, is capable of considerable extension. They’ve produced an EP with mesmerizing, provoking melodies and expressive, killer lyrics that might even get Indiana Jones to reassess his reptilian phobia.

Grade: A

- Campus Circle


"Self-Titled EP Review"

I can’t ever imagine saying “hey, let’s go see Snake! Snake! Snakes! tonight,” but a band can name themselves whatever they want. However, I do get the honor of reviewing the debut, self-titled EP of a young, ambitious band. Snakes! takes the art-rock approach, surprisingly underused, using layered, dense arrangements. They mix in violins, organs, bells, and piano when the song calls for them, though thankfully not all at once. The opener, “City on Fire” sounds Arcade Fire-ish, but this is a young band and influences will show; that’s okay. I couldn’t stick “City on Fire” to anything more than an influence as opposed to it sounding directly like another song. It rides a nice blend of vocal and instrumental melodic tug and pull, and jumps into a couple of hooks that give the song a nice pay-off.

“We Come Out at Night” is good barometer of how the rest of the EP shakes out. Snakes! allows their music to be punchy, despite the layers of instrumentation. The bass pounds at a quickened pace, while the drums are crashing to keep up. There are no solos or very many sections that standout as hooks from the music’s perspective, so their ability to find melody as complementary pieces is actually impressive. Frontman Jon Messenger absolutely kills his performance on the EP, which is something I hope he continues to develop as this band goes forward. His ability to drive melodies within the context of the music is fantastic, and I like when a vocalist can make songs catchy without using bubblegum, sing-songy tactics. We then come to the most polarizing thing about the EP. I winced when I heard the intro to “Porcelain,” which was a little too close to resembling Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” intro that everyone knows. I was thinking, “No! Snakes! don’t do this! You have such a good thing going!” Then the verse hits, subdued and somber, and it’s really damn good. If I had never heard “Wake Up,” this song would have blown my damn mind. It’s great, nonetheless–it has to be because Snakes! can’t help but make it a beautiful song, but “Wake Up” lingers over “Porcelain” just a little bit.

This EP is awesome. Snakes! has a ton of promise. As they play more, grow together, those Arcade Fire moments will be hashed out of them because they’re so talented, so I don’t worry about that aspect of them at all. We’re talking about a debut EP from a young band, so of course there will be lumps like the one I mentioned, but this is an ideal start for any band. I couldn’t be more excited for the full-length.

- Adequacy.net


Discography

Self-Titled EP - Released Aug 11, 2010
(Common Wall / Modern Art)

"Thieves" B-Side available via download card
(Common Wall / Modern Art)

"Outsiders" - Released Mar 13, 2012
(Common Wall / Modern Art)

"Wild Nights" - Release TBA 2012
(Common Wall)

Photos

Bio

Listed as one of the '20 must see bands at SXSW 2011' by PASTE Magazine, Snake! Snake! Snakes! has started with a deeply mature sound. The songs are epic, moving and captivating. The swirling lush guitar sounds, dramatic string arrangements and moody vocals draw comparisons to Arcade Fire, Joy Division and Interpol.

The EP was produced by Bob Hoag at Flying Blanket Recording in Mesa AZ. Bob is best known for producing records for The Format, Dear and The Headlights, and Joel Plaskett as well as playing drums in The Love Me Nots, The Go Reflex and The Ataris. The EP is one of the first releases by the new alliance between Common Wall Media and Modern Art Records.

Snake Snake Snakes S/T EP reached #22 on CMJ's Top 200 List!

Snake Snake Snakes song "City On Fire" debuted on Anchor Bay's independent film trailer "Tanner Hall"

"We Come Out At Night" was featured in CW's "Vampire Diaries" TV show.

"We Come Out At Night" was also recently featured on Sephora's "Kat Von D New American Beauty Art Tour" Promo.