Snake Road Interview

Formed in 2010, Snake Road is a 4 piece hardcore punk band from Philadelphia, PA. After releasing a 2010 demo, and the 'Severed' EP on Speedowax records, they are now set to release their best material to date - 'Sutured Souls'. Set to release on Speedowax records in the summer, 'Sutured Souls' will be available for a limited run on Open Casket Cassettes. To get a better perspective of their recording process and song writing, I asked guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Brady a few questions.

Seeing how this is the bands first non-DIY recording, how was recording with Will Yip at Studio 4? 

I've been recording in bands for a long time and Studio 4 was, hands down, my best experience.  There's a certain confidence and comfort you get when you work with someone as competent as Will Yip.  I always appreciate an engineer who is as interested in getting a great sound as you are.  In this case, Will worked us very hard and at the end of the day you felt exhausted, but during the day it didn't feel that way at all.  He's able to put you at ease so that you put forth your best effort but you don't even realize it.  It's a great skill that he has.  And the equipment there is just sick.  The live room is awesome and recording through a Neve is next-level good.  Honestly, I can't say enough good things about Will and Studio 4.

'Sutured Souls' will be the follow up to the 'Severed' EP, both on Speedowax from the UK. How did they approach you guys, and how has it been working with them?

It all happened quite randomly.  We had released 'Severed' on our own in digital format and on CD in 2011.  A few months later Rich from Speedowax contacted us.  Apparently he saw a link to our music that someone had posted after one of our shows and downloaded the EP.  I guess he liked what he heard because the next day he offered to press it on vinyl.  We were all super stoked because when you do this stuff on your own for so long it feels like a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders when someone else steps in and offers to help.  We're all grateful to Rich and we can't wait to hear what this record will sound like on vinyl.

Something that doesn't get much appreciation are well written lyrics. You've written some really thought out lyrics that read as life experiences. What are your influences in song writing?

I think you nailed it.  It's all born out of life experiences.  Material for my lyrics can come from different sources.  Some are internal like my own reflections on the world around me.  Others are external like seeing other people navigate through their own lives.  No matter where they come from, I work to organize them and make them as descriptive as possible within the confines of the song.  Our music is very visceral in nature and sometimes I choose lyrics to match it.  Other times they are more of a contrast to the feel of the music.  It all depends on what I want to say at the time.

You guys have played many shows over the last few years. Who was your favorite band to play with, and what was your personal favorite show that you've played?

Can I cheat and talk about an upcoming show? Because I'm stoked to play with Coliseum Wednesday night. The last time I saw them, our friends in Quiet Arcs opened up. Speaking of which, Quiet Arcs is my favorite band right now; one of my favorite shows was playing with them in a South Philly basement a few years ago. I'd take a basement show like that any day over a "big" show where our friends outnumber the people coming to see the headliner.

What can we expect from Snake Road in the future?

You can expect Snake Road to be chilling hard as shit this summer in a neighborhood near you. We'll also be booking more shows. Stay tuned for the release of 'Sutured Souls' on vinyl. Speedowax is pressing them now and so we hope to have physical copies by the end of the summer.

'Sutured Souls' is available for purchase via Open Cakset Cassettes
Visit SnakeRoad.net for all band information and merch.