Unless you're a complete stranger to Echoes and Dust you won't have been able to avoid noticing that we're pretty excited about ArcTanGent Festival in Bristol this summer (you can win tickets from us here). One of the most exciting aspects of the bill is the number of enormously intriguing up-and-coming artists on the bill and one such act from the south-west that caught our eye were hardcore noise rockers The St. Pierre Snake Invasion. Read all about them below and then join us for their set at ArcTanGent in August...
(((o))): So, first and foremost, who are The St. Pierre Snake Invasion and what are your musical backgrounds?
We are: Mr Samuel Forbes on drums, Mr Mark Fletcher on bass, Mr Patrick Daly and Mr Szack Notaro on guitars, and myself Damien Sayell (go-go dancer and vocalist). Our musical backgrounds are too dark and mysterious to divulge in full. Dark and mysterious as in too boring for anyone with the capacity to understand the written form of English to read.
(((o))): How did the band come together?
We actually met at a group therapy session for compulsive liars. Nick Nolte introduced me to the rest of the boys who were taking it turns to arm wrestle Finlay Quaye. Later that night Nick flew us out to Hong Kong in his private jet to have dinner with Jackie Chan who encouraged us to start a band....oh sorry I'm at it again. I moved to Bristol from Wales three years ago and met the boys through a mutual friend. True Story.
(((o))): Please describe your sound in poetic form. (Haiku, rhyming couplets, acrostic, etc - take your pick)
Our sound is a salacious slice of sizzling satirical symphony served as an audial assault aimed at articulating an abundance of angst and altruism through the artistic arena of alliteration.
(((o))): Has your local music scene had any impact on you as a band?
It hasn't had an impact on what type of music we want to make. It's had an impact in the sense that it's thriving at the moment. We've been fortunate enough to have played with established local acts that guarantee a crowd whenever they play. So we've been able to build our reputation off the back of other people's hard labour. Jackpot.
(((o))): Your new EP came out recently. Tell us a little bit about it...
Indeed it did, 'Everyone's Entitled to My Opinion' is the name of the EP. It is our second to date and the biggest ball-ache the band has endured thus far I think. It took what felt like forever to finally put it out to the public, but it was worth the wait and we are all very happy with the end result.
(((o))): I first checked you guys out on the recommendation of the team at ArcTanGent Festival, which you are playing this summer. We’re all very much looking forward to that weekend here at Echoes and Dust. Who else (other than yourselves of course) should we catch over the course of the weekend?
You can join us for a whiskey whilst enjoying sets from, Casimir, POHL, The Naturals, Among Brothers, Spectres, Hysterical injury, Big Naturals, Flights, Turbowolf, Blacklisters, Castrovalva and, of course, Future of the left.
(((o))): What do you think is the most difficult challenge facing new bands starting out in the music industry today?
One of the biggest challenges a new band faces is fighting the urge to jump on the current trend of music. It's a schoolboy error and a one way ticket to Palookaville. I would have to say making a living is by far and away the biggest challenge though. It's never been easier to get your music out for people to listen to it, but equally it's never been harder to actually make any money from it.
(((o))): Every band has different aims. What would have to happen for the band to make you feel that you’d “made it”, so to speak?
Genuinely, I don't know. I'm nearly thirty now. I've been in bands since I was fifteen and it's something I think about a lot. I've ticked so many boxes of things that I've wanted to do in a band, I've thrown myself off speakers, walked over audiences and danced on ceilings. If the band could earn enough money to allow us to keep experiencing those types of moments then I suppose that would be making it for me, and of course millions of pounds in the bank, numerous holiday homes and a duet with Kanye West.
(((o))): Have you ever had a snake stage invasion mid-set? If you did how would you handle the situation?
Thankfully not and I wouldn't be around to witness it for long if it did happen. I'm terrified of snakes. Szack is getting married in Australia next year and I've informed him that I will be wearing a space suit for the entire duration of my stay.
We have another column called Echoes of the Past in which we get people to write about albums that have particularly influenced them. What would you guys choose to write about in that column?
I can't speak for the boys, but I'd write about 'Mclusky Do Dallas', by Mclusky. I was and still am a huge Deftones fan. The songs I wrote in my late teens to early twenties just sounded like shit Deftones rip-offs. When I heard '...Dallas' for the first time it was completely removed from the music I had previously had access to. It was so raw and disdainful, but it was charming and intelligent at the same the time. It made me realise that I wasn't putting enough of my own personality in to the songs that I was writing, and The St Pierre Snake Invasion would not sound the way it does now if I hadn't bought that album.
(((o))): This is ostensibly a column for introducing new bands. Any suggestions as to who we ought to include in the near future?
So many, Idles, Yes Rebels, Scarlet Rascal and the Train Wreck, Beyond Rivers, GuMM, The Bright Young People. Twin Falls, and any of the bands I mentioned who are playing Arctangent.
(((o))): What are the band’s plans for the near future?
We've got a few festivals in the summer, then we start the arduous process of recording demos for our first album. Working title, 'Happiness is Half the Battle'. In the immortal words of Mrs Beyonce Carter (nee Knowles), "I don't think you're ready for this jelly".
