Urbansnake: News/Bio/Music Blog

Thanks to our friends and fans for helping us to make it into rotation
on New Jersey's WSOU 89.5 FM. We greatly appreciate all the support.
You can call WSOU at 973-761-9768 and request Urbansnake when you'd
like, especially on the Streamline show, which airs Mondays 8-10pm NY
time.

Thanks again!

Check out our TV interview on The Late Night with Johnny P Show at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3l1zPo0Bu_o

Also, remember you can download all of our music free at:

www.whiteknucklecd.com

After our gig at L'amour, last night, we'd like the thank the people who have returned to see us, three times, now, at this legendary rock and metal hotspot on Staten Island. Moreso, we'd like to tell you why you should go to this club, if you haven't already. Aside from the legend and history associated with this place and its significance to any true rock and metal fan, the club runs in a manner that any music fan and/or band has to appreciate. Tired of being told your friends' band or favorite band is scheduled to play at 11pm, only to arrive at the place and have to wait until 2am to see them? Not at L'amour. This club runs its acts on schedule and provides excellent sound via its experienced and attentive soundmen. The club is also selective about its bookings, and provides quality acts, every time. So. . .if you haven't yet gone to the new L'amour on Staten Island, GO! And bring about 400 of your friends!

Now that the haze of the new year revelries has lifted, it's a good time to sum up the year behind us and to print our plans for the year ahead. Memorable shows? Snitch, Barney McNabbs (2 am and y'all still ruled), The Haunt (Halloween, always cool), L'amour (great show in the face of a snow storm. . .well, the 2007 version of a snow storm, dandruff in the wind) The Trash Bar and Pussycat Lounge.

Other happenings: recording our forthcoming album, Whiteknuckle, with producer/genius Tarik of Prime Time Studio (our 6th member). Making the video for "Orphan" on a grey and desolate Sunday morning through evening in Hunts Point -- Da Bronx (our home sweet home). Working with filmmaker/genius Steve Pitalo of Packratnyc (our 7th member). Our radio interview with Mike Yusi of ucradio and his big and dedicated audience who showed us much love. Meeting and befriending Vic and Laura of Glamazon. The numerous cool DJs here and abroad who spun our tunes.

What's on the agenda for 2008? Most important? Meeting more mad cool heavy music fans and then seeing them again and again. And again. A gig with A Perfect Tool, The Ultimate Tribute, at The Haunt in Yonkers on Saturday February 16th --- a sort of family reunion, as Mike May, their drummer, is the man who recorded all the drums with us on the forthcoming CD, Whiteknuckle. RELEASING WHITEKNUCKLE in February (it's being duplicated right now). Playing Dingbatz with Bound Alive (very cool people) on Saturday February 23rd in Clifton, NJ. Playing on Vin's first real birthday in 4 years (the poor guy's a leap year kid) at Barney McNabbs, the 401 show. We're hoping they don't i.d. him.

Getting the new disc into your hands!

Peace, love, metal

The band.

Urbansnake's much anticipated sophomore release, "Whiteknuckle," will be released, this fall, by ETTNO ROC Records. Both New York based, the team will internationally
distribute Urbansnake's new CD, while supporting the band's radio, magazine and television campaigns and continuing to place
Urbansnake in the sort of top rock venues the band has recently headlined. ETTNO ROC is confident that "the buzz on Urbansnake" is for real and a sign of the
Bronx-based outfit's coming success. If by "buzz," ETTNO ROC means the continuing
chatter amongst hard rock and metal DJs in both US and European markets, then the label
is right on target. California DJ, Michael Yusi (UCradio) said, on air, "They remind me of this mix of Metallica, Motorhead, Sabbath all just kind of contained in this ball of cranking power and controlled rage."

Look for
Urbansnake's "Whiteknuckle" in both digital and terrestrial markets. The debut video, "Orphan,"
is available at www.urbansnake.com

New drummer, Hemi, played his second gig with us at The Roadhouse in Yonkers, NY, last night, making this his second solid set with us. He has already received the endorsements of our most dedicated friends and fans. The band definitely has its "swagger" back and will definitely be bringin' the noise to Snitch and The Trash Bar, this fall (see calendar).

Much thanks to the responsive audience at The Roadhouse. You all rule, and we look forward to coming back and partying with you, again.

Back in the day, Urbansnake would have been considered a metal band, no sub-genre categories required. But that was at a time when bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, Overkill, Exodus and Violence were lumped into the same genre as bands like Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, Dokken and Winger. In short, anything with distortion was considered metal.

Today, metal is characterized by mandatory double bass and guitars tuned lower than Barry White with a headcold. This leaves bands like Nickelback, Disturbed, Audioslave and others with the tag -- Alternative Metal.

I think the thing that all the aforementioned bands share in common is that they are all deemed somewhat heavier than what the typical mainstream pop fan might be able to handle -- without running to confession, shortly afterward. Which has me thinking about the term, "heavy" in relation to music -- in relation to all music, even that which resides outside of the metal and even rock genres.

I've always felt that any music with impact on the mind, body and soul is heavy. I can listen to a band double-bass and minor crunch-chord itself to death, and still not experience the impact that I do when, now and then, I MUST listen to A Love Supreme by jazz legend, John Coltrane. James Browns' "The Payback" stirs all my heaviest resentments and effectively funnels them through an almost celebratory aggression that courses through my whole body. Beethoven's 9th symphony has me shaking my fist at the cosmos. These compositions achieve impact without double bass, distortion, etc. --- I'm not picking on double bass. I happen to love it, but its mention helps make a point.

So, I encourage you fellow metalheads to stroll outside this genre --- as undoubtedly every metal songwriter you've ever admired has done, often. Just listen to the reggae intro to Judas Priest's "The Rage" on the British Steel album. Does it get any "heavier?" No, MON!

As we've communicated over the past several months, we are really happy with the soon-to-be-released CD. That said, we thought we'd share some information about the things we did on this recording that made a difference, hoping that this might help other recording artists who are or soon will be recording in a home recording situation, or in a studio with either an engineer or producer or both. Though some basic good recording techniques are true for all recordings, regardless of genre. What we did and didn't do on this recording best applies to hard rock, heavy metal, and alternative metal.

1. Good equipment. You can't really turn garbage into
gold, not even in the recording studio. You need top equipment. Rhythm guitaritst, Kevin Aponte, uses Gibson guitars, specifically the Gibson SG and the Gibson Flying V. For amplification, Kevin uses a Bogner Uberschall , which sounds huge. He also uses Mesa Boogie cabinets. The combo of Bogner and Mesa Boogie sounds gigantic and little more was needed after he recorded his tracks. Some tweaking and equalization, but the sound was there on the raw tracks.

Lead guitarist, Andy Romeo, uses Marshall amps and Paul Reed Smith guitars. Listen to his lead on "Orphan," and you'll understand his choices.

I could go into great depth about everyone's equipment choices (James Papa uses an old but great Charvel Jackson bass, etc) but you get the point. Invest in good equipment.

2. The Drum Room.
Simply put? You need to record drums in a room accoustically ideal for drums, or what is known as a good "live" room. We recorded drums in a studio set up in an old warehouse, and recorded the other tracks in a completely different studio. You literally could not stand in the same room as Mike May when he was laying down his tracks --- it was skull-splitting.
The benefit? We didn't have to work any magic to get a great "crack" on the snare and great depth to it, as well.
The kicks are punchy but boomy enough. Of course, use good drums -- Tama, Pearl, DW, etc.

3. Layer guitars. Thin guitars ruin a heavy recording. Record at least 4 identical rhythm tracks, and don't let your engineer tell you he or she can just double the tracks, him or herself. The effect is not the same. You have to play the tracks 4 times over. Whether home recording or recording in a studio, this will help you get that big guitar sound you hear on your favorite recordings.

4. Be tight. Every recorded track has to be performed, correctly. Relying on the engineer to "patch things up in the mix" leads to a sloppy sounding record. In fact, if you keep hearing the phrase "we'll save it in the mix," from your engineer, RUN AWAY. This person is looking to record, profit from and get rid of you, quickly.

We'll share more about recording, home recording, mixing, mastering, production, etc. as we think of it. So revisit this page, every now and then, or sign up for the email list on the homepage, so you'll be informed of updates.

Greetings from The Snakepit:

We hope this finds you all strong and prosperous. As many of you
know, we've been in the studio since April
recording "Whiteknuckle," the follow-up to our self-titled debut EP.
The new CD will include 11 new tracks, and we are now in the final mix
stage of the project. Producer, Tarik Solange, has been his usual
masterful self and the result, so far, is powerful and original. So,
be on the lookout throughout the summer for more news about the
release of "Whiteknuckle" and CD release shows around and beyond your
neck of the woods.

Peace,
The Band

Urbansnake hits #7 on Clear Channel New Charts
Greetings from The Snakepit:

Just a heads up that we've recently broken into the top ten on the
Clear Channel New Chart, which is located here:
http://clearchannelmusic.com/cc-common/new/5/player.html?top=1g&gateway=exiting

Thanks for your continued belief in us.

Pleace, love, metal,
The band

The Clear Channel New program, which is now promoting Urbansnake, has begun. You can view a portion at:

http://clearchannelmusic.com/cc-common/new/5/player.html?art=812&gateway=exiting

The program will feature Urbansnake on select Clear Channel radio stations, nationwide, and on 600+ Clear Channel sites.

We hope this finds you well, and we'll keep you posted as we move toward the release of our second CD.

As a result of Urbansnake's strong reviews on garageband.com, the
band has been selected to participate in the Clear Channel New
program, which promotes the band on over 600 Clear Channel radio
station sites. The timing couldn't be better, as we are getting
closer and closer to the completion of our second release,
"Whiteknuckle," and have experienced an elevation in CD sales,
recently selling out at our distributor, CD Baby. Fear not, we're in
the process of feeding CDBaby more units.

To date, Urbansnake has succeeded in selling digitally through itunes
and itunes-Europe and Rhapsody. We're confident that the Clear
Channel New program will expose the band to a broader audience.

Urbansnake was recently featured on the Bandtrax radio show alongside
James Brown, strangely, and the clip can be heard at
http://urbansnake.com/audio/URBANSNAKE-Bandtraz_Radio.m3u

As always, thanks for the support. We can't thank you enough

It's been some time since we last communicated with everyone, but
that's because we've been in rehearsals prepping for the recording of
our second internationally distributed CD, tentatively titled Whiteknuckle. Whiteknuckle is a term with a dual meaning. It refers to the resistance a person must perfect in order to master
him/herself. But whiteknuckle is also the state you're in when you
pursue what you want so intensely that nothing and nobody can stop
you. Metal is and always has been about power and inner strength
and endurance. We are working to deliver to you a CD that
crystalizes that energy and intention. Our original drummer, Mike
May, has once again brought to our writing process the same strong
nuances he provided on our debut CD.

IN OTHER NEWS. . . .
Urbansnake's music has been selected for the soundtrack of a
commercial to run during a nationally televised program on a major
cable network. As of now, that's as specific as we can be until the
commercial is finalized.

As always, we thank you for supporting us. Thanks to you we've
experienced international radio play and enjoyed distribution and
exposure beyond anything we expected when we started this thing.

Peace, love, metal,
The band

Elevated by a well-received debut CD, ample radio play, and successful performances at venues like Rye Playland, Wild Spirits and Dock Street, Urbansnake will pound The Continental on August 16th at 11:15 pm. As always, the band will serve up its crushing blend of classic-meets-current metal. Britcaster.com writes, “Rising up from The Bronx in New York, Urbansnake are a motley lot that have bounced from band to band before all falling into the same rehearsal room. Their new album is just out, and quite frankly pins your ears against the back wall… of your next door neighbour’s living room.” The Continental show will feature Urbansnake CD giveaways, and the band’s music can be heard, in advance, at www.urbansnake.com.



In other news, Urbansnake recently met with Mike Barile of the highly-regarded Purple Light Studio and is gearing up to record a second CD. In a recent interview with Paul Vincent Saurini on Barefoot Radio, rhythm guitarist, Kevin Aponte, said about the band’s progress, “Man, it’s just rolling, rolling, rolling. . .”



Urbansnake’s self-titled debut CD is available through the band’s website and also through cdbaby.com, towerrecords.com, and garageband.com, and can be downloaded through itunes and Rhapsody.

Urbansnake will be appearing at Dock Street on Friday, May 26th (691 Bay Street, Staten Island 347 723-1825). A time-slot has yet to be established, but we'll provide you with that information as soon as we have it. Urbansnake will also
appear at Rye Playland(Playland Parkway, Rye, NY 10580) on Saturday, June 17th @8:00pm.

We are making plans to begin recording our second CD over the summer.

Finally, we've posted a few pics from the Wild Spirits show.Enjoy.

Greetings from the snakepit:

The story of the past couple of months has been one of tragedy and
triumph (okay, maybe that's a little dramatic). Just before Christmas, singer, Vinny Corvino, injured his foot and required surgery.

But the band responded by temporarily relocating rehearsals to Staten
Island and focusing on writing.
As a result, the band is ripe with new material and Vinny's belting it from the confines of a folk-singer like
stool. Vinny will be on both feet by the end of February, and the band
will play Wild Spirits on Saturday, March 25th
(1843 1st AVE B/W 95th and 96th New York, NY
212.427.7127)

The band is arranging more gigs and will notify everyone about them.

The message? Urbansnake is coiled and will strike. BE THERE!!!

In total, the campaign we joined for Hurricane Katrina relief and that was organized and spearheaded by CD Baby raised $205,060 for the cause. Thanks for your support in this endeavor.

During this juncture, we've been writing new material and receiving more and more airplay. The links to the sites that have played us can be found on the links page. Check them out.

Also, we are running a brief but very cool holiday campaign. Through Christmas day, when a person joins our email list by entering his or her email address on our homepage, he/she will receive links to free downloads that previously were only available in streaming format on our website. So, if you've got a pal or two or six, tell them to take advantage of the offer. All downloads are in mp3 format.

The next message you get from us will be an announcement of a concert date (or several.)

Peace, love, metal,
The Band

Snakepit News -- August '05

Greeting from The Snakepit:

Hope you're solid as ever. In July, Urbansnake continued to accrue air play on such stations as braingell radio (braingellradio.com) and barefoot radio (barefootradio.com). As a result, the band enjoyed an increase in CD sales.

On August 18th, "Grace" was track of the day on garageband.com and won the band #1 rankings in the site's best hard rock male vocals, best guitars and best drums categories.

Last month, we posted a raw studio version of a new song, "Crawl into Your Bones." Thanks for the great feedback.

Due to the response, we're offering a second track, a raw studio version of "Sympathy." Once again, this was recorded at our rehearsal studio for pre-production purposes. You can find it in the music section of our site, or click here to listen:
http://www.urbansnake.com/audio/URBANSNAKE-Sympathy.m3u

Our search for a new drummer has been lucrative in recent months, and we're confident that we'll soon be posting concert dates.

Give us a shout @ urbansnake@urbansnake.com
We'll shout back.

In April, Urbansnake slithered into the studio to record two previously unreleased tracks, "Sympathy" and "Crawl Into Your Bones."

Also in April, the band picked up radio play on four more heavy metal and hard rock stations:

hardrockradiolive.com
friendlyfirenetwork.com
thundergroundradio.com
barefootradio.com

As always, thanks for the support. . .and keep checking in for news and new media, including free mp3 downloads, samples and lyrics.

peace

March was a great month for Urbansnake. The band enjoyed a strong night w/Shades of Burn at KJs Ale House on Staten Island, NY, and is currently negotiating a May 21st date at Barney McNabbs in Yonkers, NY. The band is also currently working on new material to be featured at upcoming shows and, eventually, recorded and released for distribution.

Also in March the band enjoyed a spike in radio air play. Urbansnake can now be heard on:
88.3 WLFC -- Findlay, Ohio

The "Metal" Mark show on Audio Aggression Radio
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Frontrow/2430/MMP.html
(For webcasts)

Hidden Planet Radio -- Yakima, WA
hiddenplanetradio.com (For webcasts)

93.3 & 99.3 WRFR Rockland/Camden Maine

93.5 Rock Radio Italy

Finally, Urbansnake's song, "Rise," appeared at #13 in its first week on Finland's LastFM charts.

We will let everyone know when the May 21st date in Yonkers has been confirmed.

Until then, thanks for all the support.

--- Urbansnake