The Owl Club resides on a sleepy little side street in historic, old town Roseville. It is curiously quaint and remarkably retro. On Friday, July 30, 2004, the neon owl beckoned patrons in, along with the music that poured through the upstairs open window and billowed down the otherwise silent street. The staircase entry was stationed in the middle of the floor and the club centered around it. One corner was reserved for the band and it donned a red velvet curtain background and original, avant-garde artwork (which was prominently displayed everywhere). The bar was anchored in the diagonal corner and extended into another small room. It’s the kind of place where you can imagine Humphrey Bogart in a trench coat, smoking in the alley that served as the view from the second floor window.
Oddly enough, Black Snake Moan did not seem displaced. They had made the stage a seemingly comfortable arena to perform their singular, synthesized, industrial-infused darkwave. Paige Lawrence (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Bill Hanson (drums), Robert Hanson (guitar, bass, keyboard) and Scott Reese (guitar) each played a pivotal role in making Black Snake Moan run like a well-oiled monster machine.
Their set commenced with “Tension” which served as a thematic showcase for all members. The dizzying electronica and melodic vocals evolved into a spewed, cutting chorus. Set on bringing the night into a state of insomnia, they spiraled into an abysmal, multi-faceted exhibition featuring “Curtains”, “Faces” and “Caterpillar” which contained a compelling blend of vocal inflection, lyrical honesty and complimenting music, be it synth washes, staccato percussion or efficacious guitar and bass lines.
“Static” and “Obsidian” were the final offerings and continued to merge metal and electronic elements into a focused, ubiquitous union that filled the small confines with echoing reverberations that lingered like a transient ghost. The intimate setting and sanctioned patrons proved to be a positive catalyst for an ultimately gratifying consummation.
Black Snake Moan has been together in bits and pieces since 1997 and officially, since 2001. Their demo EP, “Rattle in the Sand” (1999) was a rough-hewn practice run and the band is now preparing to take a temporary hiatus from gigging to record a combination of old reserves and brand new stock.
“I think that fans can expect more in terms of energy and less high-concept, esoteric stuff that doesn’t always come across in the finished product,” Bill related.
“We’ve learned a lot about what we want to do as a band, so we have a much clearer picture of what the end product should be,” Rob extended. “Overall, it will be a lot more raw and aggressive-sounding. We’d like for it to better represent who we are as a live band. It will be all about giving each element its proper space and not overwhelming people with a million little bits of noise. The electronic element will still be there, but we’re aiming to do more with less.”
Black Snake Moan |
“I would hope that what we learned from the last recording will make us more efficient in the studio and hopefully eliminate a lot of the guesswork. But then again, we’ll be adding a whole list of variables this time (live drums), so who knows? It should be interesting,” Bill continued.
Black Snake Moan deviates from the norm and their layered sound is formidable. Most importantly, Paige expressed that “we bring a level of conviction to the music that is often missing at the local band level. I could play for 80,000 people or just two and I would still have that powerful, emotional release that comes from pounding music down people’s throats.”
Bill stated, “Over the past few months, our focus has been mainly on becoming better as performers and musicians. Ideally, we’d like to imagine that people who haven’t heard of us before will come to a show, maybe to see another band, and after seeing our performance, they’ll be interested enough in what they saw to visit our website, or tell someone they know about us.”
“Well, the electronic element of our songs is always going to make us stand out, especially in this scene,” Rob explained. “There just aren’t that many bands doing this. I mean, you’ll always have some guys trying to do the industrial thing at the local goth night or whatever, but I think we’re far enough removed from that. I think we provide a sound and experience that you usually can’t get on a local music scene level.”
“Also, we have a strict no baseball cap rule,” Rob jested.
The band has gigged all over San Francisco (“my favorite venue has got to be Slim’s,” Paige stated) and perused the west coast in preparation for their imminent recording. They had some highlights along the way, including opening for Lacuna Coil at The Pound and their first show at the DNA Lounge. “The best shows are the ones where we get a sound check and a dressing room, and we can get drunk in peace before we play,” said Rob.
Bill continued, “If the venue is equipped with a good PA and someone who knows how to mix live instruments properly, then that particular show will probably be one of my favorites. Performing becomes a lot more enjoyable when you can hear what you’re doing.”
They also have their own opinions of the Northern California music scene as it struggles to reinvent itself. “I’ve been here my whole life, so to be honest, I can remember times when it was a lot livelier than it is now, but I think that has engendered more camaraderie. We’re friends with lots of different bands and we are all trying to help each other out,” Paige professed. Rob added that “we’ve made a few friends here and there. Overall, it seems pretty positive. The audiences vary a lot though. We play generally larger shows in San Francisco, but the audiences are, shall we say, a bit reserved. But we’ll play in a place like Freemont to fifteen people and they go nuts. Go figure.”
The immediate future finds Black Snake Moan on “the campaign trail for an indie label deal, so we’ll have to see where that journey takes us,” Paige related. “Five years from now? That’s easy- either we’ll be taking Black Snake Moan to the four corners of the earth or we will be working in Newark as house painters.”
“If we’re still doing this in five years and we haven’t killed each other in the process, I’ll be happy with a tour bus and a bowl of blue M&M’s,” Rob declared.
Check out their website at www.blacksnakemoan.com for the most current information on the band and prepare to bear witness when they hit the club circuit for the next round.
