Interview with Admiral Snackbar

I had the opportunity to interview Admiral Snackbar, a local band from Tuscaloosa for my school newspaper. Here is the full interview. :)

1. - How did the band get started?

[Steven]: I had just returned back to Tuscaloosa and unpacked my bags from a year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with a previous project and began looking for shows. In the year I was gone, however, almost everyone I knew that played music moved to Birmingham, Nashville, or elsewhere. I was back in Tuscaloosa, yet I knew virtually no one except my fiancé. She had known our former keyboard player, and told me to call him. I had never met him before, and we just threw an acoustic set together the day of the show. Since then, Admiral Snackbar has evolved into the 3-piece you can find at Moe’s Barbecue Friday night.

[Liam]: I’ve seen the different phases of Admiral Snackbar from a pretty early point. In a lot of ways we’re still getting started. With each change to the lineup, the band becomes a different collaborative effort entirely. It takes a new shape and a new identity.

2. - How did y'all meet each other?

[Steven]: I met Liam at one of our shows before we even had a bass player. We shook hands, and I asked him immediately if he wanted to be in a band. I’ve always had trouble finding a bass player throughout my different projects, so I knew this kid was a gold mine either way. We met Wes randomly at The Hangout in Gulf Shores. He was with mutual friends at the Umphreys Mcgee show. I remember (like Liam) immediately asking him if he had any interest in forming a rock and roll band, and he obliged.

[Liam]: From my perspective, I met Steven and his fiancé Jordin at an early Snackbar show at The Bear Trap. Seth Hanna, a friend of mine from my last project, shot me a text saying there was a band without a bass player. I met Steven, and I was in the band.

[Wes]: I just went down to the beach intending on just listening to music, and ended up coming home with a band.

3. - Are you from Alabama? If so, did you go to UA?

[Steven]: I’m from Birmingham, Alabama, but had lived here in Tuscaloosa for a couple years before my stint in North Carolina. I never actually went to school here, but hung out with good people that did.

[Liam]: I’m from Dora, Alabama, and I started at UA in 2007. I graduated in 2011, and have no intentions for grad school whatsoever.

[Wes]: I’m from Tuscaloosa, but I never went to school at UA - but have also hung out with good people that did.

4. - Favorite song to cover?

[Steven]: I would have to say my favorite thing we play on stage is “Good Times Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin. You can never have too much Led Zeppelin on a set list. I can remember being in sixth grade and listening to Led Zeppelin I- that was the precise moment music was forever changed for me. I didn’t want to be an astronaut anymore, I wanted to do what those four guys were doing. Playing that song live, I realize I’m still that sixth grader that is completely amazed at what they do.

[Liam]: I would have to say “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine. It never fails- every time this song gets played, the room becomes electrified. People relate to their primal instincts and beat their chests and howl like wolves. On stage, we feel how the crowd feels. It sparks a jumpstart for all of us as well, and it’s really fun to play.

[Wes]: I would go with “War Pigs” because it’s a challenge every time we play it. The drum parts are as recognizable as a guitar lick, and when you hear it performed correctly, you know it.

5. - What are you most looking forward to about recording your EP?

[Steven]: This being our first EP together, I’m most excited to really find our initial identity. We’ve put demos on our Soundcloud and Bandcamp account for a few of the tracks we want to take in to the recording process, and already I’m feeling our identity beginning to form. These are our songs - something we created together for the first time and it seems like the more we write together, the less we’re 3 dudes that bumped into each other randomly. We become a unified message of who we are now. It’ll be interesting to see what this EP sounds like next to who we’ll become.

[Liam]: I agree with all of that. As fun as playing covers has always been and always will be, I’m most excited to be in a band that writes. Truly collaborating and writing with people creates a chemistry - a palpable connection that permeates to people listening. If we can make that connection with each other, we hope to make that connection with someone listening. I think about all the albums that inspired me to want to really give this thing a go, and what I hope is to be that for someone else.

[Wes]: That pretty much sums it up.

6. - What has been the most rewarding part of being in the band so far?

[Steven]: Without a doubt, the biggest thing I take away from this band is the positive effect I’ve seen this music have on people. The kind words people reciprocate when they like what they hear gives me a sense that I’m providing people with something they really enjoy, not to mention it justifies pursuing a pretty unconventional career choice.

[Liam]: Making that connection with people on a level that only music can. You can say things musically that you can’t quite put into words, and it’s a language of emotion in and of itself.

[Wes]: This band is putting our stamp on music in our style and in our words. I’m putting myself out there with two really good buddies of mine that I genuinely enjoy doing this with. Entertaining people gives me a sense of joy that you can’t really find doing anything else.

7. - Where did the band name come from? (I would assume it comes from Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars, but I would love to hear the story.)

[Steven]: A man by the name of Brandon Robb, my best good pal, threw Admiral Snackbar at me as a joke and I took it very seriously. He said the album could be called It’s A Wrap!, like a snack wrap. As a band its always refreshing to know that even though we’re graduated and still hanging out in a college town, Star Wars is timeless and people really dig it!

[Liam]: When this idea came to us for a band name, my initial thought is that this is a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The lucky thing about pursuing a passion is that it’s supposed to be fun, and a name like Admiral Snackbar sounds pretty fun to me.

[Wes]: Admiral Snackbar could mean a lot of different things. The name, however, isn’t set in stone, and if something else comes along that we find better defines what we sound like, we’ll keep you posted.

8. - (How) Has Tuscaloosa inspired your music?

[Steven]: Our sound can definitely relate to a distorted Southern swagger mirroring bands like The Black Keys. It’s a gritty feel that I definitely associate with Tuscaloosa. It’s rock and roll, and we built this city on rock and roll.

[Liam]: Tuscaloosa was the first real music scene where I began following local bands for the first time. Bands like The Hypsys, the Organic Androids, and CBDB had Tuscaloosa in their music. You could feel that in their songs, and I felt a real sense of solidarity in our music scene. We only hope to positively contribute to that, and support as best to our abilities.

[Wes]: From living here my whole life, my friends and family are rooted in rock and roll in Tuscaloosa. Music has always been a part of my life and my life has always been in Tuscaloosa.

9. - Anything else you want to add?

Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/admiralsnackbarband, on Twitter at @ADMSnackbar, and at Moe’s Barbecue this Friday night! For booking information please email us at admiralsnackbar.band@gmail.com