Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / Honour, Metal & Respect With NEVILLE PEARCE From SNAKE MOUNTAIN

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Honour, Metal & Respect With NEVILLE PEARCE From SNAKE MOUNTAIN · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:23
  Hey, this is Nev from Snake Mountain back here on heavy uh and we
• 0:29
  are going to be releasing our debut EP, Villainous One Reverence on July fifth,
• 0:36
  digitally out everywhere, and then we're going to be hitting the road.
• 0:40
  So yeah, pretty excited about Thanks Chris, no worries. You pretty much
• 0:45
  just covered everything I had to talk to you about, mate, So thanks
• 0:47
  for having us. How you doing, mate, Good mate, it's good
• 0:52
  to see you. It's good. It's good to see you. Man.
• 0:54
  I love that lighting giving. I'm not going to give the secret away because
• 0:57
  we spoke about it before, but it's it's it's a little bit scary,
• 1:00
  it's a little bit sexual, it's a little bit a little bit of a
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  lot of things. I like it. I'm going to give it away right
• 1:07
  now. It's a mixing pot of scary sexual cam art with a sprinkle of
• 1:15
  Bunnings. Ah. That's that's all it is. That's all it is,
• 1:19
  ladies and gentlemen. So it's this amazing what you can do with a bit
• 1:25
  of ingenuity, isn't it. That's that's it. That's all you need,
• 1:30
  That's all you need. Do you actually do need a bit more than that?
• 1:33
  My friend. And what that thing is is Snake Mountain's debut EP,
• 1:37
  Villainous One Reverence, which, as you say, comes out on July the
• 1:41
  fifth. But how do you feel, a man like, it's been a
• 1:42
  long slot till this came out, Like, how do you feel about Are
• 1:46
  you excited? Are you nervous? You're anxious? You know what. I'm
• 1:51
  pretty excited about it, and I am nervous that for people to hear it,
• 1:56
  because I guess it represents where we been. It's it's it's part of
• 2:01
  a bigger picture I guess that we're trying to paint, you know. We
• 2:08
  We've put a lot into it, and I mean it's only four tracks,
• 2:12
  but it shows the different sort of mini eras of the band and the different
• 2:17
  members' influences that have weaved in and out throughout that time. And I'm really
• 2:23
  proud of that, you know. And that's that's exactly what the title is
• 2:28
  in reference to, is paying those respects. Well, this is actually an
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  unscripted question because you just made me think of it. But the songs do
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  cover pretty much a lot of the history of Snake Mound, so a lot
• 2:38
  of them would have been written with different members did did you did you change
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  anything at all when it came around to recording it a little bit. Actually,
• 2:46
  James has has these little whittlies that he puts in, you know what
• 2:52
  I mean, Like he's taken it and mate. Each member is now with
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  the recording put their own little personalities into songs. So James especially loves to
• 3:01
  add some little is that it is that a technical term? I don't know.
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  Is it a k art term? It's definitely a came So tell us
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  a bit more about EP musically than made what you were going for with it?
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  Well, I mean it's as we said before, it's it's each song
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  sort of represents maybe not only the members, but I guess year that they
• 3:30
  were they were written. But the first track, Extinction through Fire, which
• 3:34
  we recently released digitally, that one goes right back to the beginning with Dan
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  Maynard, and then We've Got Hunted, which was with Dan Maynard, and
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  we had that one also with Jamie and Dario, and then it goes on
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  to Full of Attornia, which was Dario and Jamie, and it sort of
• 3:58
  progresses onto there too. The last rate which is Ever Living, which is
• 4:00
  the last single were released, which was Dario and Jamie as well, So
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  you can sort of tell within those styles how the band has sort of changed
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  and where we've sort of come to now, which is doesn't really represent who
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  we are are now with our technical stuff, but it's definitely part of the
• 4:21
  journey, and that's what's what it represents. Yes, what was the actual
• 4:28
  thought process behind releasing your first EP maate like you think because it's taken so
• 4:31
  long foot out, like, do you think maybe in parts overstunk things a
• 4:34
  little bit sometimes? Or was it not as stressful as that? I think
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  it was something that you know, throughout the years, we just trying to
• 4:46
  get it all together, I guess, and getting everyone wanting to record and
• 4:50
  getting the time to record, and we just needed to get these ones out,
• 4:57
  And I guess it wasn't really stressful. We took out the time with
• 5:00
  it this time, but yeah, I guess we weren't happy with with certain
• 5:04
  recordings in the past and now that we sort of took it on ourselves,
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  like the boys did a phenomenal job. So it's all in house, the
• 5:13
  Holyps in house. So what are some of the benefits. I guess there's
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  some of the there's some of the advantages and disadvantages of keeping it in house
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  like that. I guess we save a lot of money obviously, but you
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  know that that's a good thing, is saving money. And we can control
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  the way certain things are in the mix, Like I have a certain way
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  I like my vocals layered that not many people I've worked with in the past
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  have sort of understood. Where James's I just said to him, look,
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  this is how I want it here, here, and here, and he
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  went and did it. I guess the disadvantages is we don't have a big
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  studio, we don't have all the flashy things. But it did force us
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  to work with what we've got, and I think the product that's come out
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  is really good for what we've we've done, especially James. The stuff that
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  James and and Christian have done on the production side there with Jackson and Jared.
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  Is this phenomenal? How about from the other side of the day,
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  like when it comes to being critical of your own music and having to make
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  the tough decisions, like is that difficult to do in house? It can
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  be, But we are very critical sometimes me, especially when it comes to
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  the vocals, Like I'm you know, but we're We're pretty supportive of each
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  other when it comes to that sort of stuff and where we will tell each
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  other, you know, try this or try this. It's always constructive,
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  you know. We're not you know, fighting out in the street over soon
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  like that like some bands. And I guess that's sort of it's it's a
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  testament to the lineup that this band has is and how productive it is,
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  you know, in creative you know creatively. Yeah, And you mentioned the
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  two singles ever Living in Extinction through Fire, so that's half of the EP.
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  But people that have heard those two songs like, is that representative of
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  the other two songs as well? Or are they different? Again? All
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  different? I think each song has got its own personality. Where I'd say
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  Hunted that's which is a re recording of a song we did previously, you
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  know that sort of like a little homage to like Napalm Death and stuff like
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  that. Full of Eternia, which we've been playing live for a while.
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  That one's a little bit of I guess Black Dahlia Murder mixed with some power
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  metal guts. That's the best way of describing that. You know, each
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  song is different. We've got some cool guests on there too, which one
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  pretty dem proud of you have. But that was actually that's a perfect segue
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  to my next question, mate, have you done this before I can read
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  your or on that? Predictable? Am I? So the presser alludes to
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  guest appearances by members of Freedom of Fear, Our Nexus, Piston Fished,
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  Our Last Enemy, and Deprivation, Like, can you can you fill us
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  in a bit more on that or are we going to leave that a little
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  bit ambiguous until it comes out? I reckon, I could you know,
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  I could drop the news, but of course, look, we've got Maddie
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  Matt Walters from Freedom of Fear. Guys did a ripping solo on the Hunted
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  like it's incredible what he's done. Amazing dude. And then the other guests
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  are for Fall of attorneya because I wanted to really make a I guess a
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  space opera epic death metal track. They're all the one song, and they're
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  all on the one song, so there's there's a chanting bit in the middle
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  which is like the bridge. And we've also got Sam from Iron Nexus as
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  our sorceress because the song is homage to Skeletor. All right, of course,
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  of course, so yeah, and I wanted to have that big sort
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  of epic and she was perfect for it as well. And then we got
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  just our mates doing some chance in the in the Bridge because we wanted to
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  make it interactive. That's so cool, by the way you describe it to
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  you like a metal opera, like there's there's room for great there. I
• 9:37
  had this whole thing planned out that I don't think it's gonna work, but
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  it kind of cool if I could, you know, we make it,
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  you know, space opera in death metal, someone's gonna do it. Let's
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  talk Moore, that sounds like a great idea. Let's make it happen,
• 9:54
  you know what we can and Cardboard let's go. So anyone that's seens Snake
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  Me Out and Play Live are already aware of how fucking good you guys are
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  made. But seems people higher up the food chain to finally start to take
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  notice. You've got recent supports with Fresh Guard, Apocalypse, Wallfart, there's
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  a witch right of Black Reno shows, mate, So it must be a
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  good feeling to be finally we getting rewarded for effort. I guess like you've
• 10:20
  been doing it for a while. Yeah, we've been doing a long time,
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  and I guess I haven't really thought about it. I've just thought about
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  this journey that we're on and just enjoying it. You know, we're touring
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  and we're doing things that I guess the band didn't have the chance to do
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  before. And I'm just really like, we're all really just enjoying it,
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  you know, getting in the van and going on those adventures and playing with
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  these bands like Black Reno our friends, which grind our friends, but they
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  are higher up the food chain, of course, But we just feel very,
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  very lucky and blessed that we've had those opportunities. Yeah, what sort
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  of what sort of feedback do you get from shows that like the majority of
• 11:05
  people like Let's Face Andcognice if they were there to see Snake Mountain, but
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  the majority of them there to see someone else? So what sort of feedback
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  do you get from them? Because a lot of fans can be very very
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  narrow minded when it comes to who they're watching. I guess it depends on
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  the show, and I usually can tell by you know, if we sell
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  a few extra T shirts, you know, it's always a good thing.
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  But I guess our job is to get up there and be the best we
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  can be. You know, we don't really want to feel like we're competing
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  or anything like that. We just want to, you know, put on
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  the best show we can and if people enjoy that and they come up after
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  and they buy a shirt, or even they don't, they just come up
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  and say, hey, good job. That means the world to us.
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  You know. That's that's all. Yeah. It Actually it's a bit of
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  a difficult predicament, you know, because like you're there to warm up the
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  crowd for the headliners, but in your mind you want to go up there
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  and blow them the fuck away just to prove to people that you should be
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  there, know, like because you want to impress people. Like it'd be
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  hard going in because obviously you're not going to every time. But there did
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  be line between like I'm going to blow these can't stop the stage too,
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  I'm actually here to help them out. I don't know. I just I
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  just get up there and after a couple of beers and try and do the
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  best I can and hopefully people like it. You know, I can usually
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  tell on the first you know, a couple of couple of songs. You
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  know, if I've got to ramp it up and do something stupid like fall
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  off stage or you know, because that is deliberate. Every time you've done
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  that, it's been deliberate almost. I'm just gonna movement on. You are
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  and always have been one of the nicest, most approachable people I know in
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  this industry. Bro. But the moment you step on stage, you're an
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  angry, scary motherfucker. Like, how do you flip the switch from from
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  Neville to them? That's a good question. I don't know. So I
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  just feel like that that's the real me, which right, yeah, yeah,
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  I wish I was that person all the time, but it's it's definitely.
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  I was talking to somebody about this the other day. Was it another
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  band? And it's like a blackout moment? You know, it's some people
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  get it, like you get up there and it's like this person is not
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  here anymore. Yeah, he's somewhere. He's like pasted out in the toilet
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  or something. But then there's this guy who's who's up there and he's in
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  control. I don't know. I goes together like that when I was fighting
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  back in the day, Like you're just black out and all of a sudden
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  it's someone different and you wake up and it's all over. Yeah, that's
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  it. But I like that guy. That guy says things and does things
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  that I couldn't do my everyday life. I don't know. That's actually a
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  good point because in your everyday life, like I wouldn't say you reserved,
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  but you're a bit You're shy, and like your you struggle, I guess,
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  like a lot of people do with self doubt and with yeh problems.
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  So it's just got to be hard, man Like, having that as a
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  part of everyday life should be. Like I know personally, I couldn't do
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  it. I would not be able to stand on the stage and do half
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  of what you do, Bro. So it's it's it's got to be hard
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  for someone that does face those difficulties every day put that aside and be on
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  stage. I guess what, I find it easier. I find it easier
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  being up there than and this has been cannon, I find it really easier,
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  really easier. I find it easier being up there than every everyday life
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  because that person takes over and they're in control, they know what they're doing.
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  Where me, you know, I can I can talk to a room
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  full of people get me in front of a small room full of people,
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  and that's when it's a different sort of story, you know, or behind
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  a screen, you know, the pretend you know what it's like. You
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  have the opposite. Yeah, and put by micking s feet anyone. But
• 15:01
  the moment you put a microphone in my hand, I just go yeah,
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  I just can't can't do it. I reckon you, I reckon. Get
• 15:09
  a couple of guys, you'd love it. Yeah, that's what they all
• 15:13
  say, all right. Right, So, speaking of the shows, you're
• 15:18
  also on the road provided the new EP made. You've already played the Sunshine
• 15:22
  Coast recently, but got more gigs coming up on the Gold Coast on July
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  the twentieth, it Sydney, August twenty second, Melbourne twenty third and the
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  Drencher Festival in Geelong on the twenty fourth, before coming home for Necrosonic in
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  Brisbane on August thirty first. So what's what can people expect from me in
• 15:37
  those shows? You're going to be playing the full EP obviously, Yeah,
• 15:41
  yeah, definitely. You know it's only four songs. Going to say,
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  it'd be a slack breck if we just go out there and play one song
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  ago you're not hearing another. Now we're going to go through and we're going
• 15:52
  to play the set, and I guess I'm excited about playing some places I
• 16:00
  haven't played and been before, Like I've never been to Geelong. I don't
• 16:03
  even know you're missing. You're not missing much in all honesty. I'll tell
• 16:08
  you what. Man, that Drencher festival liner that looks sick as bron I'm
• 16:15
  thinking of coming down just for that show. Actually, I might jump in
• 16:17
  your suitcase. Man, it's gonna be unreal. And then we've got the
• 16:21
  Night Before Or which is in Melbourne. That's the lead Beta hotel that's with
• 16:29
  like Ghost Seeker, Deadweight, eighty Excuse for an Exit, Ghost Engine and
• 16:33
  a Rise from the Ashes and Matahari I think they're called. Man, that's
• 16:37
  going to be unreal. And then there's Necrosonic as well, which is that
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  that's kind of like the the end journey, you know what I mean,
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  Like that's the end of the big, big run for us. This is
• 16:49
  beautiful. You can't see it, but in the background, my daughter's recording
• 16:55
  yourself on YouTube dancing for our own YouTube channel, the interviews, and she's
• 17:00
  dancing and recording ship for YouTube. It's fucking beautiful. That's awesome. Hey,
• 17:04
  man, you've got to encourage that. You need to encourage the I
• 17:07
  would be you're not dancing to metal. It's okay, they start. You're
• 17:11
  a better dad than I am. I'm looking in the coverard for three days.
• 17:14
  But did you ever see clock block, clock Block? Clock Block?
• 17:22
  They were a local uh death clock tribute? Right? Yeah, that mixed
• 17:30
  ballet with clock like death clock. Wow. I never I want to.
• 17:37
  They haven't done any in years, but man, it was cool. Shout
• 17:40
  out to those guys. Yeah, they started just like this. Yeah.
• 17:44
  See it's beautiful and beautiful, beautiful bell. Back to Snake mautn't worry about
• 17:48
  the kids on YouTube. Like you mentioned that you have been a lot more
• 17:52
  active lately planned shows, and you can see that it is so what he's
• 17:56
  got planned for til end of twenty twenty four and beyond. You start the
• 18:00
  set goals and work in advance. Now we're definitely working in advance. We've
• 18:04
  got a long term sort of goal. We're writing and putting together the next
• 18:11
  part of this EP slash journey, which is all the newer, more tech
• 18:18
  death stuff and that stuff is crazy, man, Like, I can't wait
• 18:23
  to show everybody that stuff. But we're going to just take our time that
• 18:26
  one a little bit and hopefully have that out by the end of the year.
• 18:30
  So good, very cool. But in the meantime, on July the
• 18:34
  fifth, we've got the debut Eping Villainous One Reverence to listen to, so
• 18:40
  make sure you get that into year. Holes. You got all these shows
• 18:41
  to check out as well. So where's the best place for people to keep
• 18:45
  up with what's happening in Snake Mountain? Out the front, you know,
• 18:52
  like the door. I'll just I'll just steal the dudes, you know,
• 18:57
  like like in the movies, you know where the spy movies where they beat
• 19:02
  the dude up and they steal a costume and they stick them inside the costume.
• 19:04
  Yeah, instead of like people at the door, I'll stand on QR
• 19:07
  codes, so I'll be looking like, look in my bag. No,
• 19:11
  I just want you to take this QR code and download whatever's on this thing.
• 19:15
  So which which story you're going to start in? Just so people know,
• 19:18
  I'll start it maybe Southport, back in the old stomping grounds, and
• 19:25
  then I'll make my way to each kmart around the country, but sure it's
• 19:32
  insane. I don't know where I'm going with that. No, you can
• 19:34
  look look us up on instagram Sneak Mountain Band and facebooks and the Spotify's I
• 19:42
  don't know what. There's more than one and maybe a Bunning's here or there.
• 20:04
  You over, you're not as the fire will almost the shah alma sit
• 20:11
  the hyde. Don't you where your eyes swallow? Would sort of door to
• 20:22
  the stars all time, the susan we are the sun time, the sus
• 20:40
  so going right, the song er, oh, the so so so sor
• 21:25
  sor foo we are the sordid sich t oh you all song all the soul
• 22:11
  out dot dah bother. That side is sus as myself your side or yourself?
• 22:41
  Oh talk do do t for your son, yourself as a sac off
• 22:51
  the corner of myself suciful. That such a foul Oh all fess a fly.
• 23:11
  Well that's a show. You're on your finer yard. So you ya
• 23:18
  for the shore, Ye sipho go just beyll the song you shall jo say
• 23:37
  yards a child's way, son, it said, I just wow way.
• 23:52
  It's such a chow it, such a chow set su