Previously, Raul Sanchez, guitarist and principal songwriter with River Of Snakes, and Dante, the drummer, played together in Midnight Woolf. Raul met Alissa, a graduate of Collingwood’s Rock & Roll High School, at a party he’d organised in honour of Hunter S Thompson some years ago. “I was having a party – I don’t know how old I was, maybe about 20…” Raul recalls. “Actually, you were about 35,” corrects Dante. “And everyone had to come dressed as Hunter S Thompson,” Raul explains. “Except me – I didn’t dress up,” Alissa laughs. “I came dressed as the lawyer,” adds Dante. “Yeah, I needed some legal representation,” says Raul.
Raul had started jamming with Matt Sonic (Matt Sonic & The High Times), when Sonic suggesting Alissa join the band as bass player. Sonic’s commitments with his own band led to him politely withdrawing from the fray, and Raul approached his fellow Midnight Wolf member Dante to play drums. River of Snakes’ debut gig was particularly impressive, with the drum stool shared by three different drummers. “I asked Dante, Lewis my brother and Adam Robertson to play – they did three songs each,” Raul says.
While Raul originally formed the band and remains the dominant songwriter, River of Snakes is a collaborative effort. “We’re at the point where we’re over structured song writing,” Dante says. “We just come in, have a jam and see where it goes, which is different to what Raul and I do in Midnight Woolf where we play to a real rock’n’roll structure. With this band we can go off and be psychedelic or stoner; we don’t have to be limited by any particular idea,” he says. “When I first started jamming with Matt I didn’t want it to be heavy and distorted, I wanted it to be more bluesy, like Rowland S Howard,” Raul says. “But as soon as you put a big muff in front of me, I’m like ‘yeah, fuck it!’” he laughs.
Raul locates River of Snakes’ musical style in the context of early 1990s Australian punk rock, with doses of The Scientists thrown in for good measure. There’s also the influence of riot girl, illustrated by the inclusion of a cover of Bikini Kill’s Rebel Girl in River of Snakes’ live set. “Bikini Kill is the stuff that made me want to play,” Alissa says. “It’s an age old story, but it made me want to pick up an instrument and play.”
The interview ambles to an end as the members contemplate the logistics of the journey across to Yarraville for a rehearsal session. Any final observations? “It’s my band,” Raul says with a smile to the obvious amusement of his band mates. “What was it that someone said today?” asks Dante. “Puddle of Pythons,” replies Raul. “Sea of Serpents,” Dante laughs.
