Snailbones
Interview conducted on March 30, 2023
by Dan Locke
Snailbones is a PNW noise punk band, composed of guitarist Timothy Francis, bassist Kelly Minton and drummer Drew Owens. Formed in 2017 in Portland Oregon, the band played shows relentlessly until the pandemic hit. During their time off they booked five days at Map Room Studios and self-engineered two albums, album one mixed by Taylor Hales at Electrical Audio, second album mixed by Matt Boynton (the Breeders – All Nerve) both albums mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.
You are from Portland Oregon. What is your upbringing?
Drew is from Florida, Kelly is from NC but moved to Miami, Chicago, Seattle, and now Portland. I was born in Anaheim, moved to Oakland, Seattle, and now Portland.
How did you discover music?
I started getting into Nirvana at a young age and would read about Kurt’s favorite bands and then found punk rock and it changed my life! I stopped listening to garbage like the Doors and Green Day.
Describe your music.
We just write songs that we like and that is fun to play. If I had to give it a name I’d say it’s post-punk-noise-rock
Your band was formed in 2017. How did you get together?
We were writing songs before 2017 for this band. We tried out several drummers until we found Drew in 2017. Then we practiced and wrote more songs for a year before playing shows.
How did you get your band’s name?
I had a list of names written down and we all voted on each, this was the name that won.
What was your first performance like?
It was a lot of fun, we played this house show and it was packed. We made sure to make a weird an awkward first impression by playing a song where we swapped instruments and played a silly little song called Dad Belly. Kelly played the guitar and sang, Drew played the bass and I was on the drums.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
We pretty much had about 8 songs or more and recorded a demo after three or four months.
What is the process of writing your music?
I used to be the main songwriter and now we mostly make songs from jams. The weirder the better.
What are you feeling about streaming music?
I feel like it’s a really convenient way to listen to whatever you want when you want anywhere you want. Having said that, I do feel like music isn’t as special as it once was. There are so many bands, music is free. Back in the day when you found a rare physical copy of an album you were looking for forever and then finally found it in this record shop 45 minutes away from home, it meant a lot more because there was a memory attached to it.
How was it to record two albums of material in 5 days during the Covid-19 quarantine.
We couldn’t play shows, we had to do something, just seemed like the perfect time to do it.
Tell me about Keelhaul em All?
It’s our second album and most of the songs on it came out of our new collaborative way of writing songs.
Tell me about the making of the video “Death Face”?
I came across this music video on my YouTube algorithm and it was a video by the guy who made our video. I reached out to him, and he was happy to do it. I’m super happy with the results.
How did you decide to work with The Dar Brothers as directors for All Sullied few?
A.I. art intrigued me at the time, and they released some really interesting stuff so I thought it would be great if I gave them an idea and vibe and see what they could do with it.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
No, the people who read music won’t forget it.
Not that I know how to read music.
This year (2022) vinyl is outselling digital media. Metallica is selling so much vinyl that they bought their own pressing plant- They pressed 900,000 plus pieces of vinyl I 2022 alone. The plant they purchase is the Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA. So is it Digital vs. vinyl?
No, digital has caught up to the quality of physical media. I feel like it’s a preference. I like sitting down while listening to an entire album on vinyl while reading all of the nerdy shit on the album sleeve, like where it was recorded, who mastered it, who they thank. Etc. I listen to both, just depends on the situation. I do like to support artists I like by buying an album. I will never support Spotify, not only do they rip off artists but the quality sucks. Apple Music at least has a more ethical payout for artists not to mention the quality is far superior.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It by Ice Cube reminds me of my days in Oaktown. Good memories my best bud Elliott.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Pay to play for a show is silly. Even though playing and creating music is an enjoyable passion there’s a lot of work that goes into it both physically and mentally. Lifting heavy amps several times in a day to play a show that you have to pay for isn’t something I would ever do. Not interested in paying to be added to playlists either.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense.
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Sure, we would try it once.
In the past if a musician stopped doing music, they found a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I think Dee Snider has a better career now. I would love to be a voice for a cartoon.
What is your happy place?
At home with the pugs listening to some rad music drinking a beer in front of the fire. Or playing a packed venue and the crowd digs what we’re doing I’ll go off and give the crowd a show. Feels like a drug.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young sold 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artists based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar. Peter Frampton at the end of last year also sold his rights to BMG.
Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs? Remember anything that you create forward will be 100% yours.
If you would have asked young me, I would have said fuck no, I’m no sellout. If Universal was that dumb and wanted to waste a bunch of money on songs that don’t sell I would do it in a heartbeat because I can retire and still make music.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the algorithm that generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group-, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
No, no interest in it. I’ll leave TikTok to Kelly.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel went live last summer. The station a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
It already is, but the music that dominates that platform is not what we’re doing.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Love more, hate less. Mind your own and learn the art of not giving a fuck. The world would be a happier place if more people adopted this mindset.
