SNOWFISH // Winning The Wicked Game

Newcastle alt-rockers (and literal band of brothers) Snowfish recently shared their fourth single, Burn From Within.

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And with it, they sought to set off a political uprising, taking aim at the authoritative forces around us encroaching on our personal freedoms. We caught up with vocalist Jordan Rodrigues to chat about the track, its tongue-in-cheek music video and more.

Hysteria: For those new to the band, tell us your story.

Jordan: Growing up, the three of us were into music. We didn’t think about doing it together until I was around 17, and Solomon (drums, percussion) was around 15. We learnt a few covers together and did that for a while. We eventually brought in a bass player. At this time, our brother Kalan (current bassist) was only 12, so we weren’t considering him as a bandmate.

We had the other bass player for a couple of years and did a few gigs under the Snowfish name, but that didn’t go anywhere. When he left, Kalan was about 15, and we recognised that he had a lot of talent. We asked him if he wanted to play bass with us, and he accepted. The rest is history.

We love the new single Burn From Within. Let’s dig into the story behind it.

Kalan actually had put the song’s main riff together before he even joined the band. He had a couple of riffs that he’d been writing back when he was 13 or 14. It’s crazy to think he wrote it at such a young age.

I helped him develop the song structure, and he came up with the lyrics and vocals for the chorus. That helped shape the rest of the song. And he wrote the guitar solos too. It’s really Kalan’s song, Sol and I just helped him bring it to life.

That said, I did write the rest of the lyrics. They reflect frustration with authority and people in government who put in rules that don’t align with how the people feel. And that disconnect between what the vast majority of people feel and what the people in power are doing. This song is about venting that you will be heard and that people in power will listen to what you have to say.

The record is both personal and political in its themes and lyrics. And it’s a summary of the best music we’ve created since growing up.
[Jordan Rodrigues]

The music video ties in with that so well. Tell us about the story behind it about the experience of putting it together.

It was a really fun day. So with the music video, the song had been out for about a week, and I had a look at our Instagram DMs, and I saw a message from Cameron Utiger (director) saying he wanted to make a music video for us. I looked him up, saw some of the videos he’d done and was impressed. We didn’t have many gigs at that time, so I thought, let’s do it.

We’ve gone into our previous videos wanting them to be lighthearted. Our songs are usually more serious and tackle deeper topics, so we’ve wanted our clips to be more digestible so they can get our message across more clearly and comically. We told Cameron this, and he agreed and suggested the rival lemonade stand idea. One being really corporate and greedy and the other being really grassroots. The clip shows the dirty tactics the corporate lemon king uses to push the little one down. But eventually, the grassroots lemonade stand gets help from the customers and takes down the lemon king once and for all. We liked that dynamic and thought it would be a cool way to share what the song is really about.

It’s not about any issue in particular, but I think the song’s message could apply to any situation.

What can we expect to see from your upcoming album, The Monster Upstairs?

We’re excited. We’ve been working towards it for years now. It’s crazy to think that we’ll be heading back into the studio with our producer Jack Nigro to finish it in just a few weeks. People can expect to see more songs like Burn From Within. It will also include our past singles, but I think Burn From Within reflects what the album represents as a whole.

There is also a track on the record called The Monster Upstairs. It reflects both a personal battle and a battle with forces above you. Ultimately, the record is both personal and political in its themes and lyrics. And it’s a summary of the best music we’ve created since growing up. There are a lot of songs on the record that people may have heard in our live sets over the years, but we’ve scrapped a lot too, writing new songs that we think fit better.

What’s next?

We’re just starting to plan and line up all the touring stuff now. We should be getting the lead single for the album back in April. We’ll look to release it in May, and then we’ll do a short tour to accompany it. Probably just Newcastle and Sydney, but maybe the Central Coast too. A couple of months after that, we’ll look to release the full album. People can expect to see The Monster Upstairs around August, and we’ll line up a full east coast tour with that.