After some conflicts with their old band, Sammy Donohue, Dakotah Wolford, and Anthony Valdez decided to take a leap of faith and start their own band.
They found the perfect complement to their group, bass player Matthew Keeton, and thus, Serpents Tongue was born.
According to the guys, the aggressive nature of Serpents Tongue’s music came from the desire to make music using built up emotions. “It’s mostly a way of dealing with all the emotions in life. It’s my way of letting go instead of hurting someone,” said Wolford, the band’s front man and vocalist.
Donohue, the band’s drummer, agrees. “It’s all of our outlet. Whether it’s good feelings or bad feelings, whatever we are feeling, we all love music and it’s a good way of expressing ourselves and have fun doing it,” said Donohue.
Although Serpents Tongue describes its music as hardcore and aggressive, the members of the band describe themselves as nice guys and they claim that what makes them different from other bands is their relationship with one another.
“We are really awkward,” said Wolford. “We are more like brothers, not just bandmates. We hang out not just for the band’s stuff, but just to hang out with each other. We are best friends,” he said.
In addition to that aspect of the band, Serpents Tongue’s mission is noble and it strives to keep its feet on the ground. “Our old band, Far From Forever, got pretty big and we had a decent fan base, but then people’s egos started getting big,” said Donohue.
“We are more about bringing the music community together. We are about bringing unity between everyone instead of saying ‘we want to be the best’ and leave everyone behind,” he said.
The guys have had their fair share of accomplishments, including performing at Rockin’ Roots festival, where the band had one of the biggest crowds in the show and received positive feedback.
“It was the pinnacle of all our achievements and what we had been working for,” said Donohue. “To see that many fans out there, and people we don’t even know who know every single word to our songs, it was a good feeling,” he said.
“The crowd’s reaction is the best,” Wolford added. “Obviously, we are not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to music, but when people actually come out and show appreciation to the music and seeing them interact with us, that for me is personally the best thing to see.”
The band’s ultimate goal is to get signed and start touring.
Serpents Tongue’s next performance will be Feb. 20 at Jerry’s Pizza & Pub, located at 1817 Chester Ave.