Snake River Conspiracy

American industrial rock band

Industrial rock
industrial metal
electronic rock
electronica
gothic rock^[1]

Years active

1996–2006
2012–2020
2022–present

Labels

Interscope
Elektra
Reprise
Morpheus
5-K-B
Somnabulist

Members

Tobey Torres
Mitchell Doran

Past members

Jason Slater
Eric Valentine
Martina Axén
Bobby Hewitt
Geoff Tyson
Rob Patterson
Fab Fernandez
Eric Hendrikx
China
Leo Larsen
Ivo Ivanov
Scott Engelter
Ashif Hakik
Jay Lane
Neil Taylor
Matt Lucich

Snake River Conspiracy (SRC) is an American industrial rock band. It was formed in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay Area by producers Eric Valentine and Jason Slater. The band's vocalist, Tobey Torres, was recruited in 1998.^[2]

History

Snake River Conspiracy was founded in 1996^[3]^[4] as a project of producer Eric Valentine and Jason Slater, a former member of Third Eye Blind. After forming, the band hired Tobey Torres to be the band's singer. The band was initially signed to Interscope Records in 1998 on the strength of a two-song demo, and shortly after signing to the label Valentine opted out of the band to focus on his music production career.^[2]^[5] Problems at Interscope led to the band moving to Elektra Records and then Reprise Records.^[2]^[6]^[5] The band's debut EP/single, "Vulcan", was released on October 5, 1999; it received rave reviews from critics, and was named "Single of the Week" by the British music magazine NME.^[7]

SRC's debut album, Sonic Jihad, was released in the United States on July 11, 2000.^[8] The band found moderate success in the United States with their cover of "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths, which reached a peak of number 15 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart^[9] and number 38 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[10] "How Soon Is Now?" was reissued as a single in the UK by Morpheus Records in July 2001, where it subsequently reached number 83 on the UK Singles Chart.^[11]^[12]^[13]

In an episode of the official SRC podcast from 2005 addressing the numerous lineup changes, Slater named Mitchell Doran as the “best guitarist and most solid band member” in SRC.^[14]

On December 9, 2020, Slater died of liver failure.^[15]^[16]

In July 2022, Torres and Mitchell Doran launched a new Instagram account for Snake River Conspiracy, announcing that new music from the band will be released in 2023.^[17]

In November 2022, Mitchell Doran alleged that Jason Slater had stolen several compositions that were written by other Snake River Conspiracy members during the SRC2 recording sessions, and reused them with other bands he produced.^[18]

Band members

Current members^[19]

Tobey Torres-Doran – vocals (1998–2004, 2006, 2022–present)
Mitchell J. Doran – guitarist, producer (2005–2006, 2022–present)

Former members^[20]

Jason Slater – producer, bass (1996–2006, 2012–2020), guitars (2004–2005)^[21] (died 2020)
Eric Valentine – producer, engineer (1996–1999)
Martina Axén – vocals, drums (2004–2005)^[21]
Geoff Tyson – lead guitarist, production (1998–2002)^[22]
Rob Patterson – guitarist (touring only; 2000)
Fab Fernandez Hewitt – guitarist (2002–2004)
Eric "Hendrikx" Henderson – guitarist (2003–2004)
China – guitarist (2004)^[23]
Leo Larsen – guitarist (2006)^[24]
Ivo Ivanov – keyboards (touring only; 2000–2001)^[25]
Scott Engelter – keyboards (2001–2002)
Ashif Hakik – keyboards (2006) (died 2021)^[26]
Jay Lane – drums (2000)^[2]
Neil Taylor – drums (2000–2002, 2003–2004)^[27]
Bobby Hewitt – drums (2002–2003)^[28]^[29]
Matt Lucich – drums (2006)^[24]

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Sonic Jihad (2000)

References

^ Syquia, John (February 8, 2001). "Band Interview: Snake River Conspiracy | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Slater, Jason (March 13, 2012). "The SRC Story Pt. 1". www.jason-slater.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
^ Lane, Dan (November 2000). "Check 'Em Out! | Snake River Conspiracy". Metal Hammer (80). Future plc: 17.
^ Winwood, Ian (November 25, 2000). "Celebrity Skin". Kerrang!. No. 829. UK: EMAP. pp. 26–28.
^ ^a ^b Valentine, Eric (June 4, 2019), MR w EV SRC "lovesong" (YouTube video), retrieved December 4, 2022
^ "Mojave Phone Booth - Bio". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
^ Wells, Steven (September 12, 2005). "Snake River Conspiracy : Vulcan". NME. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
^ CMJ New Music Monthly. August 2000.
^ "Snake River Conspiracy Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ "Snake River Conspiracy Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ NME (March 21, 2001). "FREE SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY!". NME. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
^ Simpson, Dave (June 22, 2001). "Who the hell are...Snake River Conspiracy". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
^ "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY (overview)". Official Charts. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
^ "Blast from the past".
^ Reilly, Nick (December 10, 2020). "Original Third Eye Blind bassist Jason Slater has died at the age of 49". NME. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
^ Archived at Ghostarchive. "Snake River Conspiracy Official". Facebook. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^ Yücel, Ilker (August 23, 2022). "Tobey Torres and Mitchell Doran announce new album from Mojave Phone Booth, and new music from Snake River Conspiracy in 2023". ReGen Magazine. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^ "Truth". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. November 6, 2022. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^ "🖖🏼 (@snakeriverconspiracy) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
^ "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY". www.snakeriverconspiracy.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY". MySpace. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^ "Heavy Metal Resource Interviews-Geoff Tyson". www.heavymetalresource.com. January 20, 2003. Archived from the original on February 3, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
^ Blabbermouth (June 6, 2004). "Former DRAIN STH Drummer Named New Singer Of SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Snake River Conspiracy - Bay Area, CALIFORNIA - Rock / Electronica / Metal". MySpace.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
^ "Ivo Ivanov: Game of Sounds — Quotes Magazine". Quotes Magazine. April 24, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
^ McAloon, Alissa (April 30, 2021). "Obituary: Sly Cooper, Tomba 2 composer Ashif Hakik". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
^ Lawson, Dom (December 9, 2000). "Snake Tour Off". Kerrang!. No. 831. UK: EMAP. p. 4.
^ Blabbermouth (October 25, 2002). "ORGY Drummer Joins SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
^ Blabbermouth (December 24, 2002). "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY's SLATER Speaks Out On New Songs, Label Situation". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved December 5, 2022.