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Student band The Sneeks releases demo album

January 23, 2017
Four MSU juniors and seniors started their rock band, "The Sneeks," to create original music together. —

A local band comprised of MSU juniors and seniors has begun its pursuit to “make bands great again.”

Two of the four band members met by dating the same girl, and while that might seem like a recipe for disaster, things worked out in The Sneeks’ favor. Construction management junior Niko Matsamakis, computer engineering senior Alex Olivero, kinesiology senior Kevin Neumann and international relations junior Houston Smith were once strangers, but now jam together during their free time.

“I didn’t know any of these guys at the beginning of the year,” Matsamakis said. 

Serving as the band's founder, he rounded up each of the guys through mutual connections after his previous band fell apart. Smith, the band's newest member, was added to the mix just two weeks ago.

"I was at a co-op party, and these guys were playing," Smith said. "I was in the audience and I remember thinking, 'I really want to play with these guys, I really like their sound and the energy they brought.'" 

As luck would have it, The Sneeks' original drummer was leaving the band, which made room for Smith.

Two guitars, heavy on the drums and a touch of bass is the recipe for the sound The Sneeks produce. Their music is a little bit of everything, has a lot of rap influence but identifies mostly with alternative rock with a mix of funky jamming, Matsamakis said. They released an original extended play, or EP, via SoundCloud on Jan. 14. Each member of the band contributed to the creation.

"The first three on (the EP), I wrote those," Matsamakis said. "I brought them to everybody and then they wrote their own parts."

While each band member took musical lessons here and there, the majority of their sound is different each time they perform. Olivero described it as being able to express something without words, and Smith puts his own personal flare through the drums. 

The band maintains a fairly consistent playing schedule at co-op house parties.

"(Co-ops) have a party, and they need bands," Olivero said. "You just get into the co-op network." 

After their last performance, the band had three people ask them to play for their party. 

"Playing for people is just a high in its own," Smith said. “The musical talent of playing instruments is something that is just really rewarding."

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