SPOKANE, Wash. — The late, great Bon Scott of AC/DC once sang, "It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll."
Nobody in the Spokane area lives by these words more than Rory Babin, Bill Babin, Nick Harner, Giovani Covarrubias and Austin Davis.
These five friends from the Inland Northwest make up Snacks at Midnight, a band that has matured "like a fine French Cheese," according to their Spotify bio. From Rory and Nick making silly music videos for their eighth grade history class to wowing crowds with their wild stage presence at Spokane's Knitting Factory, Snacks at Midnight have earned every bit of their success as of late.
But, as is the case with most bands, it's been a long, uphill battle to get to where they are now, and the mountain just keeps on going.
"It took us a long time to really...not suck," lead vocalist and guitarist Rory Babin shared with KREM 2. "The moment we thought to ourselves that we had something good and the moment that other people started to think that we had something really good are dramatically different timelines."
Founding members Rory Babin, bassist Nick Harner and lead guitarist Giovani Covarrubias began playing together as freshmen at Lewis and Clark High School in 2014. Ten years and two drummers later, the three friends are still together and working on new music.
"We typically describe ourselves as punk a lot more often now than we would've in the past," Babin said.
However, with influences including the Backseat Lovers, Cory Wong, Hippo Campus and Peach Pit, Snacks at Midnight's overall sound goes beyond the punk label. Their first album, 2020's "Mom's Proud," features those influences in full swing for a laid back, indie-pop experience, mostly in songs such as "Attention" and "Boxed Wine."
But, the tune that motivated the band to keep pursuing their dream was the fan favorite "21 Cents and a Cigarette," according to Harner.
"When we wrote '21 Cents,' I was pretty stoked," Harner said. "I think that would be my moment of, 'We could probably do something like this.'"
From that point on, the band soldiered through endless strings of bar gigs, festival appearances and even a small tour of Ketchikan, Alaska in 2022. Over time, that work helped them develop a loyal fan base in the Inland Northwest, which includes more than 600 monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 5,100 followers on Instagram.
Now well into 2024, Snacks at Midnight is on the cusp of following up "Mom's Proud" with a new, yet-to-be-titled album slated for sometime in the summer. Based off recent performances of the new material, fans of the band may notice a more visceral, angrier approach to some of the songs than on the previous effort.
"It was a big process just putting the thing together," Harner said. "I mean, it costs a lot to produce a record. We spent two weeks in Tri-Cities making this record."
Two weeks of stressing over costs and recording may have added to the album's visceral tone, but the band insisted the most difficult part of making the LP was the non-stop consumption of microwavable food.
"We were well acquainted with each other's farts," Harner added.
Backed by the superb drumming of newest member Austin Davis and the tasteful, atmospheric piano skills of Rory's little brother, Bill, Snacks at Midnight are set to continue moving forward through all of the challenges that come with being an up-and-coming band.
Battle-tested and "Better Than Ever," the boys at Snacks are still just as passionate about what they are doing now than when they were just three goofy freshmen at Lewis and Clark High School. Now, they've matured into a band that the Lilac City can be proud to call its own.
"I don't think any of us are scared to play a part or to go for something on stage or to mess up," Covarrubias said. "I think we all are just so comfortable with each other that we're willing to go for those things."
Snacks at Midnight's brand new single is set for release on April 1. That single can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services.
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