Last week LPG introduced you to an up and coming band with ties to lacrosse, VOODOO FARM. This week we bring you Sick Feed. Named after a catch phrase on the lax field, Sick Feed is nestled in the Washington, D.C. area, but you may have already seen them up and down the east coast performing live at Major League Lacrosse games. Front man, Tom Snedeker, sits down and enlightens us on Sick Feed as well as his opinions on the future of the MLL.
So what’s the story behind the name ‘Sick Feed’?
This is a subject of some debate. I remember Chandler saying one time how he thought the entire lax lingo was hilarious, for example, “sick feed, bro!”, and he thought Sick Feed would be a hilarious name for the band. Others attribute it to one of our former members, who played football at Yale and they used to say “sick” all the time, as in “sick game, man”, or “that was a sick feed”, after the pregame meal. I’m sticking with the lax reference.
How did the group first meet?
Chandler, Sam, Tate and I all met the typical way, hanging around Georgetown, having a bunch of mutual friends, and spending too much time at Smith Point. David went to college with Tate, and when Tate moved, David stepped in and took his spot in the band. Zach is Sam’s brother. And Peter, well that’s a longer story for another time…ask Sam.
How many of you have actually played lacrosse?
I think I’m running solo on this one, although the sports that everyone in the band has played or does play are pretty varied: lax, football, swimming, soccer, crew, track, etc.
How would you describe your music?
We try to only play music that people want to fist-pump to in a crowded bar. No toe-tapping songs. We play plenty of the 80s and 90s classics, with a mix of current stuff thrown in, as long as it really rocks. The bands we cover are really varied, from U2 to Lady Gaga to Journey, etc.
Where can our readers see you play? Any upcoming gigs?
Our next 2 shows are at the City Museum on Halloween, and on November 7th at the Blues Ball, being held at the Sphinx Club downtown.
Who are some of your influences lacrosse wise?
My idol as a little kid was Tim Nelson from Syracuse. Tim Goldstein from Cornell was a guy I looked up to as well. Obviously I admired the Gaits as well when they came along.
Is there one moment in your lax career that sticks around everyday like a doppelganger?
I’ve been around for a while so there are too many to count, ha! Years ago I was playing on a select team against the English national team, which supposedly hadn’t lost a game in 2 years. I assisted on the winning goal with 11 seconds left in the game, so that was pretty cool. Playing my first game ever as freshman in college against UVA was awesome, especially since I went to a DIII school, so to step on the field for my first game and have it be against UVA, that was great.
In your opinion, what areas can the MLL improve in?
I’ll focus on marketing and attendance as opposed to the rules or play of the game. I think the league really needs to step up its sponsorships and partnerships, spreading its tentacles out a lot farther than it does. From what I can tell they operate on a shoestring budget as it is, so for every sponsor that they sign up for $5,000 per season, that’s a lot of money if they can get 20 additional sponsors, especially if it’s market-specific and that 100k goes all to one team. I would love to see them play in smaller stadiums, just like what MLS has recognized and tried to do. The venues would appear fuller, the crowd more compacted and closer to the action, and the players on the field more energized. With a limited home schedule for each team, they should be reaching out personally to every youth group and PoCo league in their area to give them group deals on tickets and convince them to come to games. That part takes a lot of grass-roots effort, but not a lot of money. Think of MLB in the late 1800s and the NFL in the 1920s. They started off with tiny crowds and a new product as well. Granted, we’re talking a century later, but big things can happen if you stick with it and keep on improving your product.
OK, time for some quickfire questions…
Van Halen or Sammy Hagar?
Van Halen
Shrimp or Lobster?
Lobster
Mesh: Hard or Soft?
Hard
Five Hole or Low to High?
Five Hole
Nuts or Berries?
Berries
Charlie Brown, Doug, or Lisa Simpson?
Not sure which Doug you mean…I’ll play it safe and stick with Lisa Simpson.
NCAA Finals: Baltimore, Philly, or Beantown?
College Park
To see more of Sick Feed, click here.
