ABOUT uS

Meet The Band

Liam Darrah

I started music with the alto saxophone in 5th grade. I quickly realized it wasn't the right instrument for me, and tried the bassoon. I discovered that the bassoon was exactly what I wanted to play, and have been in love with playing music every since. I then discovered a similar love for traditional Irish music, when I started playing the tin whistle and then later the uilleann pipes. I do not intend to make a career in music, but hope to keep it as a hobby and keep playing for my own enjoyment and hopefully the delight of any audiences I have. I currently am a part of multiple musical groups and frequently play Irish music in pubs at sessions with local musicians.

Graham Bubb

My first experience with playing music came when I was eight years old. After my sister started playing piano, I signed up for lessons. Since then I have picked up dozens of instruments and played every kind of music I could. My main two instruments are trombone and piano, and I mostly play jazz and classical music. My hope in the future is to get a degree in music education and to share my passion with the world. I love being able to spend all of this time playing and writing music with my best friend. I hope you enjoy seeing us go through this process and have fun with us!

liam and graham baritone and trombone marching band

opposites by nature
welded by purpose

Our journey starts further back than many people might think. Before the band or either of its members were even born yet, our parents were very close. So naturally, those genes were passed on and we have been best of friends our whole lives. From the early days of playing video games and hanging out, we eventually moved on to middle school and high school. Our friendship carried through and evolved into discussing deeply philosophical questions for the benefit of society as a whole (Do trees taste earthy?), and playing music constantly. It was in that phase of our friendship in which we had a strange idea one day… What if we started a band together? But alas, we had no idea what to call ourselves. Luckily, one day at work, as we labored away at the monotonous scrutiny that comes from a capitalist regime, whilst our creativity should have been at its absolute lowest, we were discussing the minutia of biological differences between poison and venom, and we thought of the perfect band name. Thus was born, The Poisonous Snake and The Venomous Frog.

So what instruments do you guys actually play?

Glad you asked!

Click below to read!

Piano

My first instrument! I picked up the piano when I was around seven or eight after my sister started taking lessons. Everything I know about music comes from this instrument. I’ve kept going since and now do almost all of my writing with this instrument. The piano is an extremely versatile instrument that I am very glad I picked up. The ability to visualize music through the plan of the piano has made me a much more felxible and intelligent musician over the course of my life.

Trombone

I first picked up the trombone in 5th grade and it has since become my main instrument. I am going to The Ohio State University for Music Education with trombone as my primary instrument. I play a Yamaha YSL-882IIO trombone. Now trombone is my main instrument, but I originally did not want to play it. When I had to pick an instrument for school in the 5th grade, I wanted to play the string bass. I wanted to be an orchestral musician and I had very little intereset in brass. I was then told by my parents that I was not allowed to play string bass because it was “too big”, I then begrudgingly picked up the trombone, and I now love it. I have then learned that out of all the instruments I’ve played trombone is by far my favorite. It is such a unique and special way of playing and learning music. It has so many different uses but it comes down to its ability to emote so clearly and easily. My favorite thing about the trombone is how satisfying the technique can be to learn. It is the only instrument I have had more fun practicing than playing. Trombone is a often underappreciated instrument, but I love everything it does and I hope it gets more love in the future!

Drumkit

I picked up drums after the trombone. I had always wanted to play the drums and I saved up my money and bought a kit! I’m always working to improve my skills but I currently have freedom to play comfortably in many different styles. Out of all the instruments I play, I would defiantly say drums are one of them.

Accordion

This is the one that makes me cool and interesting. The accordion is unlike any other instrument I’ve ever played. It is somehow way more simple to understand and is also far more complicated than I could have ever imagined. Many people think the accordion is just a fun old instrument, but i truly think it is so much more than that. I have learned that the accordion is a powerful well rounded instrument.

Guitar

guitar

The next instrument I picked up was the guitar! It is as great as everyone says. Its a well rounded iconic part of music all around the world. There’s a reason everyone loves it!

Bass

It’s like a guitar but less popular…

Khaen

This one is unique! Its a traditional Lao instrument. Its a mouth organ, and it works in a similar way to a harmonica. If I had to describe in one sentence, I would say “Its like a bass but WAY less popular”

Cajon

cajon

Its a box.

Synthesizer

Syntheizer

I got my first Synthesizer for my 16th birthday! Out of all my instrument, it is probably the one that I will sit down and fiddle on the most. I mostly make ambient music or loops on it. I have done a lot of work on sound design and other aspects of synth work, but I mostly like to make ambient music with it.

Banjo

banjo

The banjo is my most recent addition. It is very VERY hard. I am still learning and praticing but it is very fun and it’s nice to be connected to other new kinds of music.

Click Below to Read!

Bassoon

The bassoon is the first instrument that I really learned to play well, and is what made me understand that I had a passion for music. The bassoon has stood by me as I’ve played it throughout middle school and high school in my school bands and orchestra, and I have spent a lot of time practicing it and taking lessons on it, making it one of the instruments I am definitely best at. I play a Fox 240 bassoon that was made in 2012.

Uilleann Pipes

The uilleann pipes are an instrument that I have picked up slightly more recently, as I have only been playing since my freshman year in high school. Despite that, I have practiced tirelessly at what is often considered to be a very unique, and very difficult instrument. I frequently play the uilleann pipes at local pub sessions with groups of other Irish musicians, and have found through Irish music a community of friends that will last a lifetime. I have a full set of pipes pitched in D made by Brian Bigley, whom I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for pipes, as he has become a great friend and has made me an absolutely fantastic set of pipes.

Tin Whistle

I started playing the tin whistle about 6 months before I started playing the uilleann pipes. I first started the whistle because I heard that it was considered a good idea to practice the whistle first before starting the pipes, in order to get the style of Irish music down and get some tunes under your fingers before trying the added complexities of the pipes. I ended up realizing that the tin whistle has a beauty of it’s own that makes it a very interesting instrument, not just as a preparation for learning the pipes, but as something that, despite being simple in theory, can be played to a very high complexity. I frequently still play the whistle, despite being adept at the pipes, and really enjoy the bouncy, playful sound that a tin whistle can produce when played correctly. I own a lot of different tin whistles, in many different keys. The primary tin whistle I use is a D whistle made by Lír, which I have been very happy with.

Euphonium

I started playing the euphonium as an instrument for marching band because I wasn’t able to march bassoon. At first, I found myself disliking the euphonium, as I was constantly comparing it to my experience playing bassoon, which I am much better at, and was upset that I couldn’t get the range of sounds and richness of tone out of a euphonium that I could a bassoon. Gradually over the past few years, however, I have found that I have started to enjoy the euphonium more and more. I began taking some lessons on it as well, making me realize that with a little bit of work and specific practice, I could improve a lot, and I have learned that the euphonium can really be an incredible instrument. I hope to continue improving on it and learning more about it as I do so.

Hammered Dulcimer

The hammered dulcimer is a very interesting instrument, and one that I hardly have enough experience with to say that I play it. I recently got a hammered dulcimer from my grandmother, and I hope that in the near future I will start to put a lot of time into learning to play this incredibly beautiful and intriguing instrument.

Irish Flute

The Irish flute is another newer acquisition of mine. I am currently borrowing one from a friend, and am learning to play it, with the hopes of eventually being able to play it as well as I do the pipes or the whistle. It is very different from a silver concert flute that you see in a band or orchestra setting. The Irish flute is primarily made of wood, and can be found either keyless or with keys. The flute provides a sound that is integral to Irish traditional music, and has a very unique and interesting texture to it. This is another instrument that I am practicing to hopefully get much better at soon.