Sometimes, a name just sticks.

“The first time we were practicing together, and we spotted a package of Copperhead strings on the floor and thought ‘damn, that sounds awesome’,” said Jesse Sparks, bassist for Oklahoma City’s Copperheads.

It’s a simple enough name, one that the guys were “too lazy to change,” with Sparks adding “once you tell people your name, there’s no changing it anyway.”

But the name has grown to suit the guys, especially considering how quickly the band is sinking its fangs into the Oklahoma rock scene.

Vocalist/guitarist Kyle Vasquez, drummer Andy Escobar and Sparks formed the band around a year ago. Vasquez and Escobar had previously played in a psychedelic, jam band (a style the guys said “no longer fit them” but occasionally pops up in Copperheads), while Sparks had performed in a different band with his cousin Dane Kitchens, who wouldn’t be added to Copperheads until after the group recorded an EP. The four had been playing music in various capacities since they were sixteen and had been friends since high school.

Copperheads did little beyond writing just a handful of songs and the occasional practice session those first few months, but at the six-month mark that band went into a flurry of songwriting and began to book its first shows.

It took little time after that for Copperheads to define its sound and start slithering its way onto show bills across Oklahoma City.

The fact that garage rock acts like The Pretty Black Chains and The Boom Bang — who actually helped the band book several of its first gigs — had begun to take the state by storm only helped Copperheads get things rolling, which all the guys are thankful for.

“It’s just cool that everyone is willing to help each other out,” Escobar said.

The group would eventually catch the attention of producer Chris Harris, who would go on to record Copperheads’ self-title EP and continue the chain of local help at his Hook Echo Sound studio in Norman

Going to the studio not only afforded Copperheads the opportunity to help spread its music, it also solidified the band’s objectives.

“We wanted to make the best of the worst,” Vasquez said when asked what Copperheads’ mission in music was. “To take the worst sound you can get and make it good.”

“To be loud,” Escobar continued.

That loud spontaneity was just as evident in the recording process; all the songs were done in one take, Sparks said.

Though going to the studio might have “condensed” the songwriting process, little else is different.

The one thing that would change is the addition of Kitchens to the lineup, a decision made after the band noted how much better the music sounded with the added rhythm guitar — which Vasquez played during recording.

But Kitchens would just reinforce the objective at hand, adding another ever-evolving element to live shows.

“We hardly ever play the songs the same way,” Kitchens said, “the pang of guitar strings or fuzzy feedback ... it only adds to our sound.”

Add a little raw power and dangerous edge to that spontaneity, and you’ve got quite the beastly sound.

So with the four-piece lineup cemented, Copperheads have its eyes ahead at a fully-booked April that will expose the band to an even larger crowd. The band will head up to Stillwater, open for The Willowz on April 23 and play the Guestroom Records Stage at Norman Music Festival the next day.

But the most telling show might be the one Saturday night. The band will play with 8Bit Cynics and Bradley Fielder as a part of the NMF3 fundraiser show, a spot that was filled by The Pretty Black Chains for last year’s fundraiser. It only took weeks for PBC to become a local favoriteafter its showing.

The band hopes to carry the momentum into the summer, booking more shows around Norman and potentially recording a full-length album.

It’s only been months since the band stumbled upon its name, but now that it is one of the most dangerous bands around, Copperheads has finally slipped into its skin.

Its seems pretty comfortable in it.

Getting to know Copperheads

Who: Kyle Vasquez, Andy Escobar, Jesse Sparks and Dane Kitchens

From: Oklahoma City

For fans of: The Stooges, The Germs

Upcoming shows: 9 p.m. April 10 at Opolis, Norman with 8Bit Cynics and Bradley Fielder

8 p.m. April 23 at The Conservatory, Oklahoma City with The Willowz and The Pretty Black Chains

5:10 p.m. April 24 on The Guestroom Records Stage at Norman Music Festival