After listening to Stan Snow’s lush, new release, and having gotten deep into its colorful styles and varying tones, and with the star-studded list of features that manages to bring something distinctive to the table with each contribution, I found my head buzzing with questions for Stan. Come along and join us as in our interview with Stan Snow to find more about the man, his creative approach, and his art.
- Privileged to be able to speak a bit with you Mr. Snow. First things first. Is there a reason for this album being a Bandcamp exclusive? I’d personally have loved to add it to my usual streaming service library. Is there reasoning behind this decision that you would like to share?
Thank you Moataz. Very kind of you. Yes, I decided to only release the album on Bandcamp at this time. In my opinion, Spotify and some of the other streaming services are abusive to artists. Only paying a fraction of what the artists deserve. They have robbed most of the artistic community the ability to make a living doing music. The streaming services are reportedly adding 120,000 songs per day, worldwide. There is a tsunami of content. The public is overwhelmed. They are only aware of the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg. It is primarily up to the artists to self promote. People really don’t value what they can get for free. So, I have chosen to not play that game. I may at some point release some of the songs from this album to the streaming services. But meanwhile, if people value my music they can go to bandcamp and listen to it for free 3x. After that they’ll need to pay for it.
- Jumping quite fluidly from folk to funk, and from funk to rock, then to blues, then back to folk. With this wealth of musical languages that you can fluently communicate with, which one genre would you say is closest to your heart? If you had to pick one.
That’s a tough question. I don’t really think in terms of genres being close to my heart. When I write, record and/or produce new music I am usually focused on what the music fan within me wants to hear at that moment. It can change from day to day, or week to week. Good music, to me, is music that is inspiring and makes me want to listen to it again and again. I like most genres of music as long as the spirit is there. Sometimes artists are sloppy good, like the Rolling Stones for example. And other times they are very precise and complex, like Steely Dan. Depending on what mood I’m in will determine what genre might be closest to my heart on any given day. It could be Americana one day. Jazz-Rock fusion the next. Then, Indie or Roots Rock, etc… I love to change it up. And I really like surprises. Otherwise, I get bored and will likely move on until I find the next inspiring musical and/or lyrical idea. It’s often an adventure. An exploration.
- Your acoustic compositions, tracks 1 & 12, can differ greatly from your electric guitar-based ones, especially the funk based ones like tracks 2 & 7. In the light of this difference, how would you describe your approach to composing for those instruments? And if the approach is the same regardless of the driving instrument, where do you think this perceived stylistic difference stems from?
I have a lot of guitars and each one gives me different inspirations for creating new music. When I first bought the Martin 000-28 acoustic, I pulled it out of the case and wrote the song Move (from our 4th Sundogs album). The tone of that guitar inspired me to create that song. I often use different tunings for acoustic guitar compositions….drawing influences from people like David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, Michael Hedges, Neil Young, John Leventhal and many others. On the electric guitars it can be similar in terms of inspiration. When I’m playing a telecaster I might be inspired to write a song in the style of Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, etc…. With a Gibson 335 played through a Divided by 13 amp that might inspire me to go for a different type of sound. Sometimes the musical idea might come from a bass line. Like when Carol Kaye with the Wrecking Crew used to lay down very memorable bass lines for many of those hits in the 60’s. Sheryl Crow sometimes writes on the bass first. Paul McCartney reportedly used to spend the entire night at Abbey Road working on the bass line for one song. …..So, I’ll sometimes start writing the tune from there. Whether I’m writing on mandolin (like on the song Jungle), or acoustic piano (like on Gone Too Fast), or 12 string acoustic (like on Seasons), I will draw inspiration from the instrument and build the song from there. I’m not thinking about genres or styles. I am simply trying to create music that I find inspiring and that satisfies the music fan within me. Trying to get better and better all the time. And making headway everyday. That’s what makes it fun for me. And when the album is complete, I get to share it with others who might be of like mind in terms of style and genre. And people can usually tell when music is sincere and from the heart.
- How would you compare working as a solo artist with working as a member of The Sundogs? How do you adapt to the role change, if there’s one, and how do the dynamics differ between the two scenarios?
Working as a solo artist I can explore sonic and lyrical landscapes without restraint. I can also focus on what my ear wants to hear without the potential risk of offending someone who might have an alternate perspective. When I’m collaborating with others there is often a dynamic to be inclusive and to try to create a synergy. That can be great, but it can also be a challenge at times if each of the parties involved do not agree. Collaboration can also be fabulous when there is a team spirit that results in true synergy. If done well, iron sharpens iron.
- As a multidisciplinary artist, how would you say the act of writing songs differs from that of making films? The processes are obviously vastly different, so the question is that of approach, or of mindset. Does the approach to producing a creative output differ depending on the discipline?
The creative process, for me, is in play from start to finish. Writing and recording songs is different from making films of course. But I’m always trying to learn new and better ways of doing things. I don’t do demos anymore. I go straight to recording. While I’m writing the song I am often recording it and refining it as I go. Sometimes using the same miking techniques, plugins and/or amp settings, etc… Sometimes changing it up and doing new things to get different sounds. During the filming process, I’m often trying to learn how to use better lighting, filming and editing techniques. This continues with the marketing process as well. Always growing, always learning.
- About the songs on ‘Into the Great Beyond’. Do you have a songwriting routine of any kind? How are the lyrics usually written? and how do you fit the music to the words? Does one usually come before the other, or is it a fluid affair with no constraints? If so, do you have any preferences in your songwriting process?
I usually come up with the musical idea first. It can happen acapella, or on an instrument if I have one handy at the time I get the idea. It could be a riff, a chord progression, a melody, a groove, etc.. It has to hold my attention. Sometimes I’ll be driving in the car and I will hear a bass line in my head. I will then pull over and sing the bass line into my iPhone while tapping the tempo out on the dash. Sometimes I will let the idea sit for a day or two, and then pull out an instrument to flesh it out. Still recording into my iPhone at this stage. I won’t know what the song will be about until I start to compose a melody over it and then fit words to the melody. I sometimes ask myself what I would want to hear if I were sitting in the audience watching a performance of this new song. What would be the first word that I would want to hear? Then, I will begin writing and singing the first line. The song will then reveal itself in the process. Going line by line I will expand, create and build the composition so that at every stage it holds my attention. It will be what I want to hear, so that as I listen to it over and over again, I will be inspired to keep working on it …..like a craft in a woodshop, or a sculptor in a studio. At the end of the day, I’ll know it’s done if nothing is bugging me about it. : )
- Concluding my questions Mr. Snow. What can fans be expecting from you in the upcoming months? Any tour plans or additional releases? Solo or with The Sundogs. And is there anything else you would want to share with our readers?
I’m in the process now of working on videos for the entire album. I have all of the content done. Just need to put it all together and edit everything. I’ll be releasing each video on Facebook and YouTube in the weeks and months ahead. No plans to tour. I am currently working with promoters to get more reviews and radio airplay. Trying to expand my audience wherever possible. Currently on Facebook there are 41,000 followers to our Sundogs page.
And people can certainly listen to and/or download tracks through Bandcamp.
When I’m finished with the videos and marketing process for this album I will begin work on my next solo album…..likely starting the writing process 4-6 months from now. Check out my YouTube channel here.
- Thank you massively for humoring my questions Stan. It has been a pleasure listening to your music, and getting to ask you those nosy, musical questions. I hope answering them was as engaging to you as your music was to me.
Thank you Moataz! Very kind of you. Great to meet you via email, etc… You did a fabulous job on the review. Thank you again. It has been my pleasure to answer your questions. I’ll look forward to seeing the interview when it gets released.
Cheers to you!
Stan
