Straight from the Pit Online

First of all, how long have you been making music?
Well, I’m the only original member, and I started a band in ’89 called Solid State. Solid State led into Snapcase in ’91, and new members have been added since 92 with Jon on guitar. Members left and new guys joined, and eventually we wound up with a lineup of guys who want to make something out of this band.
Was there one main person who said, "let’s start a band", or was it a collective decision?
It was myself and a friend in ‘88-89 that wanted to start a band, and all these other guys were in bands in late 80’s-early 90’s and our bands would play together and that’s how we would end up getting to know each other and that’s how Snapcase really happened. Snapcase didn’t really gain a following until 93 or so when we put "Lookinglassself’ out, which was our first LP.
How long did it take to record your last CD?
Well the newest CD "Designs For Automotion" we were in the studio for a month. The record before that was just two weeks, we thought a month was going to be this huge super long amount of time, and at the end we were still wishing we had more time.
What were some of your early influences, both musical and other?
Musically, I think bands like Fugazi have always been a big influence for us, Quicksand, Helmut. More recently bands like Far and Refused, both of which are now broken up. Movies, none of us ever agree on, but in means of books, I’d have to say Kurt Vonnegut has always been a favorite of mine.
What influences you to write now? Where do you get your ideas?
I try to take from as many different things as possible, not just bands, books, movies, things like that. I take a lot of it from my own experiences, growth, and development. I put it in a way that it’s open to interpretation, writing lyrics that are gonna make people think, so that people can come up with their own personal meanings for each song. I think when bands write real concrete lyrics that that’s not really very artistic, it’s just kind of cut and dry, and there’s not much thought to go beyond it. I like to write the lyrics at a level where there’s a lot of room for interpretation, but there’s still a meaning, backing it.
What do you do in your free time (if you have any)?
Well, we always make sure we have free time, I’m kind of like an outdoors type person. I like to go with my girlfriend and my dog, and go out hiking. I like to play sports like soccer, basketball. I’ve been skateboarding for about 15 years, I used to skate vert ramps. But my knees are starting to feel weird and I figure I’d rather be able to walk right than to keep skating. Everyone keeps busy doing something different. Our guitar player, Frank, is a complete tech guy, he has 3 or 4 computers, 15 video game systems, he spends all of his money on that type of thing. He just rebuilt our web page in the last month or two. In fact, our drummer is a Ph. D student in Buffalo and all he has is his dissertation to finish up; he’s all done with his class work.
What type of music do you listen to now?
We like to an open mind, we listen to everything from jazz to classic rock, old soul music. We’re not like the type of band where we got older and we don’t like heavy music anymore, I mean we all like listening to really heavy stuff… A new Slayer record comes out and we’re there to pick it up. I try to find more underground stuff, more obscure bands, at the same time I don’t decide not to like a mainstream band just because they’re mainstream. I just like groups that are creative. In our genre, one group I could really recommend is Refused. Two years ago they put out an album called The Shape of Punk to Come. It’s amazing, it’s very original. They’re from Sweden, we’ve toured with them twice, once in Europe and once in the US.
What is your standpoint on drug use?
No one in the band does drugs or drinks, everybody in the band is straightedge, but we’ve never labeled ourselves as a straightedge band. We don’t want to preach and tell people what’s right and wrong for them, we just want to present a message that will inspire to people to become more aware and think about more things on their own. That’s what we’re here to do; generate thought create awareness and not say "hey, we’re a band, we know what’s right for you." That’s not the right approach, it’s just a way we live our lives. To be honest, I don’t know how bands can tour and do drugs, I mean I’m pretty worn out after a couple of days, and that’s without any drugs. We happen to have an energetic live shows, where we like to run around on stage, where as some bands just stand there.
What do you do to make your concerts worthwhile for the audience aside from the music?
Well, the concert has to have some kind of visual impact on people, we’re not crazy looking dudes or anything, and we don’t have the money for that crazy backdrop or weird light show. All the emotion that goes into the music comes out on stage. I kind of like that because I’m very laid back in my everyday life, when I go on stage I like to flip a switch and go crazy a bit.

Snapcase’s new CD, Designs for Automotion, can be found in just about any record store, and can often be heard on the Indie Show on WBER (90.5 fm) on Wednesday nights. For more info, check out www.snapcase.com. Note: the photos on this site were taken almost a year later, they are not from the St. Patrick's day show.