The Snyder Family Shares Fascinating Details About their New Album "Wherever I Wander"

Coming on March 17th, bluegrass group The Snyder Family Band will release their debut Mountain Home Music debut "Wherever I Wander." Samantha (16) & Zeb Snyder (19) are among today's finest traditionally-based musicians. Along with dad, Bud Snyder, the siblings comprise The Snyder Family Band. 

The Snyder Family Band from Lexington, NC, performs a blend of family friendly music that appeals to all ages and audiences. What the listener will find exciting about a Snyder Family Band show is how these young musicians take from multiple genres and create a unique sound that includes not only bluegrass, but also southern rock, blues, Texas swing, and newgrass. 

Hallels:  So grateful for your time.  For the sake of some of our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us who is the Snyder Family? How did you start performing together as a family? 

Band members: 

Samantha - 16 

Zeb - 19 

Bud - dad 

Owen - 9 (makes occasional appearances) 

Laine - mom 

We are from Lexington, NC 

Bud: 

Laine and I wanted to offer music to our kids at a very young age in hopes that it would help with their development and provide enrichment. We started Samantha on violin at age three and Zeb started classical guitar at age seven (shortly after Samantha started). Laine began having them play together as soon they began to make progress on their instruments. They played at some local events as a duo and began to add some bluegrass/traditional tunes to their repertoire. After about four years, Zeb switched from classical to steel string guitar and learned how to flat pick. Once the duo started playing bluegrass they determined a bass player was needed to help round out their sound. That's when the family surprised me with a bass for my birthday. Zeb began to show me the basics and the band was born in 2007. 

Hallels:  How would you describe your sound?   

Samantha: 

As a band we want to create and perform quality music that appeals to fans of all ages and interests. We as musicians enjoy all sorts of genres; we listen to and recreate whatever sounds good to us. That results in a style of music that, in my opinion, is unique to our band because it's our own recipe; it's rather hard to tell you with words what or whom we sound like. A lot of our music is original, which furthers this unique sound. We also make sure that all of our music is family-friendly, so that anyone can have a good time listening to us. 

Hallels: Which artists would you say helped shape your sound? 

Zeb: 

Our sound is a combination of several different genres, and within those genres there are individual artists that stand out as big influences. In the bluegrass and newgrass world, I would say that Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, the Del McCoury Band, New Grass Revival, Jerry Douglas, Mark O'Connor, Blue Highway, Vassar Clements, Alison Krauss and Union Station, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Bill Monroe stand out as big influences, to name just a select few. We're also influenced by Southern rock and blues, so artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, the Charlie Daniels Band, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others have been big influences. Finally, we have some swing and jazz influences, particularly gypsy jazz and Western swing. I can point out Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and Riders in the Sky as big influences in this area. This list of artists, and really this list of genres just begins to scratch the surface of what influences us, though. A major part of who we are as a band is the variety of our influences and the resulting originality of our music. 

Hallels:  Many of the songs on your brand new record "Wherever I Wander" deal with travelling.  Why is this such an important theme on this record? 

Samantha: 

You know, it all came about rather providentially. We were putting together material for this album and we had a whiteboard propped up against the wall in our living room where Mom was putting down the names of our songs as we decided to put them on the CD. We had most of the songs that you see on the album now written down. I was looking to write one more vocal that I hoped would be a significant one. I played around with some ideas; particularly one that involved highlighting the fact that God is with us and protecting us wherever we go. One day I was looking at this board and I noticed a common thread among the song titles and what the songs were about. Almost every song on the CD seemed to reflect some element of travel. And so, my vocal "Wherever I Wander" was born and our CD had a theme that, for most of the creation process, was unintentional. We all love this travel theme because it is so representative of our own love for touring. 

Hallels:  I must admit the titles of some of the songs on the album are fascinating.  They could even work as titles of novels and movies.  What is "A Whaler's Song" about?  What's the inspiration behind this song? 

Samantha: 

When I was younger, I read a book by Holling C. Holling called Seabird. It is a short story, masterfully written and fascinating, especially since this particular publication of the book was intricately illustrated. Seabird tells the story of a young boy who was the "ship's boy" on board a whaling vessel, where the men made their living harvesting whale oil. It follows this boy throughout his whaling adventures and onto his other seafaring jobs. This vibrant book provided a very vivid inspiration for my song. 

Hallels:  What about "Nantucket Sleigh Ride."  What's the story behind this song? 

Samantha: 

Actually, "Nantucket Sleigh Ride" is an instrumental that is attached to "A Whaler's Song." The term "Nantucket Sleigh Ride" refers to the wild ride that results when the whalers have lodged harpoons in a whale and the whale takes off swimming. The little whaleboat, which they use to row out to a whale and strike, is dragged along behind the fleeing whale, who swims until he loses strength. I refer to this in "A Whaler's Song":  

"First to the giant aims for his side, 

And when they've found their mark, they'll hold on for their lives, 

The giant he runs from his fate near at hand, 

It's a Nantucket Sleigh Ride as both sides take their stand..." 

A Nantucket Sleigh Ride like this is narrated in Seabird. I knew it would make an excellent name and idea for a rip-roaring instrumental. 

Hallels:  I see on your website that you are busy touring.  What can our readers expect from a live show from you? 

Bud: 

Each show is an opportunity for us to perform the music we love and meet so many great folks. You can expect plenty of energy and a variety of music from a family that loves to travel and perform together. 

Hallels:  For our readers who would like to purchase your new album or catch a show of yours or find out more about you, where can they go? 

Bud: 

You can learn more about the Snyder Family Band, see our schedule and purchase our music by going to www.snyderfamilyband.com. You can also join us on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our YouTube page. You can find all of these links at the bottom of our home page on our web site.

 

 

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