Snacks Chapman Are Taking Over the World One Note at Time

For the first year, live shows for Snacks Chapman were like games of musical chairs where between songs, members would trade positions. "We'd all switch off and we were all pretty good at everything. But it felt like a novelty and I really wasn't good at playing drums at all," says guitarist Ian Lozinski. Three years later during a global pandemic, Snacks Chapman continues to evolve and release new music. Before the pandemic the band had an active live schedule in NYC playing venues like Alphaville, Coney Island Baby, Berlin, Bowery Electric, and many more.

On "Snake Oil," a tremendous amount of care and attention is brought into the production. The gleaming, shining cadence of the entirety of the track gives it a futuristic and hazy rock n' roll sheen. There is so much depth and unexpected bursts of color throughout which will have you on the edge of your seat. By far though the thing that truly anchors the work are the ethereal vocals which seem to have been transmitted from another universe. So many different layers intermingle with the patterns matching up into a virtual stream of consciousness. Many different elements filter in and out of the mix giving the song a kaleidoscopic, almost psychedelic in terms of how the sound evolves. Buildup occurs but this too goes for the subtle before it eventually branches in a giant wave of sound. Such tremendous spirit and joy radiate throughout the entirety of the piece, helping to lend it a slightly symphonic quality.

I had the opportunity to chat with the band for an exclusive and insightful interview you'll find below.

Listen in here!
https://open.spotify.com/track...

Can you talk to us about the inspiration behind your single, “Snake Oil“?

IL: It was kind of a long process of toggling between feeling uninspired and then having a musical breakthrough. We’d work on the song for a while thinking we were getting somewhere and then hit a dead end. I think we’re all pretty stoked with how it ended up though. The overall sound of the recording is largely inspired by the records Californication and Songs for the Deaf. I’ve always been really into the music from that era.

What was the first thing that got you interested in music?

JR: My Dad and I used to drive around listening to Black Sabbath all the time, then I used to write letters to Ozzy in preschool hoping he’d find out who I was. Ian and I met when we were real young in elementary school. He played bass and I wanted to make noise in some kinda way, so I picked up drums. We had a few songs we wrote by the time we were in 5th grade and were in bands from middle school to high school playing shows throughout NJ.

RF: There are a lot of musical people in my family; my mom’s father (a north Jersey italian) used to sing opera, and I have an aunt who bought me my first bass when I was around 8 and my first drum kit a few years later. My dad is an avid listener and was always buying new albums and showing me new music growing up. My two siblings play music too. We just grew up in a house where making music was a sort of inevitable conclusion.

IL: Both of my parents are musicians so growing up they’d always have people over to jam and make music. They’re definitely the biggest reason I got into music.

Describe to our audience your music-making process.

JR: I think it was William S. Burroughs who did the cut-up method that also influenced how Bowie used to write his lyrics where he’d take pieces of either articles, journal entries or other things from his past and throw them randomly together to tease meaning out of them.

Our songs come about in a similar way. One of us will play a riff that will sound cool and we’ll build on that. I’ll usually sing nonsense to get a vocal melody, and some random words will come out inspired by the riff’s attitude or sometimes Ian and Russ will hear words out of my gibberish which then gives the song more clarity and direction.

I remember I had a bunch of disjointed lyrics written for Gowanapocalypse that we pieced together at a pizzeria right before recording it. They were just scattered phrases I’d hear from people on the street walking around Brooklyn I thought sounded funny isolated from their context. That ended up being the spoken word intro on that track.

IL: We always record our practices and writing sessions. So after that we’ll each listen to it at home and find the stuff we like and don’t like. Sometimes if we’re lucky we’ll hear something in it that’s maybe not even being played. That stuff usually makes its way in. The whole thing is about creating a space or a vibe though. If it’s not doing that, it isn’t working.

What was the first album you purchased?

JR: Elephant by The White Stripes at a Borders in Flemington, NJ.

RF: I really don’t know, my memory’s pretty bad. Probably something by Incubus or Sum 41 or Linkin Park.

IL: I grew up using Napster and Limewire so I didn’t really buy many CDs. I think the first two albums I bought were Sailing The Seas of Cheese by Primus and In Rainbows by Radiohead.

How do you think your local music community has contributed to your success?

RF: Before covid we did have a couple bands we would gig with. It was cool to see familiar faces and help each other out getting shows. I hope that continues once everything reopens.

JR: Yeah, but we haven’t felt very closely connected to our local music community since the pandemic, but we’re hoping to rekindle those relationships once everything reopens.

IL: I think we still have a long way to go in terms of connecting with our local community. We’re kind of like the-kid-who-never-leaves-their-basement-to-get-fresh-air band.

And finally, if you could collaborate with any musician/band, who would it be? And why?

RF: As the band’s resident metalhead, I would probably pick John Browne from Monuments. I think he’s probably one of the best rhythm guitarists in prog metal these days.

IL: Oh man dude. Probably James Brown. That sounds like the most fun.

JR: Jackson Browne circa ‘Saturate Before Using’