“We’re opening for Chiddy Bang—we’re going to have to bring the funk,” said Jake Snider, CC ’13.
Snider and his band are set to showcase their playful, jazz-soul style on stage Saturday, Jan. 29 at Chiddy Bang’s free concert at Irving Plaza (17 Irving Plaza, between East 15th and 16th streets). Tickets still need to be reserved and can be found at Textbooks and Tickets online.
Singer, songwriter, and pianist, Snider will be jamming alongside guitarist Armand Hirsch, CC ’13, bassist Doug Berns, CC ’10, and Miles Arntzen, NYU ’13. Snider met Berns and Arntzen “through jazz buddies” on campus and serendipitously encountered Hirsch on John Jay 12, during “this wonderful moment, NSOP week, when everyone’s in my room, singing Beatles and ’90s songs.” The group opened for Parachute in October and generally shuttles between New York and Snider’s hometown of Philadelphia for performances.
The band got the Chiddy Bang gig as a result of Snider’s entry in last year’s national College Battle of the Bands. After Snider and his then-band, the Morningside Collective, ended up in the top four, Snider was invited to play the Chiddy Bang show as a promo for College Battle of the Bands 2011.
Musically, the gig catches Snider at a creative juncture. Those who have been to his gigs around campus over the past year know one side of Snider: the upbeat, punchy performer with a penchant for covering old favorites like the Jackson 5. Last year, Snider and his band played gigs that made people want to dance, and Saturday’s Chiddy Bang concert should be no different.
On the other hand, as Snider said, “I’ve been trying to walk slower.” For a new EP dropping in May, Snider’s music takes a more contemplative turn that is slower in tempo and lower-fi in recording method. “Real Life,” a piano ballad off the new EP, was recorded in Snider’s dorm room through live takes only. “It’s easy these days to autotune stuff,” Snider said, but he is “not be afraid to be simple.”
Snider’s method of work has always had a certain simplicity, relentless though it is. Every day, Snider goes to the piano and pounds away, just as he’s done since middle school. “When you’re just playing, that’s very conducive to coming up with things,” Snider said.
Snider files music under the category of learning and will most likely declare a music major with a concentration in philosophy. His approach to music is one part academic and one part little kid with a sweet mechanical gadget and hammer for taking things apart. “I love dissecting things and figuring out what makes them work,” said Snider. “If I hear something I like, I’ll figure out what’s going on—like if it’s a pop song, I’ll figure out what’s going on harmonically and how the melody’s moving.”
Despite the demands of a budding music career, Snider is a full-time Columbia student and can’t stop talking about how thrilled he is to be here. He talks about the many times he has happened upon an informal jam, and “the room is filled with everyone you want to be making music with.”
It’s a busy life, but when Snider says he is having fun, he means it.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy