Start Listening To: Snõõper
Making puppets, paper-mâché, and punk rock fuse into one explosive show.
Hailing from the vibrant music scenes of Nashville and Kansas City, Snõõper brings a unique blend of high-intensity, stressed-out electro, hardcore, and post-punk. Today, we have the privilege of diving deep into their world, exploring their music, wild live shows, and creative process.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
We’re Snooper based in Nashville (5/6) and Kansas City (1/6). Right now we consider the music we make to be *high intensity, stressed out, electro, hardcore, post-punk*.
Can you describe the inspiration behind Snõõper's wild live shows and the incorporation of puppets, animation, paper-mâché, whistles, and flashing lights?
During Covid, Connor and I were writing all of the music at home without the intention to ever play live. We were writing whatever we wanted at the time and had a bit of control over the way the music was being perceived as we were producing all of the visuals and art that went along with each song. Each song early on had an accompanying music video. That was so important to me. While making the music videos, I was also making paper mache objects like crazy! When the opportunity came about to play a live show, I was really hesitant. This is my first band and I felt really nervous. I felt confident singing into an 8 track and making the music videos, but I had never sang live before. I think making the props and puppets was a way for me to feel confident and like I had a true purpose in the band. I may not be the best vocalist, but I can make a giant puppet. I wanted to bring the crowd into the music in a way that didn’t really leave me open to critique. I figured that if the crowd had a lot to look at and was having a fun time at the shows, they wouldn’t really notice any mess ups. When I feel like I don’t have control over things, I turn to what I can control and in the band it is the visuals and the live show. Things like the whistle, the weight, the track suits, etc. have become integral to the live shows and keep me so excited to play live. Each song brings about a new visual element and the shows keep getting more chaotic as a result.
How would you define Snõõper's musical style, and what sets it apart from other punk bands?
I don’t think we are confined to any genre. We are into all kinds of music and want the music we make to reflect what we’re listening to at the time. Running, for example, is a song that definitely wouldn’t be considered punk on its own. When it’s played at the end of our set though, it’s fun to see people moving with the same intensity to that song as they do to all of the other faster, more hardcore songs. We don’t take ourselves very seriously so we really don’t claim any one genre.
Can you tell us more about the three 7" records you've released so far: "Music For Spies," the Snõõper EP, and the Town Topic EP? How do they contribute to the overall Snõõper experience?
I think we now look at all of the early recordings as demos. All of the songs up until this point were recorded at home on an 8 track. While this recording process works well for us, we view the early recordings as skeletons that the rest of the band brought to life. All of our songs have since been perfected by the live band and are now played so much faster live, but we love to look back on the old recordings nostalgically. They are reminders of how each song began and how much it has evolved. We eagerly and hastily released those songs in the midst of the pandemic from our home for people to listen to in their homes. That felt special at the time and I think people were connecting to music differently at that time in the absence of live music.
How did the addition of drummer Cam Sarrett, bassist Happy Haugen, and guitarist Ian Teeple for "Super Snõõper" impact the evolution of Snõõper's sound?
Snooper wouldn’t exist without them!! Happy is the glue that holds Snooper together. He keeps everything positive and in perspective. He loves to get into the crowd and get the crowd moving. Him and Ian are crowd surfing kings. Happy’s excitement for playing live music is contagious and his kindness and eagerness to tour are inspiring. Ian is an amazing visual artist and has been doing art for us since the beginning. He has also been in all of the bands that we love (Warm Bodies, BB EYE, Silicone Prairie, etc.), so it is a huge honor to play with him. He has made all of the guitar parts his own while also adding little dance moves to go along with them. It’s also so fun to bounce art ideas around with him. Cam was able to take the tracks with drum machine on them and make them his own. Pod, for example, is the song Cam changed the most with his live drums. Connor and I continue to write demo versions of the songs on the 8 track at home and this will always be the way we write the music, but those demos are a skeleton that are brought to life by the band. We also now have a live auxiliary percussionist, Sean Booz, who has been adding so much! He is bringing a whole new element to the live show.
With the upcoming release of "Super Snõõper," how does it feel to have a full album that showcases your music in its entirety? What can listeners expect from this album?
It feels like an end of an era in a good way. I think this is the final form of all of the original Snooper songs. Everything finally feel complete with these recordings. I think we can move forward now and begin a new chapter of Snooper. We are looking forward to recording more!
How does it feel to have Third Man Records releasing your debut studio album globally? What does this partnership mean for Snõõper?
It is really surreal when I think about it, but most often, I don’t really think too much about it. Third Man has done so much for the community in Nashville at this point that I forget how big they really are. The Blue Room at Third man has been putting on some of the coolest shows in the past few years. Megan Loveless who does the booking (and so much more) there is a legend, but also a friend to everyone in the scene. That’s the thing about Third Man- everyone who works there is really integrated into the community and the fact that a large label like Third Man truly cares about local issues and promotes small bands and community events is really cool. I think people in the scene in Nashville are truly desensitized to the scope of Third Man, which is awesome. They aren’t too cool for the local weirdos. To us, Third Man feels like our friendly local record label. It’s fun to see Third Man employees around town and exchanging kind words about the record. This whole process has felt like a community effort and we are so, so thankful for that.
Can you share any details about the creative process behind "Super Snõõper"?
I have been making paper mache pieces for a long time and had a lot of random things laying around the house when we started recording music for Snooper. I had made a giant weight for a random video I made before we wrote Fitness. When Connor wrote the music for Fitness, I was having trouble writing lyrics for it and was getting really discouraged. I knew I had the weight available to use for a possible music video, so I just ran with the concept. That’s a good example of how most Snooper songs come to be. Connor writes the music and then I come up with an idea for visuals that could exist around the lyrical content. Things just get crazier from there. With Fitness, for example, we continued to add things like the track suits, the whistle, etc.
How did you approach songwriting and recording for this album?
Well for this album it was easy because we had been playing live a lot at the time. We wanted this record to be a time capsule and an accurate snapshot of how the band was playing the original versions of the songs live at that point in time. We didn’t want to overthink it so we did our best to just play the songs the same way that we were playing them live.
What do you love right now?
Blair: gardening, climbing, tricks, pranks, working with plaster, halter tops, little things, big things, Snuff Puppets (Melbourne based puppet group), fast music, slow cookers
Connor: screen printing, tascam 488, recording, climbing, boxing, The Enmore Hotel in Australia, corralejo blanco, my new Asics, oysters
What do you hate right now?
Blair: e mails, mayonnaise, Cole slaw, tight spaces, driving fast, the sunglasses I brought on tour
Connor: gas prices, soggy fries, venues that kick you out right after you play, air bnbs, cold showers, long drives, smelly tracksuits
What albums are you still listening to from when you were younger and why are they still important to you?
Blair: I’m going to list artists instead:
Gorillaz (the first band I ever loved)
Avril Lavigne (girls rule!)
Of Montreal (life changing!)
Ween (inspired me to start recording sounds and buy a 4 track even though I couldn’t make music)
Lightning Bolt (got me into circuit bending)
XBXRX (music that matches what my brain feels like!)
Connor: Lebenden Toten- Near Dark (for teaching me how to play guitar)
Arab on Radar- Yahweh or the Highway (for teaching me guitar dynamics)
Poison Idea- Pick Your King (for teaching me how to play guitar fast)
The Ramones- It’s Alive (for teaching me how to play drums fast)
Devo- Duty Now for the Future (for teaching me about songwriting)
Ween- Pure Guava (for teaching me how to use an 8 track)
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals for Snõõper in the future? Do you have any plans for future releases or collaborations?
Blair: I want to keep doing everything without thinking about it too much. I think that’s how Snooper started and I want to keep that magic going into the future. I overthink most things in my life, but music and art are the only things that keep me sane. I want to keep music and art special and never allow them to feel like a chore or something that I have to do. I think taking breaks from creative endeavors is important to allow time to recharge. I like acquiring new hobbies and learning new ways to create, which I can’t do unless I put down old projects for awhile. I want to keep recording at home with Connor on the 8 track and there will be another Snooper record in the future, most definitely. I don’t want to put pressure on it, though. Working with Snuff Puppets in Melbourne was the most fun I’ve ever had. I want to collaborate more with people who are making large scale art. I also want to make a march vending machine!!
Connor: To keep writing fast music and incorporating as much as we possibly can into the live shows. We also have an upcoming split 7” coming out in the near-ish future.
