Name: Jake Snider
Claim to fame: singer/songwriter
Year: 2013
School: CC
Major: Music and American Studies
Describe your band’s style of music. Well, it’s original music that I write. I normally compose at the piano and accompany myself singing. Then I bring in the band. I used to say it’s piano-powered, but there’s a lot of cool stuff going on with everyone else, too. It’s in the vein of singer/songwriter music with pop and jazz influences.
How did you form your band? Freshman year, I started playing with Armand Hirsch who plays guitar and Doug Berns who plays bass. Then last year we added Miles Arntzen who goes to NYU and plays drums. He is one of the only drummers in NYC focusing on afrobeat, with his band EMEFE.
Have you been in many other bands in the past? Describe them. I started playing my own music when I was 16, but the only other band I’ve been in is Shape Machine, a band at Princeton. I also play in the jazz ensemble at Columbia.
When did you decide you wanted to be a singer? When I was younger, my brother and I would always sing together and make songs. I started playing the piano when I was 5, but I’ve singing forever.
What goals do you have for furthering your career? Right now I am less focused on the career driven aspects and more on learning as much as I can about the things I am studying – from history to literature to music theory. I have been feeling really good about just learning and absorbing from everything and everyone around me – not just musicians. I’m less focused on making moves right now, but that isn’t to say I haven’t been making moves. I’ve got a lot going on right now. Learn, absorb, and grow.
How do you balance your career with going to Columbia? It’s hard. I just do it by doing it. That’s why I’ve been taking it easier on the career side right now. I play shows in Philly and NYC. NYC can be a great resource when I’m feeling business oriented; Philly is home. I’m focusing on developing myself as a person right now, more than a musician. I am still deciding what I want to put out for the world as a creator.
How do you go about writing songs? Do you have a routine? I sit at my piano almost every day. I have a keyboard in my room. Sometimes great things happen, sometimes I just play. I have 327 voice memos on my phone of ideas that come to me. I need to sort through those someday.
Hometown: Suburbs of Philly
Relationship Status: I’m not tied down
On-Campus Activities: Jazz ensemble, COOP leader
Off-campus activities: Making music all the time & going to Brooklyn, does that count?
Pet Peeves: I have none. No, I have them. Hmm…people who are extremely loud on the subway. That is not where you should be loud, talking or behavior-wise.
Dream Job: A teacher by day and a music-related something by night
If you were stuck on a deserted island, you would need: A chicken Dijon crepe, a toothbrush that is also a pen, a bag of ice, a piano, and a New Orleans-style mom and pop bookstore
Every guy needs these three things in his closet: I don’t even have a closet. I guess you’d need something warm for the winter, in addition to the above mentioned things.
Your perfect date in 7 words or less: Noodles, warm, laughing, stories, walking, handstands, grass
Favorite off-campus locations: Downtown, this little noodle shop in Brooklyn, the energy in Union Square, and P&W on Amsterdam (I’m there everyday).
Favorite thing about NYC: Constant information overload. It can be really great. There is always something you can be doing. I appreciate NYC most when I leave. Also, I can run down the street and flap my arms like a bird and no one gets that upset. That’s what I love about New York.
Spirit Animal: Golden retriever puppy
Dream wife: No comment. There are a lot of assumptions there.
One thing you want to do before graduating: I want to have coffee with Sylvia Nasar.
Top three albums/songs of all time: “Grace”by Jeff Buckley, “The Bedside Drama, A Petite Tragedy” by Of Montreal, and “Live at Massey Hall 1971” by Neil Young. Recently, I’ve been listening to Rufus Wainwright and Laura Nyro.
If you could have a super power what would it be and why: The ability to be inside someone else’s brain without them knowing.
If you could invite anyone to dinner, you would ask: Stevie Wonder
HamDel decides to name a sandwich after you, what’s it called and what’s in it: The Scrank Fix – grilled eggplant with pesto, basil, tomato, mozzarella, and some olive oil.
Next show: October 22nd at Postcrypt Coffeehouse (basement of St. Paul’s Chapel), 8:30 PM
Check out the Jake Snider Band website, Facebook page, Youtube channel, and free download!