“If
there is something past infinity, what’s past the past?” Craig Snyder
said, as we sat in the conference room overlooking CMAC. It wasn’t a
question, but a hypothetical serving to illustrate his curiosity towards
life. In the same vein, he began describing how he could picture what
Canandaigua was like when only Native Americans lived here. I looked out
the windows and imagined the old Canandaigua, wooded and without roads
or CMAC or the pier or houses. “Perhaps there’s a longhouse,” he said,
“but I can imagine it all.” Then, after establishing this historic
vista, the scene crumbled as Snyder explained how people don’t care
about that stuff; they’re not interested in it; they’d rather talk about
Pawn Stars or Jersey Shore or—especially popular every four years—the
election. Then he took a step back, as if to avoid offending others:
“There’s nothing really wrong with that, I guess.”
I’ve
been told he’s from Mars, and that his mind is always in outer
space—confirmation that Craig’s aware of how others view him—but,
really, he’s from a small industrial town in rural Pennsylvania. It’s
the kind of town where the majority of people rely on a single factory
to provide employment, “Like Kodak with Rochester,” Snyder said.
He
recalled a story about how, as a boy, his music career was jeopardized
by another kid. This specific kid (Craig didn’t give a name), jealous
his brother wasn’t paying attention to him over the other boys, decided
to squeeze a shotgun shell in a vice and then drive a nail into the top
of it. Before anyone could stop him, the jealous boy was already in mid
swing. Craig, reenacting the scene in front of me, turned his head and
cupped his hands over his ears like a set of earmuffs. “I’m convinced to
this day I would’ve had permanent hearing loss.”
This
story piques my interest because when I ask him about the most
important skills he possesses as a professional musician his ears are at
the top of the list. During last spring’s faculty recital a group of
professors played John Zorn’s In the Temple of Hadjarim.
Snyder noticed that the triangle--an instrument used mostly to provide a
different timbre--was a major seventh above the underlying harmony.
Many
would argue Snyder has some of the best guitar chops in the region,
perhaps further. This is true, but it would be an injustice to call him
just a shredder. He’s a complete musician, interested in more than how
many notes he can fit into an eight-bar solo. Search “Craig Snyder Guitar” on Youtube
and witness his skills firsthand. You can see him cover some of his
musical heroes--Jimi Hendrix and Steely Dan--or watch some of his
originals. Either way, from his flashy solos to his softer melodic
moments, you’ll notice it’s more than just notes.
He’s
told me, twice now, about an article he was reading in a Jazz education
magazine. In the article, a musician is speaking about one of his old
professors and he says, “My professor always used to tell me, ‘Music
isn’t about music. Music is about life.’” Craig especially likes this
quote. He can relate in more than one way because, while he lives
through music, Craig Snyder is also an educator.
During
the school year he works at FLCC as a guitar instructor and ensemble
director. He also teaches guitar and bass at the prestigious Hochstein
School of Music and Dance. The time in between school, Snyder also gives
private lessons, but summers are aimed primarily at refreshing his
technique and gigging.
These
are all details pertinent to his career, but these career-specifics
didn’t incite much discussion. Craig seemed more interested in ideas
rather than his own accomplishments. When we started talking about the
atmosphere surrounding local music, Snyder had lots to say.
One
main focus was the problems and areas surrounding music which could use
improvement. I asked if he liked any local bands, he cited just two: The Moho Collective and Will O’Reilly. He said most local music is, “cookie-cutter” and “copycat” music.
“Is
this a problem of demand--no one wants innovative music? Or is it the
supply--musicians, for some reason, don’t want to create innovative
music?” I asked.
Craig
Snyder believes it’s both. First, he cites the most popular radio
stations as dictators of musical taste. He believes when you scan
through the radio stations, the one with the strongest signal, which
translates to the loudest station, has the most influence on musical
tastes in the region. Referring to a Frank Zappa quote, he said, “People
don’t know what they like. They like what they know.”
We
also spoke about the changing business model surrounding a career in
music. At only fifteen Snyder realized music would be the way he made a
living. Four years later he was on his own, supporting himself through
the guitar, through music. Gigging paid the bills, and he had one almost
every day of the week in his early career. This is a stark contrast
with how things now work. Today, according to Snyder, the demand for
live music has changed. People no longer want to listen to the band and
enjoy the music, they want it there as background music. On top of that,
the internet has developed a culture where everyone wants their music
for free, and “venues want to pay the musicians in soup.”
Though
venues and audience play a role in a musician’s career, Snyder believes
many bands lack imagination when it comes to landing gigs and also
cultivating a better musical culture in the Rochester area. “Kids always
come up to me and say, ‘Hey Craig, man, how’d you get a gig there? I’ve
never gotten a gig there!’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Well, did you
ask? Did you have a promo package ready in case the manager wasn’t
there?’” Leaving the question as a hypothetical, Snyder’s facial
expression revealed how he doubted the eager-to-gig person had been
prepared.
Re-focusing
on the positive, Snyder mentioned how it’s important that musicians
give back. He believes giving back would help motivate the community to
return the favor when a musician is in need. As an example, Snyder
mentioned Todd Tarantello, the owner of V-Pub, The Villager, and Pizano’s-- all on Main Street, Canandaigua. Over this past summer, Tarantello re-modeled the back room to the V-Pub,
installing a new stage and began bringing in bands from the surrounding
area--Roots Collider, Mosaic Foundation, Wonderland House Band to name a
few. Tarantello also opened up the stage on most Thursday nights for
anyone wanting to come down and jam, even supplying a drum kit, microphones, a bass amp, and some control over the new PA system.
In
relation to this, Snyder mentioned it’d be a good idea for musicians to
form a “musical coalition” that could provide, “mutual work between
musicians and possible venues.” He described this relationship as a
two-way street, where venues would pay without hassle, and musicians
would be prepared and reliable. Craig had a curiosity as to why there
weren’t any young people trying to establish this type of collaboration.
As
we wrapped up our conversation, Snyder told me he enjoyed our
discussion and was glad I asked to interview him. I thanked him and
asked, “Anything else you want to add?” Looking out the window,
remembering his historic description of Canandaigua, I wondered whether
he would bring the conversation full circle. Then he answered.
“Human beings are going to die. Life is what you make it.” It’s a pretty down-to-earth statement, coming from a man of Mars.
