Rockezine.com interview with Snapcase on Sep 05, 2002

with Daryl Taberski on Sep 05, 2002

Snapcase is back in the game with a new album called End Transmission , a stronger spirit and a lot of touring ahead. On the phone is singer Daryl Taberski.
		Your new album called End Transmission is to be released on September 24th. Is it everything you hoped it would be, artistically? Yeah, we are very excited about the new album. We have accomplished the things that we have wanted to do and now we cannot wait to go out and play the songs live.
		Tell us something about the new album. Suppose I have never heard of Snapcase. What can I expect? We are an aggressive band that breaks stereo types. We are more about spreading messages. Besides, I think we are a little more creative than other bands in hardcore. End Transmission has more mood than our other albums, more variety.
		You are not afraid to embrace new influences. End Transmission for instance has many new creative ideas compared to your other albums. Does this grow naturally or do you ‘fight’ about this as a band? That is difficult. There are five people in the band so you have to compromise on a lot of things. But we’re also five songwriters and that is good. So in the end, the compromise is for a good reason.
		So, how does it work in Snapcase; do you write songs together as a band or individually? We come to practice and one of us will say: I want to try something, and we work that out. It’s more like a band effort.
		What are your expectations on the new album? Or in other words, what would make the album successful for you? What would make the album successful for us is to be able to tour and play as hard as we can. I don’t know, not having to worry about what people think of the album. Reach as many people as possible. The more people we reach the better.
		You have gathered the lyrics in the booklet on End Transmission in a special way. Made me believe there is a concept behind the album. Is there? Yes, there is a concept behind the album. I think of music as something very visual and to arrange the lyrics on the album the way we did is something unique in underground music. We wrote about 19 to 20 songs, and not all of them made it on the album. But we decided to put the rest of the lyrics in the booklet because they are a part of the concept. The lyrics are included in order of the concept. Maybe a little confusing but if you follow the concept it makes sense.
		What triggers your creativity? First the music. On this album the music came first and inspired the vocals. So, music for the most part.
		You have a long time relationship with your record label Victory Records. Victory has been criticised a lot lately by bands as well as fans. How is your relationship with them? Very positive. They have done a good job over the years. I guess it’s about good communication. I know Thursday had some problems with them but I guess most bands complain about their label anyway. If you are on a small label, you complain that there is less promotion. If you are on a large label, you complain that you have to do bad taste promotion. But we’ve had a good working relationship with Victory.
		Where do you see yourself as a band in the current hardcore scene, or even in the music scene in general? We are totally satisfied. We never expected this when we started during high school. We started off as fans and now we are in a full time band. We have worked really hard and it’s nice to see that people have noticed.
		When you started Snapcase all those years ago, did you ever think you would be where you are today? No.
		What is your opinion on today’s hardcore scene? Well, there is a bunch of new bands and new sounds. I think it’s very exciting but it’s definitely not the same as before. It is less political now but things will come around again. They always do.
		Snapcase is a very popular band. Does this increase the pressure? I do not mean in sales figures but in being able to improve artistically on each new album. It’s challenging. We felt very relaxed making End Transmission. We wrote what we wanted to write and didn’t look for a specific sound. Some songs are heavier than on our last album and some songs are softer than on our last album. Overall I think End Transmission is more aggressive than anything we have made.
		Any band we should look out for according to you? Poison the well, Death by Stereo and Gandi. They are a lot like Helmet, a band that has influenced us a lot.
		What bands, besides Helmet have inspired you along the way? Gandi and Sick Of It All.
		You are starting a new tour in support of the album. What can we expect on stage? We are touring the US for 6 weeks starting September 13th and than we’ll fly over to Europe for a tour. We should be in Europe somewhere around November 23rd. We are really looking forward to it. You can expect a typical Snapcase show with a lot of energy, some heavy new songs and some of the slower new songs.
		Are there any bands joining you on the European tour? Yes, there will be other bands along but at this point, we are not really sure which bands.
		You have been a hardworking band, a lot of releases and touring. Did it pay off so far; do you get the respect and attention a band like Snapcase deserves? I think so. We are very content and proud that we’ve been able to build a fan base and that we can continue to write music and play live. I don’t know, we look at things day by day.
		It’s almost September 11. The horrible events must have had an influence on your work. Had you already started writing the songs at that time? We had already started to write new songs at that time. Still, it definitely had an influence in the back of our minds and on the overall sound of the album.
		Any last words? No not really, I just want to thank you for your time and I will check out www.rockezine.com as soon as possible. Thanks.
(Marc Lochs)