Zeb Snyder, guitarist with Appalachian Road Show, has released his first, self-titled solo album. The young multi-instrumentalist originally from North Carolina and now living in Tennessee admitted that recording/producing his own project has been on his bucket list for more than a decade. A musical prodigy, Snyder, has been picking since an early age. He won a Gerald Anderson guitar by taking first place at Renofest in 2011 when he was only 15 years old.
The album is very much of his own design. It is not a bluegrass album. It lends itself more toward the acoustic blues realm, but most grassers will find it enjoyable, toe-tapping, and easy listening. There is no banjo. There are no harmony vocals. It is just Zeb Snyder, front and center, picking guitar and singing, with support from notable musicians within the bluegrass genre.
The project opens with an original vocal, Seattle Blues, and is followed by another more upbeat vocal cover, Dollar Bill Blues. The album contains a couple more blues-titled tunes, but it is not solely a blues record, just blues-influenced. The more I listen, the more I like it. It grows on you. A personal favorite is Zeb’s instrumental, Open Waters, that features just the guitar and bass.
On the jacket, he writes…
“I knew I had made exactly what I set out to make. It was raw, imperfect, earthy, gutsy, and Southern, brought to life by some of the finest musicians I could have ever hoped to play with. The joy of seeing this all come together has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope every listener gets some of that joy from this project, and I hope they feel the emotions that flow through it.”
Snyder shared more insight during a phone interview.
“This my first ever solo project. I had a lot of experience leading projects creatively with my family band growing up. My sister [Samantha] and I created six albums with our dad supporting us. After the family band ended in 2018, I switched into a supporting role with the Darrell Webb Band and now the Appalachian Road Show. ARS has allowed and encouraged me to contribute a great deal to our records, and that’s been an incredible experience. I wanted to do my first solo project in order to have a chance to try ideas of my own that wouldn’t necessarily fit with ARS or even the bluegrass genre.
Out of the ten songs on my record, five are originals and five are covers. Four of my originals are instrumentals that started as solo guitar pieces. I reworked those songs to include some other instruments instead of just guitar. Hearing them grow in that way was very fulfilling. The one vocal tune I wrote is basically a classic blues form with lyrics from real life experiences of mine.
The covers are all songs that I can feel deeply at some level. There’s a lot of variety, musically and lyrically, but there’s a through line of my personal musical taste that the listener will feel connecting the project.”
Snyder discussed his selection of players for this first solo album.
“Choosing the musicians for this project was a ton of fun, and it took things to the next level. Todd Phillips and I have developed a very close relationship from playing with Appalachian Road Show. We feel music the same way, and groove really well together. He understood the idea of my project from the start and helped me develop it. His bass lines on this record are perfect.
Sam Bush is one of my favorite musicians of all time on any instrument, any genre. When I hear mandolin parts in my head, I usually hear them in Sam’s style. I was so glad he agreed to do this project and make the sound in my head a reality. Pay special attention to his slide mandolin solos on Sunset on 70 West. Magical.
Jason Carter is one of my best friends and one of the finest fiddlers of all time. He was also the perfect fit for the style of my project. He nailed the feel on everything and played some incredible solos. We’ve been playing music together quite a bit recently, as I play with his band any time I’m not playing with ARS.”
Next, he discussed the specifics of the album’s creation…
“The actual recording process happened very quickly. We tracked everything in two days at 4115 Studios in Nashville with my friend, Dewey Boyd. I laid down the vocals on a separate recording day, and Dewey mixed the project shortly after. It took me a while to get the technical/business side of things squared away, as I had to constantly work around my touring and teaching schedule, but overall everything went smoothly.”
…and explained how he formatted the music.
“The absence of banjo and harmony vocals was simply a creative decision. I called this a blues project in order to give it a musical direction. It’s not purely blues, and you can hear my bluegrass roots in places, but it does lean toward blues, rock, and country. I decided to keep everything acoustic, even with all those influences involved. This gives the project a certain grounding and a relation to the bluegrass folks who are used to hearing me play. When it does lean toward bluegrass, the closest stylistic comparison would be Tony Rice’s Manzanita record, which of course pioneered Tony’s no banjo sound. That album is a huge favorite of mine, and it didn’t hurt anything to have two of the original musicians from that album on my record!
As far as harmony vocals go, I simply didn’t hear any great spots for harmony on the songs I chose, so I decided to carry all the vocals myself.”
He is pleased with the end result.
“This album was a real joy to make and a pure representation of some of my musical tastes. It meant the world to me to hear some of my favorite musicians bring it to life. I’m glad folks are enjoying it, and I can’t wait for even more folks to hear it!”
I feel this project is truly a launching pad for Zeb Snyder and his musical career. It is evident that he has spent a great deal of thought and time into making his first solo album. He is truly making a statement that he is adept in multiple styles of music and introducing his talents as a lead vocalist. I can’t wait to see where he heads from here.
