Sunday, July 24, 2016

Indie Ville TV #110 Anthony Snape: The Recession Brought one Good Thing

Written by Alexis Chateau
                                                         

A native of Australia, Anthony Snape moved to America to pursue a career in music back in the recession of 2008. Despite the dismal role the recession played in American history, Snape remembers it as a great year to make music.

“It was a recession, but it was a good time for music because people needed an emotional outlet. So everywhere that we played that year, it was really apparent how much people were hurting and how much they needed music at that point,” Snape remembers. “It was an amazing eye-opener for me, being my first time ever in the United States.”

Starting out in Australia
But Snape’s music career began long before 2008; it began while he was still living in Australia. He
first established himself in Sydney and Newcastle by working on radio projects, doing jingles,
forming a band, and doing any kind of work that involved music. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough.

“During that time, when I was doing a lot of writing, I thought, ‘You know what, if this is what I
really want to do and I want people to hear the music that I write. Then I’ve just got to stop doing
everything else and just write and put it out there and it will either work or won’t work,” he shares.

So, in 2006, Snape worked on his first full length album and released it in Australia. The album
would later open doors for the musician in America, as it gained airplay on local radio stations in
Australia.

Moving to America
This dose of success encouraged the small-town musician to move on to bigger and better things,
which would involve opening for Tommy Emmanuel in America.

“Tommy is an amazing guitar player, and a legend in Australia,” Snape says of the man who helped
to jump-start his career. “The opportunity to come here and open for his shows was just
unbelievable.”

That touring opportunity with Tommy Emmanuel helped Anthony to build a fan base, which he
leveraged to continue his career long after the tour had ended. His fan base now represents what
Snape loves most about his career. “The support is just amazing,” he says. “It blows me away every
single time!”

Snape’s love for his fans makes him partial to house concerts, where he can meet with people and
talk to them on an individual level. “I do a ton of house concerts, because you really get to meet
people, see their perspective on things, hear stories, and hear their struggles. Everyone’s going
through something. Those emotions that people share make it back into the music. It all comes back
around.”

The Fight for Exposure
Like most independent artists, however, Anthony Snape still struggles with gaining exposure, not
just to the public at large, but to more people who can connect with his music. Exposure also helps
Snape to raise money for going on tour and making new music.

He recently completed a fundraising on his website, and is working on a new album. Snape believes
that this is a way indie artists can empower themselves to invest fully in their music, and create the
kind of art they want to put out there.

“I’ve got a studio – I could record a whole [album] on my own,” he explains. “But I live in Nashville…where there are so many amazing players, and I’ve got access to some amazing studios as well. So why would I just record everything on my own?”

Instead, the musician works with other artists to ensure he brings something new and unique to his
fans with the release of every new record.

‘Weird, Random Situations
In spite of his love for house concerts, and even his passion for making new music, Anthony Snape
spends a lot of time on the road. When asked what he loves most about touring, Snape chuckles and
says, “I like finding myself in weird, random, situations – and places. You just never know… when
you start saying yes to things, it’s really strange where you end up sometimes.”

Snape shares one ‘weird, random’ incident that happened while driving in a convoy through the
desert. “I did one trip across Australia with a charity group, and I was a musician on the trip,” he
begins.

“We traveled for three days to get into the center of Australia [and then] one of the cars broke
down, and the mechanics [who traveled with us] said it’s going to take another three hours to fix…
So then I thought, ‘I’m going to walk for an hour in one direction and see what that looks like…’

“I walked for an hour… and all that I had were my footprints, and… when I turned around, I could
just see the car on the horizon… In every direction around me, was nothing… It was such an
amazing experience… and it’s probably the most alone I’ve ever felt in my life.”

This philosophical take on even simple experiences finds its way into Snape’s music, making him so
much more than just another melodic pop artist with an acoustic guitar. Check out his website at
www.anthonysnapes.com for updates on the new album, and a chance to win special access, and
prizes.

1 comment:

  1. Not only an amazing singer-songwriter/musician, a humble guy with a big heart. Can't wait to see where his road leads...many are there for the journey. Footprints everywhere! :)

    ReplyDelete