Tim Snider

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April 20, 2012, 11:08 am

How would you define “world music”? For Tim Snider, it’s personal expression inspired by his world travels.

Tim Snider interview and live performance in the Bing Lounge at 101.9 KINK.FM.  Presented by Dick Hannah Dealerships.

Studying violin, guitar and percussion across the globe and incorporating his influences like Ben Harper, Dave Matthews Band and Bill Withers, Tim Snider continues to surprise his audience – and himself – with new blends of foot-stomping, soul-stirring musical goodness.

For most of us drawn to music, it’s an inexplicable force. For Tim, it was a cosmic force. When he was two months old, his grandmother, nearing her last days, held him in her arms and proclaimed, “Finally, this will be my violinist.” She had inherited her love of violin from her father, Theodore Post, who had studied violin at Julliard and Harvard and helped found the music department at University of Nevada Reno (UNR). Since none of her children took to violin, she knew a grandchild would. She was right. A three-year old Tim, mesmerized by a performance by Itzhak Perlman on Sesame Street, begged his mother right there and then for violin lessons.

A young Tim played classical violin through elementary school, barely putting down the instrument and earning honors such as concertmaster of the Reno Junior Philharmonic at age 10. But a young Tim was also burned out, so decided to take a break from violin – which led him to pick up the guitar. He explored classic rock, blues, folk, funk, metal and grunge, playing in rock bands through high school. It wasn’t until he met a Latin guitar player from El Salvador that he was inspired to pick the violin back up. Tim and Milton Merlos explored flamenco, Cuban salsa, and West African music, finally deciding to head to Spain to study flamenco guitar. The two spent what little funds they had on music lessons rather than on things like shower curtains, dishes or heat. After half a year of study and European backpacking, they returned to the US in 2003, where Tim enrolled at UNR and started Sol'Jibe, a group that blended American roots, world beat, and Latin rhythms into an inspired sound dubbed "World Rock.”

Sol’Jibe was named Reno’s Best Local Band four years in a row and sold out ticketed shows as big as 800 people. In 2005, the band traveled to Cuba to study at the National School of Music in Havana and toured through Central America. Their deep skill and dynamic sound led them to supporting artists such as Michael Franti, Robert Randolph, and Steel Pulse, while independently playing over 200 festivals and shows a year across the US, Mexico, Canada and Cuba.

Today, Tim plays a solo show that loops layers of his stylistic violin, guitar, percussion and vocals to create a textured, inspiring live experience. In 2010, he released his first EP, The Delmar Sessions, on which he played all the instruments and produced himself. He just returned from a 15-stop European tour and currently is playing across the Pacific Northwest. Tim also performs regularly with his band, Tim Snider and The Sound Society. With a line-up of extremely talented musicians including Jason Thomas on drums, Zack Teran on upright bass and vocals, and Alex Miller on guitar, the group is constantly evolving yet always delivers an infectious groove that gets the crowd moving. And watch out – with over twenty-five years in music, Tim’s only getting started.

Find out more about Tim