Interview: SNACKTIME

Interview by Deja Tribbitt

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sam Gellerstein and Micheal Spearman of SNACKTIME, a funk, alternative, pop band from Philadelphia. After a lively discussion about travel and the merit of the food in London, we got to chatting about their music.

Deja Tribbitt (DT): We’ve already chatted a  bit, but could you guys tell me a little bit about yourselves and what you play in the band?

Sam Gellerstein (SG): My name is Sam. I started in the band playing Tuba a long time ago, and now I’m playing a lot of the bass instruments: bass, key bass, some Tuba as well. And me and Mike like to write a lot of the songs. 

Michael Spearman (MS): That’s true. My name’s Michael Spearman, and I play keys and trombone in the band, but I feel like my main purpose right now is mostly production, mixing, and learning. It’s taking big steps into that realm for the band. 

DT: You guys play trombone and keyboard, and tuba and bass [instruments], which I don’t see a lot of in music these days. What drew you to those instruments? Where did that passion come from? 

SG: Me, Mike, and most of the guys in the band, when we started, were basically horn players. Not Austin and Larry, who were the drummer and guitar player, but we all cut our chops, as session musicians in Philadelphia, playing horns in all sorts of bands. We started [SNACKTIME] as a brass band out in the street with no electricity. I was a trombone player my whole life, basically and then Mike retired me from trombone because he’s way better. We started the band and I started to play a lot of Tuba, which kind of functioned as the role of the bass. As we continued to evolve in our process and go less into playing on the street and move towards touring and festivals, we little by little had the need to have [something] like keyboard. Mike happens to be a really great piano player as well so we added the keyboard. Then we started to say ‘oh, well, you know, the tuba was cool, but we’re looking for a little bit more of a standard sounding bass instrument’, so I started to incorporate the bass and the key bass as well. 

It has just all been by necessity, which has been a really fun part because with the sound of the band evolving, so is what we are doing on stage and in the studio, which has been a really nice way for us to keep evolving.

MS: I guess I started on trombone, but I technically started on piano. You know, the parents say ‘you’re going to do something’, so I did piano since I was five and I hated it. I hated it so much. So given the first [musical] opportunity in high school, my brother was already playing piano in the jazz band, so there was no space for it. I was like ‘oh, let me play that thing’ as a joke, [about] the trombone. I started playing and I was like ‘this is great. I’m going to do this for the rest of my life’. Terrible decision. (Laughs)

But it was cool so I went to school for it and I just decided ‘I’m going to do this thing or I’m going to starve.’ So I got really good at it. Then as Sam said, the band kept evolving and there was a need for a keys player. We looked around and we were like ‘there’s seven dudes in this band, we don’t really want to split a check one more away,’ so I was like,’ fine, I know how to play keys’. I hopped on and it’s actually been a very pleasant experience. But yeah, necessity. 

SG: It’s been pretty fun because in the beginning we were so much about the horns, which was awesome, and we were great at it, but being that we’ve pared off the horns, when the horns do play, it’s more special as opposed to when the set before was 100% horns. Then [it] became 85% horns, and now it’s like a little less, it’s consistently a little less just because we’re trying to focus on not what the horns can do, but how we can make the song the best song. Everyone in the band is doing one or two different things. Everyone is either singing or playing a guitar or a keyboard so we’re all kind of running around. It’s about ‘How do we serve the song?’, not ‘What can we do with what we have?’ 

MS: Producing, engineering, a lot of studio [work]. We’re learning. We’re really good in our jobs in the studio right now. 

SG: We’re working on our debut album. We have a live album, we have an EP, but right now we’re really working on finding our real studio sound. Our first studio recording, Sounds from the Street, which is awesome, was very eclectic. Right now we’re discerning a little bit more of what our music means, what we stand for, as opposed to just kind of a smattering of songs– which are awesome– but we really, with this next recording, want to really focus on ‘What do we sound like? What do we talk about?’ We’ve been hitting it really, really hard, like three, four days a week in the studio, eight to ten hours a day. Our studio is like a windowless room and we’re going a little crazy in there, but the songs are amazing and we’re getting them to such a great place. And I think speaking from myself, I know we’re all so proud of what we’re coming out with, and we’re excited for more music to drop soon. 

DT: What is your process when it comes to writing a song like when you have so many instruments and different genres that you’re pulling from?

MS: It’s kind of different every time. Sometimes ideas just come to you. A lot of mine come to me in the shower. Our song “Together”, started [when] I was just in the shower singing to an imaginary crowd and I heard them sing. I heard me going, ‘I got you!’ and they’re like, ‘I got you!’. That’s how that started. I brought it in literally that day because we had a writing session scheduled and then we made the song come to life. That’s kind of how it is every time, you know, you just have an idea, you bring it to the guys, and then everyone pitches in and comes together and like helps flesh it out, adds their own personality, the splash here, splash there. Then we get into the studio and we start barking at each other until something sounds good. 

SG: As far as my process has gone, I was always very intimidated to write music. When I was a kid writing for punk bands or whatever, that never felt out of my wheelhouse, but as a music school kid, a jazz school kid, I was always so intimidated, [trying to write] the right thing and a cool thing. The exercise of being able to do this with SNACKTIME, which is our thing, has been able to really liberate myself into writing things that I feel and writing things that I am trying to work through and not necessarily being concerned with ‘is this going to impress a musician?’. My process is, I’ll sit down here in my studio and I’ll work on some songs and get a light little demo going on and really be focused on the meaning. I know, though, that whether it’s my song that I started or Mike started or both of us started or any one of the bands started, once it hits the whole band is when it becomes a SNACKTIME song. Because a song could be for any artist. It happens all the time where Pharrell wrote a lot of Justin Timberlake’s debut stuff for Michael Jackson and he didn’t take it. We are writing these songs [with] the understanding that once everyone gets to put their own personal spin on the parts, that’s when it really becomes our song. As we’ve been in the studio more, we’re really getting to have a good time experimenting with different sounds and [taking] our time really crafting these parts as opposed to when back in the day, we were jamming on the gig and [would] be like ‘okay, cool’ and then every single gig, this song will get better. Right now, what we’re trying to do is focus on making the thing perfect, perfect, perfect. It’s an arduous process to do, and it’s really fun. We have lots of good songs we’re working on, so we’re excited for everyone to hear them.

DT: Your sound comes from a lot of different kinds of music and you blend a lot of genres which is really cool. Do you have any really big influences, whether it be like musicians or otherwise?

SG: I know we all have our own personal influences and they range from 70s Philly soul to 90s hardcore. It goes all over the place. But I think for the band, our guiding light really has been Prince, D’Angelo, and Parliament. I think through the ground being laid [by] those people, we have now been able to [extend] out and be able to hear a song by McGee and say, ‘oh, we really like this’ or Bon Iver. All of our own personal influences are able to now latch on to what our base is, versus before where we’d have a song that sounds like Prince and then we have a song that sounds like A Tribe Called Quest. Now we have this base level of ‘SNACKTIME sounds like this, and let’s now start to try to tap into our own influences,’ which has been really exciting and really fun. 

MS: I think that pretty much sums up what it is for SNACKTIME in terms of our influences. One thing that I try to keep with me is something I learned– I read manga. I read a lot of manga. And one of the manga I read was called Bakuman. It’s a manga about being a mangaka, making manga and trying to get into a magazine and fighting and all that good stuff. I think one of the best pieces of advice that I ever got in terms of my art and career and creation influence was ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s good, it doesn’t matter if it’s bad. The most important thing is that it’s interesting,’ and that is something that I try to keep with myself and bring to the band too. I don’t really care if it’s a good song or a bad song. The question is, is it interesting? If it’s not interesting and it’s good, then throw it away. 

 SG: If it doesn’t make you feel something. 

MS: Exactly.

DT: I want to talk a bit about, like, your most recent single “ENOUGH,” which I really love. Listening to it, it’s about the negative sides of being an artist and all the pressure that’s put on you. I’m curious where your heads were at when you were writing that song and what inspired it, like, yeah, just a little bit more about that. 

SG: It’s a really good example of SNACKTIME, call it 3.0 where I remember having the melody in my head months prior to [when] I sang it on my phone, and then we were driving from somewhere to Oklahoma City and we had a day off. I sat down with Mike and because it’s really easy when you’re on the road to be like ‘all right, I’m going to my room. Don’t talk to me,’ we wanted to take the time to say ‘let’s try to do something with our time off.’ So Mike and I sat down with the computer in this Airbnb really solidified it. It was the classic thing where I might have came in with the verse and the chorus and then Mike was able to phrase things in a better way. Then I had the chords set up this way and then Mike set [it] up this way and it was a little bit back and forth. Most of the song was really written in that three hour time and then we had the demo all done and then got back from tour and started to mess around with it a little bit. 

Once you get the opportunity to say, ‘Larry, shred the sickest guitar solo of all time for 15 seconds,’ there’s already something that makes the song more special. We were driving for a long time in July as well on tour and we were able to all sit down and talk about what it meant to be grateful, but tired. To feel like you’re always pushing, pushing, pushing, and then you get these victories, but they don’t really feel like victories. There’s always something else. There’s always another mountain to climb, right? So our heads were in a grateful, but also humble position, I think. Because we went from being like the big fish in Philadelphia to being the very small fish all across the country, as we’re starting to grow our brand. It was definitely coming from a place of humility and it turned out awesome. I think it’s saying exactly what we wanted to say, and we’ll always live by that and try to tell people before we play it. It’s about the journey, not the destination. There’s always going to be something else to do, but you’re already doing plenty. So just enjoy what you’re already doing, because if you keep fighting the monster productivity, you’re never going to win.

DT: You guys came together during the pandemic. How did that go given the lockdowns and stuff? Did you know each other?

MS: We did know each other. Most of us knew each other. A couple of us were in different bands, different projects, worked with each other. You know, Sam didn’t actually like me. I met him at a church, like this church gig–

SG: That is so not true!

MS: I mean, he was like, ‘I don’t like this guy. I don’t like this trombone player.’

SG: No, Mike Mike looked at me like, ‘Who’s this fucking guy?’ He took my gig.

MS: Well, that’s ’cause you were on my gig. [Laughs’

SG: I was not told it was your gig. I was told that ‘Sam, show up, this is your gig.’ 

MS: It’s okay.

SG: Don’t worry. He retired, me. It’s okay.

MS: I was promised this gig. And then I showed up to the gig and then [Sam] was there. And you know what? Back then, I was like, ‘The hell is this?’ but then I realized, this isn’t paying enough for me to care about this gig. We all just knew each other through the scene. We were all professional musicians before joining SNACKTIME, so a lot of us did wedding gigs, events, played for different people, some of us toured. Austin, the drummer, was on tour with The Stylistics for basically like half his life. Larry played with Kindred the Family Soul. We were just around and you get to know people on the scene, jam sessions, parties, whatever, gigs. When the pandemic happened, we all lost all of those gigs (laughs) because a lot of our gigs are indoors. So Sam had the brilliant idea of ‘Hey, I’m tired of not playing music. Let’s go play music outside.’ He just called the guysI think he trusted the most. I don’t know. Or whoever was available, I guess. Maybe that’s why I was there. 

SG: I would say it was not random. It was very much like, ‘these are people I know or love or know, they’re badass dudes.’ So it was not random. It was definitely like this is the crew to win with for sure. 

MS: And, you know, it was a really interesting time period too, to be outside and playing because basically no one had heard live music in like six, seven months. So people were kind of starving for it. It all came together for our benefit in a very trying time. But, you know, we were able to bring a little piece of joy to a lot of people that hadn’t really felt any. Some people were just in isolation, like not able to talk to people. Once everything started opening up a little bit and there’s restaurants and outside everyone’s walking, they finally got to hear some live music. For that time, we were really good. And everyone got to get together outside and not worry about COVID and think about something happy, have a good time singing their favorite songs. Sometimes like 300 people in the park just shouting “Don’t Stop Believing” at the top of their lungs. It helped keep us fed, but I think the thing I’m most proud of about that was the joy we were able to bring back to Philly.

DT: Listening to your music, it feels very positive. I’m kind of a metalhead, so I don’t get a lot of happy music, so listening to you guys has been really refreshing. Is the positivity in your music a direct antidote to what was going on in the pandemic or is it just the style of music you like to make?

SG: I think it’s who we are. I mean, I also, like, you know, I come from metal hardcore. I love all that stuff, too. And I definitely know how to write an angry song. And Mike for sure knows how to write an angry song. 

MS: Usually do.

SG: He told his dad to freak off in a song. 

MS: No, no, no, no. (SG laughs) That was I was writing from a different perspective. 

SG: Right now we’re kind of experimenting more with like, we have a great friend of the band his name is Josh Karpeh, aka. Cautious Clay, and he was sort of helping us with a song that we dropped a couple months ago called “Sunshine”, and it was initially when we wrote it, it was very, very sweet, very saccharine, kind of one note in some way, which I thought there was total validity to because sometimes it’s okay just to say, ‘I love somebody.’ But where he really helped us was [with] what people will sort of attach themselves to in a song. It’s like, when there’s a little bit of grit or distortion.I mean that in the way of not in the guitars, but like grit in the way of the lyrics where if it’s just one note of like, love, love, love, sweet, sweet, sweet, it’s like, it kind of goes in through one out of your other.If there’s a little bit of darkness with your lightness, that’s sort of how you can make someone really care. 

So we’re really right now experimenting a little bit more with like trying to get out of– not to say we’re trying to get out of positivity because the main tenants of the band are community togetherness, love, but we want to be able to write about harder things. That’s kind of like what ‘Enough’ is. We’re grateful, but it’s tough. “Sunshine” is a song where it’s about love, but it’s also about love when it’s not always easy. It’s like when you’ve been in the relationship 10, 15, 20 years and you’re not so young and beautiful anymore and you have to keep pushing. It’s that idea of like, both sides of the coins. I think a main reason we ran a lot of positive songs is because we are genuinely and generally positive people, but we were so grateful as well. Coming out of COVID, being supported so heavily by Philadelphia, how could you not be positive? How could you not be happy that we were able to start this band from nothing and then a couple of short years later, you get to play Boston calling, get to play Newport Folk Fest. Like it’s impossible to not be positive sometimes. So yeah.

MS: I’d say the band’s always just had generally a more positive tone. I feel like a lot of that was more deliberate. And I feel like at some point we were most of the band was kind of scared to move out of that positivity because that was kind of our brand. But we’re people. People aren’t just all 100% amazing and positive and great all the time. So just like Sam said, adding some of that darkness. My struggle is the opposite. I am mostlyly dark and I’m trying to add some light in my ideas. It’s a miracle that “Together” came from me. I’ll give you an example, one song that I wrote recently for the band, which if we actually try it, we’re going to have to rework a lot of it, is literally like picturing yourself in [this] situation: you’re coming home and you walk in the house and your girl is pointing your gun at you because she thinks that you’re you’re cheating on her. That’s the song. It’s just that. That’s what the song’s about. It’s just in that moment, like it’s a little short film. And I thought it was interesting, but, you know, for the band, it might not, you know what I mean? 

SG: Yeah, man, we’ll talk about that one. (laughs)

MS: So, yeah, that might or that just might be for someone else. Maybe I wrote it. I might give it to someone else. We’ll see what happens. 

SG: Yeah, that’s sort of the really fun thing about writing songs with everybody too, is like everyone in the band \ likes to write music. \We all come from different places. I have probably a half album’s worth of songs that sound like The National. We don’t sound like The National. I love The National. It’s hard for me to sometimes not write that style, because I love the music so much. Once we get a little bit more established and people start to really, buy into our songs in a really big way, I think we’ll probably have some concept records at some point, or some people will just get to have songs ghostwritten by SNACKTIME.

DT: Awesome. I am curious about the ‘pointing the gun at you’ song. That does sound right up my alley. 

MS: I think it’s a good song.

DT:  I’m excited. I don’t want to spoil your coming album, but is there anything you can kind of tell me about it?

SG: Yeah, I mean, right now, I think that we’ve really started to solidify what our sound is, and it’s soulful, it’s rock, it’s funk. There’s some pop in there. But it’s just, it’s good music, right? When Prince was writing “Purple Rain,” the record, he wasn’t like, ‘Oh, this is a pop record.’ He just wrote really great songs and had pop appeal. So the general, I think, meaning a lot of these songs and where I was talking a little bit the other the other day was like, I think it’s kind of the idea of growth through pain or like, the good thing through, like learning the lesson in not an easy way because like, so much of, I think, the lessons that we learn in life are through hardship, right? If everything is peachy keen all the time, then there’s no growth. And there’s no, there’s no good without the bat. So it’s sort of the idea of the flowers that grow through the cracks on the sidewalk, if that makes sense. And just about honesty and like really like being forthcoming with how you feel and being grateful for the hard times as well as the good times.. 

MS: Yeah, I don’t know. It’s hard to spoil music until you hear it. It’s just words. So, I mean, you’ll like it. 

SG: Your kids will love it. 

MS: I think the best compliment I can give [the album] is I think it’s interesting. It’s going to be pretty interesting and kind of be all over the place, so that’s going to be even more interesting. I love that. I love that concept. I think it’s going to be.. What else can I say but worth a listen? Sam pretty much summed it up. 

DT: I love that. Okay, now it’s time for my last question. You guys are from Philly and you’re called SNACKTIME. So I have to ask, what’s the best place to get a snack in Philly?

SG: You know, that’s an interesting question, ’cause, I always answer this and people are like, ‘that doesn’t sound like a snack to me,’ but snack time is more of a state of mind than it is like a thing. I think a snack is like a bowl of pho. I think chicken wings can be a snack. And my favorite snack in Philadelphia [is] probably going to Cafe Nhan to go get their chicken wings or their fried fish. But also, it’s really fun to go to Càphê Roasters and get their funky fries that they do like all doctored up Vietnamese style. Those are two of my favorites for sure. 

MS: I don’t even eat out too much because I’m not broke, but I act like I’m broke so I can save money. I think my favorite snack in Philly has to be… Oh my God. Sam, you actually used to live around the corner from this place. This is a cannoli spot. It’s right next to. You know the cheesesteak spot that does this (gestures with hands) in the corner. Is it Pat’s?

SG: Yeah, is it, what the hell’s it’s called? Take the gun, leave the cannoli, that spot? RIM Cafe!

SG: I think it is. Yeah. It’s on the same street as that Mexican restaurant that we always used to get tacos from. Whatever, it’s fine. There’s a cannoli spot. I don’t know what it is. I just happened to be walking with my girlfriend and we were like, ‘oh, cannoli, she never had one,’ so we go in there. I’m allergic to nuts and the dude was like, ‘yeah, there’s a lot of nuts,’ so I was like, ‘oh, well, that sucks.’ He’s like, ‘don’t worry. I’m allergic to nuts too.’ What are you doing working here? (laughs) The original cannoli didn’t have any nuts, so I got it. I was like, okay, this is probably going to be pretty good.

SG: I think that’s RIM Cafe, Mike. 

MS: I think it’s RIM Cafe. It’s probably RIM Cafe [Interviewer’s note: I looked it up and it was RIM Cafe]. I took a bite and I was like I can never come here again. (laughs) This is really good and I will blow all my money and get really fat. Shout out cannolis, man.

SG: Shout out cannolis, for sure. 

I can’t think of a sweeter note to end on so keep an eye out for SNACKTIME’s debut album.