Snõõper’s Indieplaza set at Rough Trade was loud, fast, and wildly fun

Though the beloved Christmas tree or ice skating rink has never tempted me, this Saturday, I excitedly made my way up to Rockefeller Center. It was Record Store Day, and Rough Trade was to host its third annual “Indieplaza,” a showcase featuring indie acts leading the scene. While I’d naively hoped to hit the store on my way and snag an RSD exclusive (my eye was on the David Byrne/Paramore 12-inch and the Team Sleep reissue), the long line of customers wrapped around the building appeared to have been camped out ahead of time, and for that dedication, they certainly deserved all of the exclusives. However, the real celebration of RSD was still around the corner. 

The showcase was stacked, with a headlining set by Dehd, the witty Chicago indie-rock-meets-post-punk outfit who’ve gained serious traction over the years, a late afternoon set by Glitterer, the synthy solo project of Title Fight’s Ned Russin, a brilliant performance by acclaimed NYC hip-hop duo Armand Hammer, and sets by ambient, jazzy rockers Cloud Nothings, alongside indie artists Corridor, Sunny War, and Wishy. However, there was a specific band that I’d trekked through Times Square to see — Nashville’s Snõõper. 

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I’ve caught the eclectic egg punk group’s sets before, on a few occasions — and was instantly, and easily, obsessed. Whether it was at a showcase, or they’d been opening for another band, Snõõper had always come out of left field and stolen the show. And one other thing they’d always done — whether it was for a 30-minute set or at a festival far from home base — was bring their puppets, life-sized paper mache props, and wear tracksuits. But that’s where consistency ends for Snõõper. This band, as they told me, aren’t about making plans, or following any preconceived path. In fact, according to Blair Trammel (vocalist) and Connor Cummins (guitar), they weren’t even supposed to be a band at all. And that level of inhibition, for the band and arguably even more so for the audience, is what makes their music fun. It’s loud, fast, and unserious, though it hits all the marks to qualify as pure, raucous punk — including a co-sign from Henry Rollins. 

Before their joyfully wild set — during which there was plenty of climbing on rafters, weight lifting, kicking, jumping, and choreographed stage movements that felt very DIY KISS — they graciously chatted with me, all while unloading a giant, four-feet tall paper mache 8-ball from their van. From the first LPs the group ever bought, their forthcoming tour, and playing the same festival as Doja Cat — here’s everything we got into.

So you guys drove down from Nashville today, you’re finishing up the U.S. leg of the tour, and you’ve got a summer one coming up. That’s a lot going on. Plus you’ve brought the props.

BLAIR TRAMEL: Well, we just did a small run over spring break. But I'm a full-time teacher, so it's really tricky with touring. Right now we're just waiting till summer break so we can go out again. We're going to do a full two-month thing then, but today’s just more of a one-off!

The nonstop schedule, teaching, and touring must be exhausting for you, Blair!

TRAMEL: Yes, it is. But it's cool. I feel like I need all of the external structure to keep me sane, so there’s the chaos of tour, and then I get to go back to some external structure with school. It’s nice. They balance out.

What are you most excited for about the summer tour? You’re going to be mostly in Europe.

TRAMEL: Ooh, going to new places! Looking at the tour schedule and realizing I don't even know what most of the places are. I've never even heard of them. That's really exciting.

CONNOR CUMMINS: The last show of the tour is at Roskilde Festival, and our day is with Doja Cat and Jungle. So we're pretty excited.

That’s definitely a well-rounded day… I’m thinking about this balance of having a job and then going into this “chaos” of tour, alongside the theatrical nature of your shows. Do you think you become altar egos yourselves when you're onstage as a band, or just an unleashed version of your day-to-day selves?

HAPPY HAUGEN: I'm definitely not the Trader Joe's cashier when I'm onstage.

CUMMINS: It’s like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. We’re playing fictionalized versions of ourselves.

That’s a great answer. How do you feel about your project and album now, having been touring with it since last year? 

TRAMEL: It’s been pretty crazy. I don't think we ever really expected, at least speaking for me, to play a live show in the first place. It started as a just recording project, so now to be touring around the record has been very surreal. It feels almost like at some point someone's going to be like, “You're an impostor. This is illegal. Stop it right now.” But it's been really cool.

CUMMINS: I feel better than ever in a way, because the record was more mid-fi than we'd ever done before. So to play it out and match up the album and the live show was cool.

When you went from recording projects to live band, do you feel like the ethos of Snõõper changed? 

TRAMEL: Well, originally it was just me and Connor on the recordings, and then we recorded the record with the full band. Since, we've just really amped up the performance around it. I think I was really insecure about performing and playing live. I really wanted everyone to feel included in the live show. I've been to so many shows where I had listened to the record a million times, but felt bored seeing it live. So we just keep getting crazier and crazier with props and antics and stuff like that. It all has come together really naturally, but we get to really home in on what we want the live show to be like. So that's been special.

CUMMINS: Having been in other bands in the past, there's an expectation that it should be, “We're going to write this kind of music. We're a hardcore band, and we're just going to play hardcore, and that's it. It's our whole ethos.” Not knowing that we were going to play a live show, or having any idea or direction with Snõõper, Blair was like, “We should do props.” I was like, That's cool.” And then it was, “Well why don't we wear tracksuits? OK, whatever. Cool. Why don't we build a giant puppet?” It feels like in not having any direction, any idea is acceptable. Why not? It’s open-ended.

TRAMEL: We had no plans. 

I mean, one could argue that’s the best way to approach anything creative. And with Snõõper, as an audience member, you can feel that freedom and excitement you’re putting into it.

CUMMINS: When a band set up a business plan, it's really fucking lame.

TRAMEL: Our thing is making it fun for everybody and making people want to come to the live show — because there's just so many times where I'm like, “Why did I even pay money for this? I could have just stayed home and listened to this record.” So it's cool when people react in a way where they're moving with us.

It's hard not to move at a Snõõper show, for sure.

TRAMEL: We play fast. 

Are you working on another record?

CUMMINS: We have a split seven-inch coming out with this band Prison Affair from Barcelona, at the start of our European tour. And then we have a couple other things in the works that'll come out early next year, and then an LP will probably be out next summer.

And what do you feel like is going to be different? Or the same. 

HAUGEN: Connor and I talked about this for 15 hours yesterday.

All right. Give me the brief version.

CUMMINS: We're experimenting with a lot of different directions. It's still same band, but we're trying not to box ourselves in and just write the same record twice.

TRAMEL: We've been listening to a lot of electronic music — more dancey, powerful sounds.

CUMMINS: A lot of house, drum and bass, and jungle.

What's the most recent album that you got that you were really excited about?

CUMMINS: This Sextile record was pretty good.

HAUGEN: I picked up the feeble little horse album a couple weeks ago. I like that record a lot. 

CAM SARRETT: I haven't got it yet, but the Die Owan record that General Speech put out. It's a Japanese punk band from the ’70s, ’80s. I listened to it online first, then bought the record.

CONNER SULLIVAN: For some reason, the one that's coming to mind right now is the Swans record that came out last year. I just saw them last week at Third Man, at The Blue Room. It was very intimate and very cool. Just very hot — he turned off the AC, so it was an intentional decision. He said he loses his voice if the AC is blowing on him, so that's fair. It really adds to the whole experience, though.

HAUGEN: It's always really nice to watch somebody get cussed out in a very intimate environment.

The reason we’re here is to celebrate Record Store Day. What would you say is your favorite record shop in Nashville? There are some good ones.

HAUGEN: RIP Viv & Dickey’s. That was a great one. My favorite one right now though is The Groove, out east on Calvin. It’s awesome, and then there’s Grimey’s — always. And the Third Man storefront, too, is pretty cool.

Last question: Do you guys remember the first albums you ever bought?

CUMMINS: Yeah, mine was Darby Crash Rides Again by Poison Idea at a shop in Johnson City. My dad bought it for me. The cover looked cool — and I thought it was the Germs, because it had the blue circle on it.

HAUGEN: When I was 10, I bought News of the World by Queen at The Great Escape for $20.

SULLIVAN: Mine was Demon Days by Gorillaz when I was 11.

TRAMEL: That's solid. For me, it was Avril Lavigne’s Let Go.

SARRETT: Nelly, Country Grammar.