Variety is the Spice of Life Prolific Pop Minstrel Chris von Sneidern "Sports" a New Sound By Beth Bachtold

I sat down to write this article and whammy! - Writer's block. I found this both disconcerting and surprising, especially since the topic was so near and dear to my heart. In hindsight, I came to realize I was not blocked, I was overwhelmed. It's a monumental task conveying the wealth of talent and genius that is local musician Chris von Sneidern; (and keeping it reasonably succinct was no easy feat, either). But, after an acceptable dose of St. John's Wort and a little red wine, I let it all hang out, channeled Jack Kerouac and hit the written road. Hop in.  

Chris von Sneidern (aka CVS) has been instrumentally involved in the San Francisco pop music scene for nearly 15 years. A native of Syracuse, NY, he came West in 1985, presumably seeking fame, fortune, adventure, and undoubtedly the perfect micro-brew. Since 1993 he's fathered four records (with a fifth "bundle of joy" due this September) - all to high praise, enthusiastic hurrahs, and world-wide critical acclaim (a delirious French fan referred to him as a UFO; is he France's next Jerry Lewis? Only time will tell.)

A multi-talented Music Man, CVS composes and executes beautifully complex and genuinely non-generic songs. His specialty is love in all its incarnations - lost, found, hopeless, hopeful, unrequited, too requited and so on. Whether an introspective acoustic ballad or a super-charged explosion of drum and guitar, his songs get inside you and stay there, asking to be played over and over. Almost archetypal, his music surrounds you with a cerebral/emotional feeling of the familiar; you'd swear you've heard it before. Critics compare his sound to the Big B bands- the Beatles, Badfinger, Big Star and the Beach Boys. It is this, CVS's own icon-inspired, yet personalized sound, which leaves his fans with an enduring feeling of "time-stand-still" deja-vu - we know it, we love it, we can't get enough of it. Each new album is eagerly awaited, by fans and critics alike, and never disappoints.

To see for yourself, hop on over to your favorite music store or web site, and pick up all four CVS releases - the debut and "sound-defining," Sight & Sound (Heyday), his sophomore effort, Big White Lies (Heyday), (electronically enhanced with all sorts of fun stuff), 96's harmonic firecracker Go! (Mod Lang), and the most recent, and some say, finest to date, Wood + Wire, (aka the "New York album") realized and recorded in the Big Apple with help from some fine East Coast musicians and released on he Mod Lang label. September promises the release of record number five - with a new sound and an experimental approach, but not without the ever-charming CVS spice. You won't need much convincing after the first four releases, though, to know you'll need the fifth the minute it hits the shelves. Trust me.

But, despite the combined ingredients of pure, unadulterated talent and devoted fans worldwide (a 1996 tour with friend and fellow musician John Wesley Harding did much to introduce von Sneidern nationally, spread his unique brand of melodic pop and cement his undeniable popularity), CVS has not enjoyed a large amount of radio play, and to understate the obvious, this is a mighty shame. Save for an occasional in-studio on KFOG's "Local Anaesthetic" or a late-night nod from a friendly deejay, you don't often get the satisfaction of hearing CVS through frequency modulation. This lack of mass distribution/recognition, however, certainly does nothing to diminish his popularity or viability as a true talent; ultimately, though, we devoted fans, want him to "make it big," so to speak, because (acting as spokesperson for the whole group -I don't think they'd mind) he deserves it!!! CVS himself seems charged and ready to shake things up as well. Older (but not looking it, of course), wiser, and poised to try something a little different, a little wacky, he's brought together a new band, sportily-monikered the Sportsmen to join in all the fun.

From what I've heard of the upcoming record - already creating a buzz and a large dose of heated anticipation among die-hard fans- fun is the key word here. Throw in a chunk of live shows planned for mid July, and it's a rip-roarin' party not to be missed. Trust me, again. I arrived at CVS's home/studio bearing beer (a fine micro-brew, naturally), pink roses (always in good taste) and my tape-recorder (to misquote is to die a thousand deaths). I was welcomed in by the always hospitable 6'1," fully-grinned, spider-legged Swede. Air-kisses, hugs and howdy-do's aside, we sat down to chat about, among other things, the new band, the new album, and what to expect from the July shows.

BB So, what's up with the new band?

CVS The Sportsmen - it's like a pop/rock/soul band - it's definitely got an R& B thing going on; I wouldn't call it soul, I'd call it R& B, very poppy, very rock, soul-influenced because it's got a lead singer who's not a shoe gazer, not just stuck behind a guitar. I'm calling it the Sportsmen because it's a band name - it creates solidarity and differentiates between CVS solo records and the sound that everyone's come to expect from me, and what the Sportsmen music is about-which is not what everyone is going to expect.

BB Is the new band and album about changing your style completely?

CVS I'm not really changing my "thing;" I'm experimenting, discovering, trying things out and growing - I'd like to think I'm growing. Compare David Bowie to Ziggy Stardust. I'm always playing these serious songs on acoustic guitar and I can't just go out of a song and do a rap or something. I need a band to back me up, where I can be free-associating, out of my head, funny, alter-ego CVS; I can be someone else. I'm taking a risk by trying to do this slightly different thing when I'm known for being master of pop and the "pop gem." But I can afford to experiment because I'm not that huge - any excuse to get me playing around town more is challenging to me and that's good.

BB How has working with the Sportsmen been a different experience?

CVS On the last album, I had an ensemble playing on everything together, but it wasn't a "band." We never played live together except in studio and once in Los Angeles; and all the other records were pretty much put together by me recording everything. With this band, I've said, "now you're going to be the organ player, you're on guitar, you're the piano player, etc.," and that's the whole thing about taking control of how I'm not going to have control.

BB How does that feel - relinquishing a certain amount of control?

CVS It's all a compromise; you get things from people when they're playing with you; they put their style into their playing which is good. I can listen to "Wood and Wire" more than I can "Big White Lies" or "GO!" because it's almost like I'm not listening to my own squawks and squeaks and every little thing wasn't made for me. I got fed up with playing everything, literally everything. My solo stuff is its own sound, viable; I'm not abandoning anything I've done before or what I've been doing; I'm just trying something different; some of my solo stuff can be recreated by ensembles, some can't. With the Sportsmen its about wanting to learn, wanting to do something different, keeping a band together, giving those guys in a band an identity, giving them a name - "I'm a member of the Sportsmen, I'm a Sportsman!"

BB So you're happy with this new "experiment?"

CVS I feel good about it; I haven't really had much commercial success as CVS; that could be because I don't tour or I make music that's pigeonholed into a certain genre; also could be that I haven't really pursued commercial success by getting more people involved - I don't think I was ready for the major labels years ago; I didn't have a band, I didn't really say the right things. Now I'm thinking about the bigger indie labels, trying something new and making myself available to the right people.

BB Tell me about the new album.

CVS It's kind of a soul thing - we went in thinking we'd make a soul record, we came out of it with a pop record - but, a sort of Beatles-influenced pop/soul record. It's me doing soul - but when I say I've made a "soul" record, I'm never going to hit the mark, never going to hit blues - I couldn't do Al Green if my life depended on it. This is me doing soul music as being influenced by listening to the Beatles for 20 years. As an American growing up in the 70's listening to English bands/Beatles records, then writing music in the 80's and then coming of age in the 90's on my own, to listen to soul music you hear it and you relate to it in a Beatles or Stones or Animals or Van Morrison way, which is totally backwards, but that's how culture is.

BB What can we expect from the July shows?

CVS The first round of shows we'll only be doing things from the record- there's eleven songs-including covers of Wilson Pickett and Allen Toussaint; we're doing three shows in a row; like "boom boom boom-what did we do? Let's look at it, examine it, check the audience response, etc" and then re-group and see where we go with it.

BB Will there be costumes and a cape involved?

CVS You'll just have to show up and see for yourself, won't you? That said, might I wholeheartedly urge you to check out the following shows The Sportsmen featuring Chris von Sneidern, play Sunday, July 18, 1999 at the Coco Club, 139-8th Street (enter on Minna), 8 pm; Monday, July 19 at the Make Out Room, 3225-22nd Street @ Mission, 10pm; and, July 20 at Mick's Lounge, 2511 Van Ness Avenue @ Union, time TBA.

(oh, and don't forget to visit CvS’s web site for your very own cyber-sit-down with the Artist as a Young Melodic Man. Chock full of everything from lyric lists and chord charts to the "Syracuse Hooker-cam" and "Hawaii Five-O" links, you'll not only enjoy yourself, you might even walk away with a fashion tip or two).