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Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Poopdeflex

By Ben Larson

Fort Wayne Reader

2009-04-07


If ever there were a situation where it is necessary to separate the art from the artist, this is it. When he is performing as Poopdeflex, Scott Snyder’s personality takes on a brash, crass, vulgar, and often hilarious tone. Off stage, however, it’s a completely different story. The real Scott Snyder, I found, is so nice a guy that I walked away from our recent meeting hoping that I hadn’t somehow offended him. You know those people who are just so genuinely agreeable that you would be personally offended if anyone ever said anything bad about them? That’s Scott, and it’s a far, far cry from the impression many people would have of him if they had only seen him as Poopdeflex, the premier one-man-band of the local scene.

I got together with Snyder for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he is preparing to release his first CD under the Poopdeflex moniker, titled Shut Your Mouth Around Me, and I wanted to get the scoop on that. Also, he recently came off a national tour opening for local boys Left Lane Cruiser, and I thought I’d get the story on how that came about, as well as what’s up next for Scott/Poop.

When I asked how long the album took to record, Snyder got a wry smile on his face, and said “do you want the funny answer or the real answer? The funny answer is 3 or 4 weeks, give or take a month . . . the real answer is I don’t know.”

In regards to the actual tracking of the CD, Snyder said that he handled most of the legwork himself, after getting some initial assistance, of course. He made it a point to tell me that this project probably never would’ve happened without Turbo (from Kan-Tis). “[He] really pushed it,” Snyder said. Back in the early days, Snyder and Turbo had been playing together, and Turbo was the one who continually provided Snyder with the motivation to make the album. He also helped with the recording of the CD itself, which was done on a Fostex 8-track digital recorder. “I’m definitely a digital guy,” Snyder then said, after thinking for a second. “[Eff] that analog.” When I asked why he felt that way, he said simply “dirty don’t come from distortion.” Fair enough.

Snyder then went on to track and mix the album mostly on his own in the practice space he uses as Poopdeflex, and also for his other bands Pleasing Melani and Pliers. It seems that everything about this experience was a first for Snyder, as far as production goes, which can be greatly intimidating. I asked him about that, and how he was able to do all of this with virtually no previous experience. Again, he deferred to Turbo, saying “he taught me how to do it properly.” It definitely pays to have friends.

I got a chance to ask Snyder about the experience of performing under the Poopdeflex name, how it’s changed and benefited him, and what’s up next.

As I said before, the difference between Scott Snyder and Poopdeflex cannot be understated, and I asked him why there was such a drastic difference between the two. According to Snyder, the differences are there, but they all come from the same place. “He’s all my experiences bottled up,” he said matter-of-factly. “[He’s everything] I feel and want to say, but I’m really a nice guy.” A good concrete example of this is the title Snyder chose for the album Shut Your Mouth Around Me. “I think it a lot, but I never say it.” He also admitted that performing under the Poopdeflex name has also made him more chilled out, which makes a lot of sense, really. When you allow yourself that kind of freedom to follow your id on stage, it will undoubtedly make you a more relaxed person off-stage.

That being said, Snyder did say that the temptations are there to develop an ego when you’re a one-man-band. “You’re entertaining the whole crowd by yourself, and you have a lot of control. You can stop and start things whenever you want. I can see why a lot of one man bands have egos, but I don’t want to be like that.” When I asked him how he then manages to keep himself on an even keel, he said “as much as I hate hippies, I’m a hippie at heart. You have to treat other people like you want to be treated.”

Also, as I said before, Snyder recently came off a tour with local-boys-done-well Left Lane Cruiser. “I got to open up for them on a 2-week stretch to Texas and back,” he told me, which culminated in participating in this year’s SXSW festival. He also did not understate LLC’s help in getting his name out. “I owe Joe and Brenn a whole lot,” he said. “They opened my world up completely. I even have a new perspective of Fort Wayne . . . just how good the scene here really is compared to other places.”

As far as what’s up next for Poopdeflex, Snyder says he plans on having a busy summer. In June he’s heading out on a tour through the south with the B-Sharps, then, in July, he’s heading up north. “Brenn is booking a tour for me up to the Deep Blues Festival and back, which is gonna be cool because that’s where I got the idea to do this.” He finished the conversation by saying “I wanna start [touring] more. They say it takes 8 to 10 times around to start a following,” and referenced how Left Lane Cruiser and label-mates The Black Diamond Heavies have been able to secure packed houses through their relentless touring schedules.

So what’s today’s lesson? I suppose it’s that you can never judge a person by their stage persona. Keep an eye out for more from Poopdeflex, and make sure you attend his CD release party on April 18th at The Brass Rail with special guests the Riverbottom Nightmare Band.

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