Interview: Snapcat Bandits Talk to Fanbase Music Magazine About Their Latest Single And Music Video ‘September Rain’, Their Love For Nirvana, Foo Fighters, & Much More

Interviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Photography by: Chyrisse Tabone.

Intro

Snapcat Bandits are a band that has got tobe opne of my 4 finds this year, I am sucha huge fan of theirs and it seems what ever they release seems to be a hit, having simular interestes in music I catch up with the band and discuss our love for bands such as Nirvana, Foo Fighters and grunge in genral and how that music influences thier own sound.

We also talk about the bands lastest single ‘September Rain’

Enjoy The Listen

Interview

Hi guys welcome back to Fanbase Music Magazine, last time we spoke you were releasing ‘Summer Days’ and ‘Lonely Highway’ before that, how did you feel those tracks were received from the public, I think they were awesome?

Mike & Melanie: We Appreciate the kind words, Duzzy! Both “Lonely Highway” and “Summer Days” have been extremely well-received. We have received an incredible amount of support from everyone. The songs have also gone over quite well at our live shows, too. The two tracks combined have over 100,000 streams on Spotify and 195,000 video views on You Tube. Both songs have received radio airplay around the world, high reviews from the press, and amazing support from the indie rock community who helped boost streams by listening and including both songs on their playlists. All this has helped boost streams, video views, and awareness of Snapcat Bandits. We are very grateful for all of our fans and supporters.

Can you remind where the band is from and how the band started?

Melanie: We are from Detroit Michigan and live in a township about 30 minutes outside of the city limits. We have both lived in Michigan our entire lives.

Mike: We began to work on a ton of cover songs during the pandemic years of 2020-2021, right after we finished a run of tribute shows in 2019. Those cover songs helped inspire us to begin writing original music. Writing for originals began in early 2022, right around the time Taylor Hawkins unfortunately passed away. I wrote about 40 songs, which was paired down to 16. Then Melanie and I honed in on choosing the 8 songs we felt were the best and began working on our first EP in the Spring of 2022.

We seem to have a simular love for grunge bands such as Nirvana, Foo Fighters and I have often compared your music to those bands, is that something you started out to do, make music such as those legendary bands, or is it something that just kind oif happened?

Melanie: Your intuition serves you well Duzzy! Both Nirvana and Foo Fighters have been important influences for both Mike and I since the beginning. We have a wide range of music influences over the top that mask the foundation quite a bit. Although if you were building a house out of musical bricks, the foundation of the Snapcat Bandits house was built on Nirvana and Foos. We are honored that our songs can share radio airplay with our heroes. I’m also confident that we have our own unique sound.

Mike: I wouldn’t be the guitar player, songwriter, singer, and frontman that I am if it weren’t for Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl. Kurt’s music helped me build an encyclopedia of tools necessary to write songs and express my own feelings through the guitar and our music. Dave Grohl helped give me the confidence and swagger to be able to run around on stage like a madman and engage the audience at live shows. It truly takes great songs, guitar playing, drumming, and stage presence to complete the whole rock-and-roll package that a band brings to the audience.

Okay, lets talk about the amazing new single, called ‘September Rain’ first of all on a great new track, it is already on my favourites playlist, can you tell us what the song is about and what about September Rain is significant on this song?

Mike: the sonic sound of the song was inspired by “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus, in that the delay effects helped inspire the verse treatment in September Rain. That verse riff you hear almost didn’t make it in the song (laughs). I originally had what I call a “safe” riff – a standard 3-4 chord easy progression that I thought we’d use for the song. But I kept going back to this haunting, melodic open-chord type riff that drew me in and made me want to play the song and eventually complete it with Melanie. I set the scene of the song about two people who want to be together under any circumstances, on a rainy night in September.

Melanie: My perspective on the song story goes like this: The two people in the song may have circumstances that make it difficult for them to be together so they are “holding on” to those precious moments before they have to decide to either shake up their lives to stay together or end up having to let it go. They know they are right for each other. They are in love. Whether they stay together or not would cause heartbreak either way. It’s a difficult decision for them to make. The setting is beautiful, and for one night the world is their own.

Now being a two piece can you tell us the process of recording this song, did you get other musicians or did you lay and record different instruments yourself?

Melanie: Mike and I do our best work collaborating with each other. In many ways we live on our own island. This song was no exception. We knew this song was huge and it took us more time in preproduction than usual to write all the parts to this song.

Mike: the guitar tracks, the bass, and vocals are recorded all by me. As Melanie said, the two of us work really well together, and by doing that, we eliminate any other outside influences. Be it other band members, a producer, etc. We keep full control of what we write, edit, and practice in pre-production to get the most out of the songs. For September Rain, we spent about 3 months fine-tuning and working out the parts in pre-production. After I got the first 75 percent of the song down, I showed it to Melanie without an actual ending or middle part. Then, we went to work finding a middle and ending. Melanie came up with these awesome drum parts for those sections, and I added a chord progression which complemented her parts. It worked seamlessly. Although the original demo version was about 5 minutes and 55 seconds, we ended up shaving off some unnecessary parts of the song. So the 4 minute, 40 second version you hear is the finished product from all the tweaking and editing we did in rehearsals.

Where did you record it and who else worked or produced the track?

Melanie: We recorded this the old school way on a 12 track, in our home studio, and without a click track. Our goal is to capture the energy and vibe on each track. After the song was recorded, we turned it over to our producer Chuck Alkazian at Pearl Sound Studios for mixing and mastering. Chuck is a grammy award-winning producer, and his talents are amazing and immeasurable to this project.

Mike: having a home studio is a blessing! Melanie recorded her drum parts over the holiday Christmas break in December 2023 with me putting down a scratch acoustic guitar track and vocals. Then in January and February 2024, I recorded the bass, all guitar tracks, and vocals. The lead and fill guitar tracks were done with no pre-conceived notion of what I would do until I sat down that day in the studio. I like that approach because then I get a feel of the song for that moment, that day, and how I’m particularly feeling. I usually get my takes down in one or two passes. Keeps the vibe as fresh as possible.

The track has a very cool music video which we have recently made music video of ther week here on the Fanbase Ste, what is the concept behind the video?

Mike: Duzzy, we are completely honored to have this video the pick of the week! We are almost speechless, but very humbled.

Melanie: This is such an honor to have this video pick of the week! Thank you so much, Duzzy! This is our debut performance video, and my debut as a director and producer of a music video. I had a clear vision on what we wanted for this music video early on in the process. The opening scene starts with two flowers opening which symbolizes Mike and I as emerging artists that leads into Mike’s haunting opening guitar. I had built the story and video setting around a of a pair of dancers beautifully dancing in the golden rain which was perfect for our video. The rest of the video is a performance video, and the set was designed to complement the golden rain dancers. The scene sequence changes often focusing on an up close and personal performance with raw energy that simulates a thunderstorm. We want fans to have a chance to experience the energy and power that we put behind our music that is Snapcat Bandits.

Who worked on the video and what was the process like?

Mike: this is Melanie’s directorial debut! What a great job she did in bringing her vision to life! Every element of production, from choosing the scenes, to where we would set up, to what the backdrops would look like, Melanie has her mark on this video 100 percent.

Melanie: My video director and I had some creative differences in the creation of this video and my intent was originally lost. It was so important to us that our message be conveyed the way we envisioned. I made the hard decision to take the project back. We re-shot the footage, and I directed and produced the entire video. This was a monumental accomplishment considering that I had never made a music video, nor have I ever been involved in theater or filmmaking. I am thankful that my brain took to this project so easily from the creative designing of the set, organizing the scene sequences, and familiarizing myself with the software program. It just all came together logically and easily for me. I don’t think there was any doubt in my mind about succeeding. The project took life and the video turned out exactly how I imagined it would.

Snapcat Bandits seem to be on a roll and momentum with creating great music, what can you reveal what is the future plans for the band in terms of new music?

Mike: well, we’ve got three more songs to release on our current 2nd EP called “Anything & Nothing.” Those songs are key in that they represent a progression through where we’ve come from in terms of writing the music, to where we will be going with new music. The last single on this record, called “Anything To Say”, I like to call the ‘gateway to a new chapter’ for our music. For that song, the guitars are tuned down, the mood is angrier, and the conveyance of the song has much more energy than in past songs.

In early 2025, Melanie and I will be deciding which of the 16 new songs that have been written will be worked on. I think we’ll probably get those 16 songs down to about 7 songs, giving us the best representation of this group of new music. Maybe a cover or two will be considered; I was looking at doing a Silverchair song or a Ramones song. We usually save any talk of covers for last, and the covers must complement the feel of the originals. Otherwise, there’s no point in working on a cover.

That said, all of these new tracks are in new, different tunings. I started writing for this 3rd EP back in October 2023. The themes and topics are different from the first 2 records. We touch on edgy, more moody feels and subjects. I can tell you this – the new stuff for next year will challenge not only the listeners, but challenge us as musicians. Starting with a clean slate of music in which we know not how these songs will finish in the recordings, only that the intent and feel will be very intense and the energy unchained.

I’m excited for 2025 and the future of Snapcat Bandits music!

Melanie: I am the first sounding board and have heard quite a bit of the new material before we bring it into the preproduction stage. I can say this is some of Mike’s best songwriting coming to life. The subject matter is deeper. It ranges from moody to angry. The energy is there. Some of these subjects touch our heart more than in the past. I’m excited to be working with Mike on these songs to bring next year’s music to life!

If you could share the stage with anyone who would it be?

Melanie: Foo Fighters. To meet Dave Grohl, and to open for this band would be a tremendous accomplishment. You know you’ve made it when you open for the Foo Fighters.

Mike: I’d like to share a stage and open for Seether, honestly. I think our new music in 2025 would complement their energy nicely. We probably do have a bit more energy on stage than they do, maybe more like Foo Fighters….. hmmmm. Melanie, can I change my answer (laughs).

Thank you for doing this interview, do you have any last messages for our fans?

Mike & Melanie: We want to sincerely thank you Duzzy for being our biggest supporter, and for your audience for supporting us on this wild musical journey! It’s only been a short time, and we can’t wait to see what’s around the corner musically for us. And we wanna take you, Duzzy, and everyone else with us along for the ride!