Bristol's Corey Snowden will be appearing at Quaker Steak & Lube on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m.
A Martin guitar sits inside Mike Stephenson’s Classic Recording Studio in Bristol, Virginia. It belonged to his brother, Chad.
Bristol’s Corey Snowden learned to play guitar on that Martin. Years later, he’s now recording in the studio where it’s perched.
Hear Snowden perform a mix of original and cover songs Saturday at Quaker Steak & Lube in Bristol, Virginia.
“I’ll do a variety of covers that I like, about 60-40% covers and originals,” said Snowden. “I’ll do my own songs and songs by Jackson Browne, Otis Redding, John Denver, Hank Williams, the Allman Brothers. It’s fun to see how people react to them.”
Snowden, 32, started playing guitar at age 13. Drawn to music while attending Pentecostal church services as a child, he admired the ways in which the often primal sounds moved audiences.
“Oh, man, my Pentecostal background is crucial,” Snowden said. “Look at Claude Ealy. He was a preacher who wrote ‘There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down.’ He influenced Elvis Presley. Pentecostal churches can be very expressive. It shows you how much you can move people.”
Now, Snowden does not classify as a gospel music artist. Likewise, he’s neither exactly country nor precisely rock, but one can hear generous nods to each in his songs. Look closer. Listen for spices of soul and rhythm with blues, allusions to folk and dabs of whatever else he loves.
One may wonder how but one musician can sew such an immense amount of content into one fabric of style.
“I serve the songs,” said Snowden, a native of Abingdon and lifelong resident of Bristol.
“Different influences give me a wide palette to draw from, to pull from this and that. The biggest thing is to serve the song. It will take shape.”
Trust in craft lies central to a musician serving the song. In that, Snowden’s working on a stack of new songs. As if piled on his workbench, he’s shaping and molding new material that perhaps by month’s end will materialize as his new EP.
Recorded in Bristol, Virginia, at Mike Stephenson’s Classic Recording Studio and Matt Smile’s Audioasis, Snowden’s EP includes a melodic ode to Bristol.
“It’s a song that I particularly wrote for Bristol, my hometown, my people,” Snowden said. “I love my hometown. It’s called ‘Tennessee Line.’ I think you’ll dig that one.”
Hear Snowden play “Tennessee Line” at Quaker Steak. A piping-hot plateful of substance, its lyrics warm while its melody enchants. It’ll inspire memories of and a yearning for comforts that only home can provide.
“You know, my mom and dad were so cool,” Snowden said. “Mom would sing old-school soul, country and hymns. My dad directed the choirs at many of the churches we went to. They let me listen to so much stuff.”
For instance, Snowden learned to play Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” while playing guitar in the closet. He learned open chords, minor chords, power chords, majors and the like — all for the pure love of music.
“Music’s one of the most important things in my life,” Snowden said. “Friends have come and gone. Girlfriends have come and gone. Music is a constant friend. It provides security. No matter how I am feeling, I can find a song that talks about that.”
Climb high or sink low. Be happy as a sea of clams, lonely as a star alone in the old, dark sky. It’s to that and more that the music of Corey Snowden aspires, the inner reaches of the human psyche and soul.
“Music is with you on the mountaintop, and it’s in the dark back alleys,” Snowden said. “It’s always there with you. It’s a lifeblood. It’s necessary.”
Tom Netherland is a freelance writer. He may be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
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October 08, 2020 at 05:30PM
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Corey Snowden shows guitar chops at Quaker Steak & Lube - Bristol Herald Courier
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