Rising Snyder

While he is best known to Irish audiences as the keyboardist extraordinaire from Mercury Rev, Adam Snyder has played in various different bands in the last ten years, and also performed many solo shows on both sides of the Atlantic.

Just before Christmas, he performed his debut Irish solo show at the inaugral Family event in Whelan's, a trip that Adam has fond memories of.

"I thought it was amazing that when I was in (Whelan's) for a few drinks the night before everyone was going wild and being raucous, and I come back and everybody is sitting there listening intently and showing such appreciation. There are very few venues anywhere in the world where the audience would be so open minded."

Of course, Adam is no stranger to Ireland having played here with everybody's favourite mercurial popsters. "There is a mystique I love about Ireland," he enthuses. "I'm only starting to dabble in Irish literature from folk stories to The Celtic Twilight by W.B. Yeats. There is definitely a spirit and an attitude over there that has informed and influenced my work. I've spent some highly productive years with the band that gave me an opportunity to come here in the first place, and it's very meaningful for me to be able to come back and play.

"There is no compelling reason to do this apart from the fact that I really want to. Even playing to forty people once a month would be fantastic. It's also made possible because people like Leagues (O'Toole - Snyder's very independent Irish promoter) exist. Not everything and everyone is part of a corporate merry go round. J.D. Salinger said that what one does with their art should be exactly what one would like done with their art. That's a guiding principle that I think is important for any musician."