Longtime musician finally releases album of his compositions
Al Snyder at work in Albey Road Studio
Darkhorse
Al Snyder, back in the day
Al Snyder, more recently
The Corbin/Hanner Band
Al Snyder was pleasantly surprised to once receive âsomethingâ from George Harrison.
âIâm such a big Beatles fan, and I get this letter in the mail,â Snyder recalled. âItâs one of the biggest shocks of my life.â
One of the worldâs most famous entertainers, as it turned out, wanted to use the registered name of Snyderâs Pittsburgh-area band for a few purposes. After a settlement, âDark Horseâ became the name of a Harrison song, album and record label.
As part of the settlement, Darkhorse, the band, was presented with what Snyder considered to be a long-shot opportunity to sign with Dark Horse Records. In a nod to what John Lennon said during the Beatlesâ rooftop concert of 1969, Snyder has been telling folks for years that his group did not âpass the audition.â
He did, though, enjoy the process of recording the Darkhorse demo so much that he decided to invest in his own equipment and start a studio.
More than four decades later, after working with countless musicians on myriad projects, the keyboard player from Scott Township has released his first album of original compositions, âRainy Afternoon.â
âIsnât it terrible that you have a studio and youâre doing everybody elseâs work, and when it comes to your own stuff, you think, Iâm exhausted,â he said.
Actually, one track is the traditional âStagger Lee,â probably best known for Lloyd Priceâs version that topped the charts in 1959. Snyderâs arrangement, which he has been playing since his Darkhorse days, is so distinctive that he had it copyrighted.
Co-writing two âRainy Afternoonâ songs and playing guitar on a total of seven is Dave Hanner, half-namesake with Bob Corbin of one of Western Pennsylvaniaâs most successful musical aggregations.
Joined by Snyder on keyboards, bass player Kip Paxton â he performs on âRainy Afternoon,â too â and drummer Dave Freeland, the Corbin/Hanner Band placed half a dozen singles on Billboardâs country chart in the early â80s.
The band previously was known as Gravel and shared some bills with Darkhorse. One day, Freeland called Snyder to ask if heâd play a fairly involved piano part for Gravel.
âI said, âThis sounds really good, but why donât you come over to my studio, and I can do better,'â Snyder recalled. âSo they came over, and then we did five or six songs and sent them down to Nashville.â
As part of a record deal for them as a duo, Corbin and Hanner recently had visited Tennesseeâs music capital to record with some session veterans.
âThey had five songs in the can with studio players, and when we sent down these songs from my studio, they liked the band better,â Snyder said. âSo they scrapped what they had from the studio players and signed the whole band.â
He had yet to perform with his bandmates live, though. When the time came, at a venue in Latrobe, Corbin was out of action following a vehicle accident and Hanner turned up too sick to take the stage.
âSo hereâs me â never playing with them ever, except in the studio â and itâs me and Freeland and Kip,â Snyder said. âSo the first job I ever played with the Corbin/Hanner Band was without Corbin and Hanner.â
Meanwhile, Snyderâs studio served as the site for the recording of quite a few songs that became hits. A prime example is the Hanner composition âLord, I Hope This Day Is Good,â which Don Williams took to countryâs No. 1 in 1981, and it since has become a standard, most recently covered by Caylee Hammack and Alan Jackson.
Since his Darkhorse days, Snyder has been involved with numerous musical project, including a popular collaboration with the Pittsburgh Zoo. He wrote and performed 26 songs that played for patrons in front of the various exhibits, and followed up a few years later with a second round.
Today, âZoo Key Songsâ is available through various merchants and services for the enjoyment of the entire family.
Snyder also has teamed with Tom Rooney to put together the annual â12 Bands of Christmasâ compilation for Pittsburghâs Froggy FM radio stations, and he works regularly with guitarist Mike Lewandowski in a band called A.T.L. & S. that has released three albums.
Lewandowsky is another contributor to âRainy Afternoonâ as a performer and writer, sharing composing credits on three songs. Also appearing on a majority of tracks are drummer Joe Waslouski and bass player Curt Erickson.
The album, the sonic quality of which attests to Snyderâs expertise in the studio, combines atmospheric pieces with good old rock ânâ roll. Its 12 songs are presented in a specific order for the sake of balance between styles.
âI went crazy for the sequence,â he said. âI actually held off the CD for probably nine months because I couldnât find a good beginning song and I couldnât find a âcomic reliefâ song.â
For the latter, he arrived at one called âCharles Moses,â featuring lyrics such as âThat cat is cool, but heâs always in style.â That can be taken literally, as the namesake is a friendâs feline.
And opening the album is âThank You,â an upbeat and heartfelt message to a special person: âLittle things in my life, they all come from you/Itâs like youâre there, youâre there, in everything I do.â
The breakup song âGoodbyeâ would seem to be an appropriate way to wind up proceedings, but Snyder decided to mix it up again with âStagger Leeâ as the closing track, his piano pounding away to actual audience sounds from a Corbin/Hanner concert.
Thus concludes âRainy Afternoon.â
âI had a good time putting it together, and after all this time, I wanted everything to be right. I probably spent a little more time than I shouldâve,â Snyder said. âI havenât really released it formally yet, because I want to go out and do a release party.â
Despite COVID-19 delaying such festivities, the album is available for preorder, and fans and fellow musicians apparently were paying attention when he starting spreading the word about âRainy Afternoonâ on social media.
âThe studio went crazy after that,â he said. âAll my old clients came out of the woodwork.â
Albey Road Studio, he calls it, after a nickname bestowed upon him. Any resemblance to the London venue where a certain quartet used to record is coincidental.
For more information, visit www.alsnydermusic.com.