Review Fix Exclusive: Edge of Free’s Scott Sneddon’s Talks New Album And More

Review Fix chats with Edge of Free’s Scott Sneddon, who talks about the band’s origin, influences and goals for the rest of the year. Inspired by some of the most unique and successful groups of all-time, they’ve got just as unique a sound of their own.

About Edge of Free:

Edge Of Free is modern rock with a combination of acoustic riffs, heavy guitars and heart-felt lyrics that are both melodic and hard-hitting.  Their songs of addiction, love, loss, and survival, are delivered with the passion that can only come from someone who has lived it.  Produced by Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, Tantric, Metallica) Edge Of Free’s debut, self-titled album is an intimate collection of honest songs powered by guitarist John Hussey’s dynamic music and singer Scott Sneddon’s dark melodies, soaring choruses, and gut-wrenching lyrics about depression, drug addiction and recovery.

With disarming honesty, songs like “Blood Eagle,” “Pushin’ The Needle,” and first single “Pony,” the listener can hear and almost experience the tumble into depression and other struggles that Sneddon faced as they frequently reveal themselves in the tone and lyrical content of the record.

For More on Edge of Free, Click Here.

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Scott Sneddon: John and I are longtime friends and we previously collaborated and ran into each other while playing in different bands. During a visit in 2011, I starting singing over some new music he had written – this was sitting on his front porch in Nashville – and there was this chemistry that was undeniable. I said “let’s make a record” and he pointed his gun at me; looked at me like I was crazy…I am, but we did it anyway! We hooked up with Steve, Chris, and Toby through mutual friends and industry folks who passed our demos around Nashville.

John and I are the core and write all of the songs…I feel most inspired writing vocals (lyrics and melodies/harmonies) to his bed of music. We both naturally started playing this aggressive, acoustic style from the start and we didn’t hear anything out there like it so it is a unique voice for us. John started sending me new music ideas as he finished them in his home studio, and I would write and record vocals in my home studio – which at first consisted of just an iPhone on “record” via Voice Memos and an open kitchen to belt – and I would send the idea back. Once we had about 10 more of these we knew we were on to something!

Review Fix: What bands inspire you guys?

Sneddon: Led Zeppelin, Chris Cornell/Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, James Brown, Neil Young/CSN, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Queen, Joe Walsh, Jack White, Eagles….to name just a few. A few new bands like Rival Sons seem to be carrying the torch and fall into our wheelhouse. John leans more toward pop than I do, while I am a Black Sabbath child.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you before?

Sneddon: Lately we’ve actually heard people say we sound like Led Zeppelin with Chris Cornell singing…and I think that’s probably as good as any simplistic comparison…and damn if we could live up to that I’d be a happy camper on the Silk Road! We’re not a straight-forward “hard rock” band…we don’t follow the Nickelback formula either. The vocals can get “heavy” as you might hear in Soundgarden or Alice In Chains, but we’re just as likely to be stripped down to a soft vocal with acoustic guitar only, as in Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”

Many of our songs would fit nicely between Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” and Neil Young’s “Old Man” – we don’t rely on electric guitars, but use acoustic guitars in a really aggressive style for a syncopated, whispy sound. We are heavy in terms of emotion, but not in terms of the tools we use. Lately John’s been sending me some heavier rockin’ tunes…HEAVY ACOUSTIC…if ya will!

Review Fix: What’s the tone of this album?

Sneddon: The tone is moody and relatively dark – much of it contemplative and intimate in the verses building up to a wailing chorus of release. The album deals with some dark aspects of the human experience and in this first effort I chased the demons first, hence the belting in the choruses…a lot of pent up energy!

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this album?

Sneddon: I learned that I’m not as tough as I thought I was. I pictured myself as this really heavy guy…invulnerable, LOL, and I wrote something totally different! I’m told I get pretty intense, but so much of what I write is simply wanting to connect with something and feel like I belong. I did discover a broader range of emotion in my voice and grew significantly over the course of writing and recording this album.

Review Fix: What makes PONY a special track? How was it written?

Sneddon: “Pony” is actually one of the first songs John and I ever wrote together! It started with an acoustic riff John had and I took that and mused about my experiences in Nashville. Later, we added drums and bass, but against the punchy acoustic we had to find a groove, so we set them at half-time and hearing that juxtaposition is what caught my ear. I always liked the quirky title, the play on words of finding your own path, but also the literal concept of taking off with someone you fall in love with.

The story is a reminiscing of some very hard times I went through during a year when I lived in Nashville.  I had an…experience…with someone at that time.  I was deeply depressed, and alone, alcoholic, and living in this really old, sparse, cold upper-attic of an old Victorian house in East Nashville.  I paid $150 per month in rent, but it had no heat.  I ran into this girl – skated more like, because we were roller blading in the park – and I fell in love about 5 minutes later. The first night we hung out, we knew nothing about each other…turned out we were playing a show together in six weeks! Still, I expected to be kicked to the street because too-good-to-be-true usually is, but sometimes you get to live the fantasy for a while…and this is where in the second verse, the line “Fable came to fortune,” comes into play – it really did in a sense.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Toby Wright?

Sneddon: Working with Toby was pure joy every single second – ha! Ok…bullshit, but Toby is a straight-shooter and making an album like this – that isn’t just filler for an existing career, but really needs to kill out of the box with something unique – requires pushing people beyond where they’re comfortable, along with a strong dose of honesty! There was nothing intimidating interacting with Toby, he definitely expects a certain caliber….but, there’s so much we have in common it seemed like we had always been doing this together.

That said…when I cut my first vocal in front of him, in an unfamiliar studio, knowing he’s heard the greats – Layne Staley comes to mind #1, as I was singing into the same mic Toby had built for Layne during “Jar of Flies” – yeah…I felt for sure that this is the real deal and you either give it all and deliver, or pack your shit up and acknowledge you’re not really supposed to be there. Top that off with Toby’s rule of not being a “fan” – meaning he’s not going to pat you on the back about how great you are before telling you the truth – and it was a little intimidating in some respects, but the end result speaks for itself and I would do it the same way in a heartbeat!

Review Fix: In a perfect world, if you could open up for any band, who would it be? Why?

Sneddon: Temple of the Dog. It is the music I feel closest too…the singing is real…though I’d be scared to death in the face of such greatness! Stone Temple Pilots is one I think we could actually all play together and have a great time!

As long as the world is perfect…uh, how about Led Zeppelin? (Yep, that’s why…be cuz).

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Sneddon: Keep writing, because that never stops and is the sustenance that drives all else, but we need to reach people, and live shows to the greatest extent possible with massive radio airplay are all in the plan!

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Sneddon: This is something we do and will continue to do out of necessity…there’s something healthy about constantly creating from the heart. We are much more than our music, however, and we have found a way to live and love life that includes making this music. From mountain biking, skydiving, astrophysics, to understanding the emotional swirl humans exist in….life is great and it’s only here once. Come and share some of it with us if you would?