Snowden was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band fronted by musician and songwriter Jordan Jeffares. The name is inspired by Snowden, a fictional character from the novel ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

'' by

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

History

Snowden started out in Jeffares' bedroom, where he recorded demos. These demos impressed Jeffares' brother Preston Craig, who then introduced other musicians to Jeffares, thus beginning Snowden. Snowden self released The Snowden EP, which was received with immense local success. They landed spots opening for groups such as

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (sometimes abbreviated to CYHSY) is the musical project of American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Alec Ounsworth, active since the early 2000s in and out of Philadelphia. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have rel ...

, and

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...

. In 2006, Jade Tree signed the band and released their debut album ''

Anti-Anti ''Anti-Anti'' is the debut album by the band Snowden. Some tracks on this album are also on '' The Snowden EP''. Track listing # "Like Bullets" # "Anti-Anti" # "My Murmuring Darling" # "Filler Is Wasted" # "Black Eyes" # "Between the Rent and ...

''. The album gained immediate attention, as evidenced by its making the "most blogged" band on the Internet according to elbo.ws and getting airplay by

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

(BBC). In 2007, the band released videos for "Like Bullets" and "Anti-Anti" and made radio appearances around the country. They recorded special features for Comcast, AOL/Spin, and had a concert at Manhattan's

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

(recorded November 2006) released on DVD by Baeble Music. In addition, they embarked upon a full US tour opening for

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...

, and were invited to open several European dates as well. On March 25, 2010, Snowden released the ''Slow Soft Syrup'' EP as a free download online.myspace.com
Accessed March 15, 2010 The five track EP is a WIP preview of songs from the forthcoming full length follow up to

to be released on the Serpents & Snakes label, with whom the band signed in August 2011. The band suddenly achieved attention in 2013 due to media coverage of

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

. Jeffares, however, has claimed it has made little difference to their popularity.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' 2006

Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washingto ...

* ''No One In Control'' 2013 Serpents and Snakes Records

EPs

* '' Snowden EP'' 2005 * ''Black Eyes 7"'' 2005 Stick Figure Distribution * ''

Licorice EP ''Licorice EP'' is Snowden's third release, and was released in 2005. It contains songs about Christmas. "White Christmas" and "Christmas Time is Here" are traditional songs. The second track, "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" is a cover of a song ...

'' 2005 * ''Fuel of the Celebration'' 2007 * ''Slow Soft Syrup EP'' 2010

References

External links

* * Snowden at Allmusic.com
Soundcrank Podcast Hosted by Snowden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden Indie rock musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Jade Tree (record label) artists Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from Atlanta