The Campbell Reporter

Community

Cosmic Starfish is ready to amaze crowd with his sound

By Emilie Crofton

One-man band Cosmic Starfish, or Jeff Snyder, will perform at Orchard Valley Coffee in downtown Campbell Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.

The singer and songwriter performs a mix of folk and electronic music.

"The music is unique but familiar at the same time," Snyder says.

The L.A. native sings and plays his acoustic guitar with background music consisting of electronic music tracks he composed.

"It's like an advanced karaoke," he says. "I'm trying to incorporate the intimate feeling of folk music with the psychedelic quality of upbeat music."

Snyder incorporates all his musical talents into his performances, which includes playing guitar, base, drums, piano, singing and composing songs on the computer.

He says his odd show name was an accident.

"A friend of mine owns a jewelry store called Space Mermaid, he says. " I accidentally called it Cosmic Starfish one day, and the name has stuck ever since."

Snyder, 32, says the name may have been random, but it is an appropriate title.

"The name is fantastical, lighthearted and reminiscent of the music that I make," Snyder says. "It sounds like a 1960s band name with aspects of the hippie culture that influenced me a lot and that I can identity with."

Snyder played in a number of rock bands and has been composing songs since his youth. He has been performing solo for three years and will release his second album, "Tonight's Flavors," shortly.

Yet fame and fortune are not his motivators.

"I don't need anyone else's' validations to make me feel better about my music," Snyder says. "I just love to play and write music."

Orchard Valley Coffee is located at 340 E. Campbell Ave. For more information, call 408.374. 2115 or visit www.cosmicstarfish.net.