5 Questions With: Expert Timing

The band stop by to discuss their latest record, the Orlando music scene, and That Dog

Expert Timing. Photo courtesy of Expert Timing/Katrina Snyder

Good morning!

Today we’re talking to Orlando Florida based Expert Timing

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I’ve spent a lot of words here lately talking about not just how music consumption has changed but also how that has allowed new music to come from, well, anywhere.

Good music isn’t what first comes to mind when I think of Orlando, Florida. Like most people, it’s Disney. That’s sorta true for me too. As someone who works for an airline in real life, Orlando is synonymous with families sporting matching T-shirts (yes, this is a thing), strollers, and an unholy amount of Cheerios.

And Goldfish. So many Goldfish.

A city built on tourism feels like a place nobody is from. Everyone comes from somewhere else, whether it’s to work for the mouse or chase the sun.

But great music is, in fact, being made in the Sunshine State. Enter Expert Timing, a self-described “Bubblegrunge Power Pop” 4-piece band straight outta Orange County.

Expert Timing was originally a trio with the husband and wife duo of Jeff & Katrina Snyder (bass, guitar, splitting vocal duties) along with Gibran Colbert on drums. Nik Sedella recently joined as a second guitarist to round out the lineup.

Jeff had originally played in bands in his native Pennsylvania (again, from somewhere else). Jeff & Katrina were also previously in Living Decent together. That group split, but they wanted to keep playing, so Expert Timing was born.

We always talk about how to us Florida as a whole feels like 1 big scene. In Orlando we're only 2 hours from Tampa, 2 hours from Gainesville, 2 hours from Jacksonville and a bit more to Miami but I feel like all the scenes and bands sort of just mesh together which actually makes it pretty diverse and wonderful.

I had also assumed that being a musician/artist in Orlando might be constrictive as it can be hard to build a scene with such a transient populace. Katrina corrected that for me, noting that they see the state as one big scene, not the atomized version I’d built in my head.

Their latest record is Stargazing, which you may recognize as one of my Best Of 2022 picks. It’s a fantastic batch of power pop songs sure to have you singing along.

Listen long enough, and you definitely will be able to remember some of the 90s influences gathering dust in your CD case. I found myself struggling to name a band to compare them to.

They sound a little like Letters To Cleo, but that wasn’t who I was trying to remember. Then I read a review comparing them to That Dog, and I was done looking. That was exactly who I was trying to think of. The band appreciated that review, with Katrina noting that she & Jeff “absolutely LOVE That Dog, so it's a huge honor to be compared to them”

I kept that going in my review of the record, noting “Hey Friend” is pop perfection that will have you digging out That Dog’s Retreat From the Sun. The parallels between both bands’ sounds are legion. Stargazing is eleven tracks of self-described “bubble grunge/power pop” that will keep you moving from start to finish.

As for who they think they sound like or have been influenced by, they demurred, saying,

It's tricky to pick bands we sound like since I think we float in between genres sometimes, but we've definitely been compared to The Anniversary a couple of times.

As far as what we think we sound like, I wouldn't say any one band in particular, but I think you can pick up our 90's influences sprinkled with some powerpop like The Format.

Fair enough.

For 2023, the band is again looking to get out on the road, but with costs still rising, those tours will likely be regional & shorter in length. If they’re coming to a town near you, definitely stop by the merch stand, as Katrina makes most of the stuff for the band.

A lot of people go to Orlando to escape where they are. Giving Stargazing a spin can do that for you as well—and you won’t have to deal with going through the TSA line.

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5 Questions

1. Describe your style in one sentence 

Bubblegrunge Power Pop

2. Growing up, what was playing in your house?

Katrina: Beatles and other classic oldies, classical music, and some 90's alternative and comedy albums, thanks to my older brother  

Jeff: A lot of the same stuff as Katrina, and I had a really intense obsession with Metallica in 10th Grade.

3. What are you listening to these days?

Katrina: Pom Pom Squad, Camp Trash, Beach Bunny, Sidney Gish, Bad Bad Hats, The Beths 

Jeff: Fountains of Wayne, Cheem, Thank you I'm Sorry, Madison Cunningham, Fresh

4. What are your 5 Desert Island Discs?

This is a hard question! Ok, Jeff and I combined forces here and came up with this list in no particular order:

1. Dog Problems by The Format

2. Plans by Death Cab for Cutie

3. The Colour & The Shape by Foo Fighters

4. Skylarking by XTC

5. Totally Crushed Out by That Dog
   

5. If you could collaborate with anyone/group, who would it be?

Another tough question! I think one person that we would love to collaborate with is Kevin Devine. He has written so many incredible songs and some of my very favorite lyrics. Honestly, being in the same room to pick his brain about songwriting and guitar sounds would be amazing.

Click the record to listen on your platform of choice.

To connect with the band and purchase their music, please go to:

Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

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Other Reviews

Kiwi Jr.- Chopper

Released on Sub Pop this past August, Chopper feels appropriately summery. There are parts of their previous two records that felt a little undercooked. Not anymore. This is also the record where the band decided to really add synthesizers into the mix, with the results being slightly jangly and kinda Parquet Courts-y.

And with lines like, when they pulled you out of the harbour/ you were holding onto a book/then you shoved your screenplay into my chest and said/“won’t you at least take a look?” kinda Pavement-y.

What’s not to love?

For your playlist: The Sound of Music.

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Launder- Happening

Over the last couple of years, many of us binged Tiger King and tried to make sourdough. John Cudlip got sober and cranked out something like 60 demos. “Happening” might be his first record performing as Launder, but this definitely isn’t his first rodeo.

Happening is a record crammed with 90s-style lo-fi and shoegaze. The ghost of Kevin Shields is everywhere here. That said, this isn’t another case of someone finding Loveless in a crate and trying to imitate it. The sound is clearer, and the spaces are wider.

Rather than the default MBV option, the record reminds me of Cheatahs’ self-titled debut. It can sometimes feel like staring at the sun, sometimes euphoric, and other times messy.

Which is a long way around to say that if you like that more modern shoegaze/dream pop sound, there’s a lot here for you.

For your playlist: Chipper

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Ribbon Stage- Hit With The Most

Ribbon Stage is a band raised on C86, that went to K Records for finishing school. Hit With The Most is a love letter to bands like Beat Happening, with noisy riffs in front and vocals mixed into the back. Singer Anni Hilator (heh) holds her own despite it all. It’s rough around the edges in the best possible way.

That’s not to say it’s bad or the band is lacking; it takes a lot of work to sound this unpolished.

For your playlist: Nowhere Fast

Thoughts on any of these? Any records you’d like to see me review?

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What Was On

For newer readers: Below is a list of records I was able to listen to/stream in full this week. There are often repeats ( I like what I like). There is rarely any rhyme or reason to it all. Some of these came from reader recommendations, which I’m always grateful for. Please keep ‘em coming!

Squalls- Live From the 40 Watt
Camper van Beethoven- Key Lime Pie
Go!- Motion Picture Soundtrack
Stereolab-Peng!
R.E.M.- Murmur
William Tyler- New Vanitas
Bananarama-Masquerade
Streets Of Fire- Motion Picture Soundtrack
Pretty In Pink- Motion Picture Soundtrack
Ecstatic International- EP
50 Ft. Wave- Black Pearl
Throwing Muses- Sun Racket
The Silencers- A Letter From St. Paul
The Pretenders-S/T
Julian Fulco Perron-In My Room
Fun Boy Three- Waiting
Hazel English-Summer Nights EP
The Tisburys-Exile On Main Street
Dramarama-Cinema Verite
Winter-What Kind Of Blue Are You?
Maggie Rogers-Surrender

What have you been listening to?

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B-Sides

Terry Hall of The Specials and Fun Boy Three has passed away.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people posting videos and other tributes to Hall. The Specials’ “Ghost Town” freaked me out as a little kid in the early days of MTV. A few short years later, I couldn't get enough of them. Seems like others had that same experience.

Here’s Damon Albarn playing a beautiful piano version of the Specials’ “Friday Night, Saturday Morning” in tribute.

Speaking of which, has it really been 20 years already?

Photo: NPR.org

A list of lists!

• NPR’s Best Of

• Treblezine’s records of the year

• Pop Matter’s Best Indie records

• Albumism’s writer’s each pick their ten best records

• NYT’s best songs of 2022

Why your favorite band isn’t touring

But in this hypothetical situation — deals vary widely, though this one runs along the lines of what my band gets — the fan didn’t pay $30 for the ticket. The fan paid $42 because Ticketmaster tacks on a substantial ticket fee. So of the $42 a fan spent on a ticket, the artist received $12. And from that $12, the artist needs to pay for touring costs such as lodging, transportation and its own touring crew. Roughly 50 percent of our portion is used for touring expenses — a number that aligns with some artists I spoke to, while others reported having trouble just breaking even. So that leaves $6 for the artist, in our case an eight-piece band. Keep in mind that’s pretax — and we pay for our own health insurance.

A good tweet:

chuuch @ch000ch

hi, grandma? can u come pick me up from my rap battle? it's over. no, i lost. he saw u drop me off & did a pretty devastating rhyme about it

Thanks to Expert Timing for stopping by, and thank you for being here,

Kevin—