Tales of a Traveling Troubadour

"Taking to the road was always the intention," Snyder explains. "I booked myself around the country — bars, coffee shops, music venues, colleges, college dorm rooms — on some sort of seasonal cycle, leaving breathing room for exploration of the country, of regional music scenes, [and] of life at large."

The time spent traveling provided endless inspiration. "I never really felt alone on the road," he says. "I was always surrounded by friends, old and new. The solitude of driving so much, for that long with only your thoughts, weary CD collection, NPR, and Christian radio when the NPR signal fades, can be psychologically strenuous. But I thoroughly love it."

Michael Brodt

Details

Friday, July 25, at Chocolate Moose Music Café, 9118 State Rd. 84, Davie. 9 p.m. $5. Call 954-474-5040, or visit www.chocolatemoosecafe.com.

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More About

• Shawn Snyder
• Harvard University
• Cooper City
• Higher Education
• Colleges and Universities

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For the time being, however, Snyder is back home in Cooper City. He recently released his second album, Romantic's Requiem, a collection of soulful, introspective ballads and narratives culled from the experiences and encounters he gleaned from his journey, both physical and emotional. "I'm perpetually writing in one capacity or another but don't tend to complete too many songs while on the road," Snyder says.

Snyder's poetic perspective informs his outlook and his ambitions. It's what carries him forward and makes him the strong songwriter that he is. "The stringing together of these seemingly irrational decisions appears to be my M.O.," he concedes. "It's my grand experiment. Having studied religion is just another bead in the necklace. I guess I'm putting my studies to work in pursuit of my own vocation. There's a faith that it'll amount to something — or at least make for a beautiful journey and a damned good story."