Four years after arriving stateside to call the Rock Hall City home, Birmingham, England native Guy Snowdon and his band the Citizens are readying the release of two new singles.
The British Invasion-influenced tracks — “The Hammer Falls” and “Runaway” — signify the debut work of Guy Snowdon & The Citizens, which includes the singer and bassist, as well as Billy Brock (keys), Tyler Ray (guitar) and Zachary LeFeber (drums).
“‘The Hammer Falls’ is just a good heavy-hitting rock song with a big guitar riff and big vocals,” said Cleveland Heights resident Snowdon, who moved from the U.K. to Ohio when his wife received a promotion. “This is what this band is — I like to call it an Anglo-American kind of feel.
“Obviously, I write in an English way. That’s what I’ve grown up with, and the rest of the members bring their American influences. ‘The Hammer Falls’ finishes with this big Allman Bros. style guitar finish, while ‘Runaway’ is faster-paced. It’s just a good rock song.”
The band spent the last month recording the material in Snowdon’s basement studio, with the singer also wearing the producer hat.
“I like to record in a very analog way, but obviously nowadays with technology it’s all digital,” Snowdon said. “If I could cut and splice tape, I would. To me, recording got to be a natural fit.”
The frontman is excited the new songs were actually mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, which he said means his voice was pushed through the iconic sound board.
While this is technically the artist’s first experience inside of the venue, he did nearly 15 years ago on the way to see The Who at Hyde Park create a memory — for the wrong reason — at the famous Beatles crosswalk.
“The ironic thing about it is my guitarist at the time and I wanted to obviously get a photo across the zebra crossing,” Snowdon said. “He was adamant that the crossing was a specific (crosswalk). I said, ‘No, it’s this one. You can see the angle of the road, it kind of bends around.’
“So we have this great picture of me and my guitarist walking across the wrong zebra crossing at Abbey Road.”
Nevertheless, things worked out for the singer-songwriter, who, when he’s not working as a successful freelancer producing and recording other artists is working on the upcoming Guy Snowdon & the Citizens debut full-length album due out this summer.
In the meantime, the band members were hoping to play some local gigs to support the project; however, the coronavirus pandemic has, well, changed their plans. Still, Snowdon will be ready once venues start booking.
“It is an interesting time, but the show must go on,” Snowdon said.