When singer and guitarist Denny Yoints wakes up in the morning, he thinks, “What do I even like about music or playing?” and whatever creative force strikes him he brings to the Midnite Snack. The result might be a pounding post-punk song with scratchy solos and penetrating vocals or a synth-driven number about a freezer and its contents, but whatever it is, Midnite Snack is doing its own thing.
Yoints (formerly of Happy Meal) is coming at Midnite Snack from a musical angle. “I don’t take the fashion part of it first,” he says, and while this would be a hard line to swallow coming from the majority of Santa Cruz’s local Indie bands, from the Snack it’s a little more believable. When other bands are taking themselves too seriously, the Snack is here to have a good time and serve up some tasty tunes for whoever wants to listen, which last Wednesday was a sizable crowd at the Blue Lagoon.
As the headlining act, Midnight Snack came on a little before 12, and during their short set it was evident that the songs and project as a whole are a labor of love. The backup vocals of bass player Dody HaulinSteck and synth player Shaina Elster complemented Yoints’ haunting lead, creating a full sound which enveloped the listener. Drummer Trevor Hope (formerly of the Vox Jaguars) masterfully matched his drumbeats to the variety of different song styles, artfully building up tempos and keeping the beat without overwhelming the often delicate songs.
When asked about the recent release of their first album Soup Samwich, Yoints says it was, “made for Santa Cruz; a fun CD with a sense of humor, mostly inspired by rock and roll and American music.” “I wrote all the Soup Samwich songs being jobless and doing labor and listening to rock and roll,” he continues. But he also says the best is yet to come. There’s another album, Bedtime, in the works, and with the band just hitting its stride and becoming its own musical force, the future looks bright for the Snack.
