Additional Details

Additional details

Been Together Since: 2000

Sounds Like: Roots rock with a side of blooz.

Members

Kevin "Snit" Fitzpatrick -- vocals, guitar
J.D. DiTullio -- drums
Sam Dunlop -- guitar

MP3S

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Acceptance and Respect

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Bad Situation

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Detroit

Audio Interview

Discography

3 Chords and A Cloud of Dust, 2001
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, 2006

Where To Buy

• iTunes

Review

His name is Kevin Fitzpatrick, but everyone knows him as Snit. As with most nicknames, there's a story that goes along with it, but Snit's story is way more rock 'n' roll than yours, Sparky.

"I was living in New Jersey, and I had a little house out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. We could play our music as loud as we wanted, whenever we wanted. The only thing around was Martin's Liquors. We were into reading things backwards, so people started calling my house Snitram's Palace and they called me Snitram, which was shortened to Snit."

Years have passed, but Snit is still Snit, and he still likes his music loud. Snit's Dog and Pony Show - in which Snit sings with guitarist Sam Dunlop and drummer J.D. DiTullio - plays a few nights a week all over town, in different configurations, with a rotating cast of bass players, with acoustic and electric sets. And tireless energy.

"I don't want to play once a month," he says. "I want to play."

Snit moved to Houston from Atlanta in 1994 and immediately became an integral part of the local music scene as drummer for the very successful and beloved Hollisters.

"[ Hollisters frontman] Mike Barfield called me and said he wanted to form a band. It was great, and it worked for five years. We heard people complain about the music scene here, but we were really happy. I think we're going to do a few dates coming up, some reunion shows. I hope people remember us."

While Snit speaks of fondly of his country-rock days with the Hollisters fondly, when he left the band he knew there was something else he wanted to do.

"I wanted to play more rock 'n' roll," he says.

If you're like most music fans, you'reyou won't realize that many of the songsSnit's Dog and Pony Show's songs play aren't its own. You probably know who Chuck Berry is, but do you know much beyond Johnny B. Goode?

"Most people don't recognize 80 percent of what we do, so it's going to be new to them," Snit says. "To me, a good song is a good song no matter who wrote it. But we rev them up. J.D. is a powerful drummer, he really drives the songs. If you don't have a good drummer, you don't have a good band."

Snit doesn't like to think of himself as a musical historian, but teaching less rock-savvy listeners about performers like Status Quo, Frankie Miller and Rockpile brings him joy.

But it's not all about the classics. Snit peppers his sets with originals, a few of which can be heard on the band's 2001 release 3 Chords and a Cloud of Dust. These are straightforward blues-rock songs about mildly wicked women and the men who get their hearts trampled by them.

Should you ever get too lost at a Snit's Dog and Pony Show gig, yearning to hear something familiar, Snit may oblige. Just be careful what you wish for.

"Every once in a while we'll pull something out that everyone knows. I had an idea for a while to play the cheesiest song I could think of, which was Morning Train by Sheena Easton."

-- Sara Cress | January 20, 2005