Earlier this spring, The Hip Snacks took the stage at Cervantes’ Other Side in Denver for a special show in which they performed their second album Out On A Limb in its entirety a month prior to its release. On that evening the group also delivered an animated, funk-forward take on a Journey classic, which showcases the group’s inventiveness and versatility.

Keyboardist Adam Schini affirms the group’s resourcefulness, as he describes The Hip Snacks’ approach to “Separate Ways,” noting, “When we were brainstorming what covers to choose for our secret cover set, Ben’s exact words were, ‘I want the audience to drop their jaws with the covers we’ve chosen.’ The first thing I thought of was ‘Separate Ways’ by Journey because to me, that song captures this massive, epic arena sound of the 80’s, it’s just not the sound of The Hip Snacks so if I was going to convince the band to go for this song I needed to make sure it fit the bill.

“The first step was to change the groove so it makes your body move a little more, using inspiration from New Orleans funk and DC Go-Go. Step 2 was to remove the synthesizer and replace it with an organ, and keeping with the New Orleans feel adding a sax and a trumpet felt almost natural. With the horns covering the melodies that were once played by a synth, and the 80’s rock band replaced by a groove band, the only other change I made was to create a little space in the verses to make room for the lyrics and let the percussion shine, and the coordinated stops help to keep the song driving from start to finish because the drums are highlighted. I re-wrote the guitar solo almost note for note for the horns to play because to me that guitar solo captures the identity of the song, then we unleash the horns and let them go off for a little bit before finishing the song.

“I recorded a rough demo of this using my organ, guitar, and vocals and told the band, ‘This version is so different from the original that the original will not help you practice at all,’ and that is how I convinced an explosive soul band to cover Journey!”

The Hip Snacks released Out On A Limb in late April to positive response and the Colorado-based collective supported the record with an East Coast tour. Additional dates are in the offing over the months to come.