Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tropicalismo

Chris Braciszewski’s alter ego is Snuffaluffagus, based on a large wooly mammoth that lived in the imagination of Sesame Street’s Big Bird. It also happens to be the name of Braciszewski’s collaborative music project.

“I’m sure the name is copyrighted,” he says. “Our claim to individuality with the name is the spelling.” (For the record, the Sesame Street character’s name is spelled Snuffleupagus.)

“I don’t know if that’s copyright infringement or not. When I was going over band names, that’s not something that was on my mind at the time. But,” he says, “the name fit.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

In speaking with Braciszewski, one senses that he is in close contact with his inner child. Aminals, Snuffy’s 2008 release, came with a coloring book. A childlike imaginative state, Braciszewski says, is something that he has tried to maintain all of his life. He talks about how children perceive differently than adults. “That [difference] was something I wanted to re-create musically and artistically.”

Snuffaluffagus, an experimental-folk venture, began as a home-studio project that in time came to include several musicians across the country. Because of this, Brazilian Wood Poetry, Snuffy’s new CD, was recorded in different studios from San Francisco to New York.

There is a Brazilian Samba feel to the new work along the lines of Jobim, colored with a psychedelic influence. It has been said that after listening, one may want to levitate. The rhythms are distinct and the melodies are sweet, but Brazilian Wood Poetry is informed by the political ethic of the Tropicalismo movement of late-1960s Brazil.

Brazilian artists at the time banded together to protest government control of the arts, says Braciszewski. “It was pretty unfair to the people of the country. Politically, it was about what you can and can’t do.”

But, Latin American politics are a far cry from the inventive, imaginary states of a child, no?

“I don’t know. A friend of mine referred this book to me that got me interested. It was an era of music when, like, Astrid Gilberto, Stan Getz, and such had been more popular, and that made me look deeper into the artists at that time who were bigger and making a statement.”

Braciszewski says that inspired him to make an album about the Tropicalismo movement.

“I think it was a logical next step.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam band

Fans turn out in force for show at SDSU

Chris Braciszewski’s alter ego is Snuffaluffagus, based on a large wooly mammoth that lived in the imagination of Sesame Street’s Big Bird. It also happens to be the name of Braciszewski’s collaborative music project.

“I’m sure the name is copyrighted,” he says. “Our claim to individuality with the name is the spelling.” (For the record, the Sesame Street character’s name is spelled Snuffleupagus.)

“I don’t know if that’s copyright infringement or not. When I was going over band names, that’s not something that was on my mind at the time. But,” he says, “the name fit.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

In speaking with Braciszewski, one senses that he is in close contact with his inner child. Aminals, Snuffy’s 2008 release, came with a coloring book. A childlike imaginative state, Braciszewski says, is something that he has tried to maintain all of his life. He talks about how children perceive differently than adults. “That [difference] was something I wanted to re-create musically and artistically.”

Snuffaluffagus, an experimental-folk venture, began as a home-studio project that in time came to include several musicians across the country. Because of this, Brazilian Wood Poetry, Snuffy’s new CD, was recorded in different studios from San Francisco to New York.

There is a Brazilian Samba feel to the new work along the lines of Jobim, colored with a psychedelic influence. It has been said that after listening, one may want to levitate. The rhythms are distinct and the melodies are sweet, but Brazilian Wood Poetry is informed by the political ethic of the Tropicalismo movement of late-1960s Brazil.

Brazilian artists at the time banded together to protest government control of the arts, says Braciszewski. “It was pretty unfair to the people of the country. Politically, it was about what you can and can’t do.”

But, Latin American politics are a far cry from the inventive, imaginary states of a child, no?

“I don’t know. A friend of mine referred this book to me that got me interested. It was an era of music when, like, Astrid Gilberto, Stan Getz, and such had been more popular, and that made me look deeper into the artists at that time who were bigger and making a statement.”

Braciszewski says that inspired him to make an album about the Tropicalismo movement.

“I think it was a logical next step.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”
Next Article

Morricone Youth, Berkley Hart, Dark Entities, Black Heart Procession, Monsters Of Hip-Hop

Live movie soundtracks, birthdays and more in Balboa Park, Grantville, Oceanside, Little Italy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader