What started as a friendship between two passionate Reno High School musicians has evolved into a four-piece, world-traveling band that combines acoustic rock, flamenco and world-influenced rhythms into a melting-pot of grooves that have brought many a Tahoe crowd to their feet.

Founded by Tim Snider, a classically trained violinist, and Milton Merlos, a self-taught guitarist, Sol’Jibe was, at first, more of an idea than a band.

“What we wanted to accomplish was to create a band and also a lifestyle that allowed us to travel the world and study different styles of music,” Tim said. “And to fund that, we were hoping to make money as musicians, playing in the States.”

But first they wanted an authentic taste of the flamenco music that both Tim and Milton were interested in.

A musical journey to the south of Spain allowed the two friends to immerse themselves in the flamenco music of the gypsies in the region, and they returned to the States having incorporated the new rhythms into their sound.

Coming back to the Reno area, Tim and Milton kept their eyes and ears open for like-minded musicians to help round out the group, eventually hooking up with percussionist Cody Remaklus and saxophonist Jonathan Phillips, both of whom shared the passion for world travel and musical exploration that is the cornerstone of the band.

The band gigged throughout the Reno/Tahoe area often, building up a fan base curious to see how the group’s sound would evolve. But soon enough, the travel bug bit again, and the whole group took off — this time to Cuba to study traditional Cuban salsa music.

“The Cuba trip was pretty much the most amazing place that any of us had been to in our lives,” said Jonathan.

“That just blew us away,” echoed Tim. “The music that comes out of Cuba, and the musicians and the passion that they have behind it all is insane.”

That the Cuba trip had a big effect on the band is evident in the fact that a number of the songs on their soon-to-be-released CD were written on the trip home. And while everyone in Sol’Jibe agrees on the value of learning different styles of music at the source, Tim explains how their lessons learned translate into the Sol’Jibe sound:

“We’re not purists in any sense. We’re not trying to go somewhere and bring back the style completely. We like to take ideas that we like and fuse those ideas with other ideas. And since we did all grow up listening to rock and hip-hop and whatever, that definitely plays a role too. We like to study in the pure form, but we like to create our own thing.”

And while travel and world music play a huge role in how Sol’Jibe has evolved over the years, starting the band in the Reno area has also had its effects, according to Tim:

“You wonder if things would be different if you grew up in a big city. But I feel really fortunate about growing up here because, number one, when we were first starting, there was a lot more opportunity here for people. In a big-city situation, getting a gig can be impossible. So we had a lot of room for growth here, and I think that was a key thing.

“I love this area as a home base. It’s a great place to come back to. There isn’t as much culture here as in some other places in the world. So that’s kind of been a bummer for us. But, at the same time, it’s also encouraged us to get out there and go to the source.”

Ironically, it’s been the band’s local and regional success that has kept them from taking their next big musical education trip.

“We’ve really been focusing in on creating a home to come back to where we can survive off of doing what we love — playing music,” said Tim.

“Hopefully this month will be a big stepping stone for Sol’Jibe making it where we want to make it. Which, for all of us, is to be able to travel, and to be able to play our music for everyone, and to be financially set,” added Jonathan, noting that the band will be doing a showcase for EMI in Los Angeles in the hopes of getting signed later this month.

Of course, even if that happens, local fans don’t have to worry about losing one of their favorite bands forever.

“We’ve already picked out the house on Tahoe that we want,” joked Jonathan. “I want to be able to live on the lake.”

See www.soljibe.com for even more information on the band, to listen to streaming audio, or to buy CDs.