Feature

On Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Monsoon’s, one of Austin’s most beloved musical acts will hit Mobile in the form of The Bob Schneider Band. Even though this will be Bob’s first time in Mobile, he has already gathered quite a fan base, and when I spoke with him he seemed quite excited to experience both Mobile and Mardi Gras.

SC: Lately, I’ve been talking to several different people about the Austin music scene. What was it like for you coming up in that music scene?

BS: It was great! It’s got a rich history of a really wide variety of bands that I’ve seen up here. I’ve seen some really great punk bands, really great hip-hop bands, some great experimental/alternative bands. I saw a guy copulate one night with a decapitated goat head on stage. (Laughing) I’ve seen some things in Austin that I don’t think you can see in other places. I don’t think there’s as much of a competitive vibe as there is in New York or Chicago or places where people are really hustling to get a deal. The musicians here are a really cool, laid back, open-minded community.

SC: I’ve been hearing that you’re on fire when you get out on stage. What’s going on in your head when you get out there in front of an audience?

BS: There’s no telling really. At first, I’m a little terrified. Usually, I just go with the flow and check out the audience to see what they’re vibing on. I’ve been doing it now for awhile – playing professionally for 15 years and playing solo now for about six. I usually can pick up on the vibe of the audience, and I try to go with that. If they’re wild and crazy and out of control, then I’ll be wild and crazy and out of control. If they’re quietly listening, then I’ll give them something to listen to.

SC: You’ve have all kinds of other projects as well, like The Scabs and Bob’s Texas Bluegrass Massacre. Which do you prefer?

BS: My favorite thing to do is play with The Bob Schneider Band. That seems to give me the most gratifying experience. I can do what I want. I can do The Scabs stuff; I can do the Texas Bluegrass Massacre stuff. With Bob Schneider, it’s everything. With the other groups, I’m more specific, and I have to stick to the parameters of those groups.

SC: You scored Rafael Gayol of The BoDeans as your drummer. How did you hook up with him?

BS: I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I know the drummer that I had (he’s a great drummer) had an offer to go overseas to Europe for three weeks, and Rafael was available. So, we used Raf. Once he got in there and started playing with us, he’s such a solid drummer. He’s been with us now for two-and-a-half years.

SC: From listening to your song commentary on your Web site, it seems as if you spontaneously create music. How did you hone that skill?

BS: I don’t know if you can hone your songwriting skills. I think you can get better at recording your songs and playing music or playing your instrument. As far as writing songs, I don’t think you can get that much better. I think when you first start writing songs, anything that you write you’re excited about because you’ve never written anything. There are periods that you go through the first three or four years. You might be writing a bunch of crap and not realizing it. You’re just so excited that you’re writing anything at all.

You know, like when you first start drawing when you’re a little kid. I think after you get your balance and you start looking at things realistically as a songwriter, you can’t get any better as a songwriter. It’s just a matter of how aware you are of living your life and how much living you’re doing. If you’re living a full life, and you’re really open-minded when it comes to experiencing things, then you’re going to keep writing great songs.

SC: I don’t know if you’ll answer this, but my curiosity if killing me. You claim that you THINK that you’ve been banned from the Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis. What’s the story behind that?

BS: It was purely a political thing. There were a couple of factors involved. The first year we played the Basilica Block Party, we were very warmly received. I think because of that, we garnered an instant crowd in Minneapolis, which is one of our most popular cities to play.

So, when they asked us to play again, somebody at the local newspaper wrote an article about me and was talking about my side project The Scabs and some of the songs that are The Scabs. Of course, we (The Scabs) wouldn’t play at the Basilica Block Party; it’s not appropriate because it’s a family show. I don’t do anything inappropriate for a family audience. I do perform some songs from The Scabs AND Bob Schneider. Some of the songs I do with Bob Schneider are just as raunchy as the songs I do with The Scabs, but I do it at club where you have to be 21 or 18 to get in.

It was in this article, and a higher-up from a political organization/church saw the article and read it, then put pressure on the guy who was putting the Basilica Block Party together (He’s a priest) to have us not play it. We met with him, and I liked the guy. He obviously had some political agenda, and like the bishop’s sister read the article and was like, “Oh, we can’t have this guy play the block party.”

SC: See, that just blows my mind because I’ve been to Minneapolis, and it’s one of the most liberal cities in the world.

BS: No, it really is. Like I said, I do all kinds of stuff when I play the shows, and they love it there. I mean, they love it all over. Some of the raunchier stuff I do is not for everybody, but Minneapolis is not one of those places that I visit and watch my language on stage.

SC: So, what’s next for the Bob Schneider Band?

BS: Well, we’ve got an album coming out in a month and half. We’re just touring and building up our fan base. We’re doing it the old fashion way by touring the country. Every time we do, new people come to the shows. That’s how we make our fans.

People come to the shows, they get hooked on it and then they bring their friends. I get a small amount of radio play. Mostly, it’s just word of mouth, or people downloading or buying my music. It’s just a slow process; we’ve been touring since 2001. We’ve never played Mobile. Is it MO-bile or Mo-BILE?

I never met anyone from Alabama that I didn’t like

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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