Bob Schneider Combines Art and Music in Latest Release

Wonderfully quirky and extremely talented, Austin-based Bob Schneider is not only a gifted singer-songwriter, he is also an accomplished visual artist — his sculptures, paintings, prints and, most recently, collages rivaling the creative genius of his musical compositions. His latest project, The King Kong Suite, capitalizes on Schneider’s aptitude for both. The first EP, Volume 1, of this three-part artistic venture was released last month. The remaining volumes will follow this summer and fall. Each limited edition EP has it’s own sound and incorporates the musician’s art in the packaging and design.

“Well, I wanted to do something a little bit different,” Schneider explained. “Each of the three EPs has its own sort of mood. The first one is kind of somber and pretty low-key, and then the second one is more ‘pop-y’ and then the third one has rap songs on it and even some reggae. Each of them has its own separate vibe.” For the collectors, there will be a combined “deluxe vinyl version with limited edition prints on really nice archival acid-free paper.”

Although Schneider has pursued music as a career since his early 20s, he started out as a fine arts major at the University of Texas at El Paso. “I think I do see myself as an artist, which sounds a little pretentious just saying it,” he laughed. “But really, ever since I was a little boy I was really into art. All I did was draw every second, and I got pretty good at it as a kid and decided pretty early on that that’s what I was going to do. It was only when I went to college and was pursuing a degree that I kind of got sidetracked into music.”

Music, like art, was a part of Schneider’s life from a young age. His father, a professional opera singer, taught him how to play guitar, and Schneider also took piano lessons, but it never occurred to Schneider to make his living that way. “I never thought I’d go into music because that was something my dad did. I was always going to go into art,” Schneider said.

Somewhere along the line, Schneider jumped tracks, dropping out of school to follow a musical path. “It’s real exciting, especially when you’re young and you get a lot of attention, and the lifestyle is real appealing,” he explained. “I found that way more interesting than the art…You can labor over a piece of art for hours and days, whereas you can write a song and go out and play it live and instantly get feedback, so I was really attracted to that.”

After several decades following a musical muse, Schneider is rediscovering his passion for art. “They both take a lot of time, and they both take a lot of creative commitment, so if you’re doing one, you can’t really do the other. It’s not like they really feed each other. You have a limited amount of time. For the last 20 years, I’ve really concentrated on playing music, and it’s only been the last few years that I’ve started to make more art, mainly because I have a kid who’s nine now. When he was three or four, we started doing a lot of art projects together and that got me re-energized. Making art with him and watching him make art, it reawakened that whole thing for me.”

A prolific songwriter, Schneider has forced himself to write a song a week for the past 15 years. Dozens of other songwriters have joined him in what has become an Internet driven “Song Game”, using the pressure of a weekly deadline to hone their craft. “I think like 98% of the songs that I have written on every record since Lonelyland were all written that way,” Schneider commented. “It really forced me to write songs when I didn’t want to write, which is good, because I’m pretty lazy.”

Schneider is playing a string of dates outside of Texas over the next few weeks. He plans to include a mix of old and new material at his upcoming shows, although what exactly that will be is anybody’s guess, including Schneider’s. Apparently, he never writes out a set list. Regardless of the song choice, an evening with this gifted artist is guaranteed to be a memorable one. “I am absolutely terrified of being boring,” Schneider laughed. “So, hopefully, it will be a good show. It will be an entertaining show. It won’t be boring.”