Getting to Know… Brett Schieber | Interview 🎤

On our 232^nd interview in our Getting to Know… series, we get great insight from Brett Schieber, who speaks about his intriguing “rock & soul” project.

“Y

ou’re starting off with a difficult question!” 🎙 Brett Schieber exclaims on the very first question from our 232^nd Q&A.  Sigh, admittedly, here at The Musical Hype, we LOVE those burning questions!  He does provide a respectable answer: “All I can really say is that my music and lyrics are honest and genuine.” We’ll take it, Brett, we’ll take it! In this intriguing interview, Schieber provides the inside scoop on his “rock & soul” project, background, influences, and of course, his current and future musical endeavors.  Rather than expounding more on this introductory paragraph, why don’t we just drop the interview? Without further ado, here is 🎤 Getting to Know… Brett Schieber: Interview No. 232!  

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Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes you distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 You’re starting off with a difficult question! All I can really say is that my music and lyrics are honest and genuine.  My new “rock & soul” project, where I’m getting a different singer for each song, is unique, I believe, because it’s a true blend of pop/rock/R&B. 

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Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did this “rock & soul” project begin, and what were some of the goals or the visions you had early on?

🎤 The vision I have for this “rock & soul” project is to make it like a contemporary Hall & Oates, blending classic instrumentation with contemporary production.  However, it’s not about looking back and trying to be retro, it’s about looking forward and being influenced by the classics. 

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Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 I never had ambitions to be “famous,” even as a kid when I was first starting.  My only goal has always been to write good and meaningful music and to have a career doing that.  That’s still my same goal today. 

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Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 I generally fall toward the classics.  Here are a few:

Hall & Oates – For the uninitiated, if you dig into their deep catalog, you’ll find that they did so much genre-hopping and did all of it incredibly well. 

The Beatles – This one is obvious, right?  They changed the world, and their music is still as important today, as ever. 

Duran Duran – They are so unique.  Their obtuse lyrics, blending of guitar and electronics, and their presence, are just second to none. 

There are so many others, like Prince, Tears for Fears, Isley Brothers, Bee Gees, Kool and the Gang, INXS, Jump Little Children, etc. 

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Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

🎤 Maybe this isn’t the craziest, but it was different:  One time at a small acoustic gig at a coffee shop, a disheveled older guy sat at a table by himself with a bunch of metal coat hangers.  I never noticed him looking up or paying attention to my set at all.  He just sat there, with his head down, intently fiddling with the hangers.  Then, at the end of my show, he approached me, without saying anything, glanced up for a quick second, and gave me this amazing thing he made.  It was one metal coat hanger bent perfectly into my first name in cursive, with a shape of a guitar in the middle, and it stands up on the hook part as its base.  It is one coat hanger, and it wasn’t cut at all – just bent all into these shapes somehow.  I still don’t understand the physics of how he made it and I still have it on top of one of my studio monitors today!  Anyway, when he gave it to me, I was shocked and thanked him, but he didn’t speak and averted eye contact.  He then just turned and walked away.  It was odd but really cool, and I hope he knows how much I really like it! 

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Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 Wow, that’s really impossible to answer.  I really can’t say because they all really mean something important to me.  However, I suppose I should say that it’s my latest single, 🎵 “Seasons Change (My Summer Flame)”.  It’s the second single from my new “rock & soul” project and I was lucky enough to get a really cool singer named 🎙 Témi to sing on it.  He made the song infinitely better with his smooth vocals and I’m really proud of it. 

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Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?  

🎤 Pretty much everything I do is music related.  I don’t have any other secret skills, I don’t think!  However, I do many musical projects: My personal solo music, educational music for kids under the name of 🎙 Mark D. Pencil, I’m ½ of an artsy trip-hop duo named 🎙 Arcanum, I do quite a bit of session work on other people’s songs, and I also have this new “rock & soul” project that I’m very excited about! 

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Closing things out, what are you currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

🎤 As I mentioned, I am involved in several ongoing different musical projects – all with future releases.  However, my main focus right now is on this new “rock & soul” one.  I plan on self-releasing more of these singles, with different featured singers, soon.  I’m very excited about it. 

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Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.   

🎤 Thank you very much!

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🎤 Getting to Know… Brett Schieber: Interview No. 232 [📷: Brett Schieber, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype]

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