Saturday 10/11/2021 8:00 PM
One of Austin’s most celebrated musicians, Bob Schneider, is set to release his new album, Blood and Bones - his 7th studio album since his 2001 solo debut Lonelyland - on June 8th via his Shockorama Records imprint. This Weekend Schneider will be in The Heights at The Heights Theatre on W.19th Street.
Blood and Bones captures Schneider at a unique, and distinct, place. “Most of the songs are about this phase of my life,” he admits. “I’m re-married, I have a 2-year-old baby daughter who was born over two months premature because my wife had life threatening preeclampsia. So dealing with that traumatic event while getting older and looking at death in a realistic, matter of fact way, experiencing the most joy I’ve ever experienced along with feelings of utter despondency in a way that would have been impossible to experience earlier in my life, all comes out in the songs. My relationship with my wife is the longest committed relationship I’ve ever been in, so there was a lot of unchartered territory there to write about.”
The songs on Blood and Bones reflect this. Recorded quickly with producer Dwight Baker, who has worked with Schneider on 6 of his previous releases, the album highlights the chemistry that Schneider and his backing band of Austin’s very best musicians have developed while relentlessly playing live, most notably at the monthly residency Schneider has held at Austin’s Saxon Pub for the last 19 years. “I didn't want to overthink the songs,” Schneider says. “I really respect Dwight’s ability to make great calls when it comes to what works and isn't working when we are recording the songs. I felt pretty good about the quality of the songwriting, so I figured that would come through in the end if we just went in and played them the way I do live.”
While the performance and production are stellar, the songwriting finds Schneider in a particularly reflective mode. Sure, there are live favorites like “Make Drugs Get Money” and “Texaco” that will get even the most reserved crowds dancing. But more often the album finds Schneider reflecting on marriage, parenthood, and mortality. “I wish I could make you see how wonderful everything is most of the time, but I’m only blood and bones,” he sings on the title track, a meditation on the beauty and the limits of marriage. Later, on “Easy,” he tells his daughter “it’s always been a scary thing to do, to let my heart fall down into the endless blue, but it’s easy with you.” Through it all, there is a clear sense of mortality, of just how fleeting all of this is. “The hours and days stack up in the mirror,” he sings on “Hours and Days”. “We’re just snowmen waiting for the summer” he sings on “Snowmen”, before adding “we can’t bring them back, can’t bring nothing back.”
One thing Schneider has excelled at in his career is bringing audiences back. Though he has received little national press or major label support, he has managed to become one of the biggest acts in Austin, if not in Texas. His fans, who often discover him from being brought to his shows by their friends, are fiercely loyal. Many have attended dozens or even hundreds of shows. Thanks to these fans, Schneider has won more Austin Music Awards than any other musician, including Best Songwriter, Best Musician, and Best Male Vocals, rounding in at 54 total awards to date.
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In retrospect, it appears inevitable that Bob Schneider would become an artist. He was born in Michigan and raised in Germany, where his father pursued a career as a professional opera singer. As a boy, Schneider studied piano and guitar, often performing at family parties and backing his father on drums at nightclubs throughout his youth in Germany and Texas.
He went on to study art - his other primary passion and avocation - at the University of Texas El Paso, before moving to Austin and establishing himself as a musician. He performs relentlessly, creates new music compulsively, writes poetry, and regularly shows his visual art in galleries around Austin. With Blood and Bones, Schneider further cements his reputation as one of the most versatile, inventive, and engaging songwriters working today.
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The Heights Theatre
339 W 19th St.
Houston TX 77008
Directions (Map)
214-272-8346
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
2005 Lake Robbins Dr.
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Directions (Map)
Website
The Grand Opera House
in Galveston
2020 Postoffice Street
Galveston, TX 77550
Directions (Map)
Phone: (409) 765-1894
Website
HOB Houston
in GreenStreet
1204 Caroline St.
Houston, TX
(888) 402-5837
Directions (Map)
Website
Houston Arena Theatre
in Arena Towers
7326 Southwest Fwy
Houston, TX 77074
713-772-5900
Directions (Map)
Website
NRG Center
1 NRG Pkwy
Houston, TX
Directions (map)
Website
Warehouse Live
813 St Emanuel St.
Houston, TX
Directions (Map)
(713) 225-5483
Website
The Improv
in Marq-E Entertainment Center
7620 Katy Freeway Space
455 Houston, TX 77024
Directions
Buy tickets over the phone:713-333-8800
Website
Miller Outdoor Theatre
Hermann Park
6000 Hermann Park Dr
Houston, TX 77030
Directions click here
(832) 487-7102
Website
Ayva Center
9371 Richmond Ave.
Houston, TX 77063
Directions (Map)
Phone: (713) 782-2982
Website
The Heights Theatre
339 W 19th St.
Houston TX 77008
Directions (Map)
214-272-8346
Website
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida De Las Americas
Houston, TX 77010
Directions (Map)
Website
White Oak Music Hall
2915 N Main Street
Houston, TX 77009
Directions (Map)
Phone: (713) 237-0370
Website
Bayou Music Center
in Bayou Place
520 Texas Ave
Houston, TX 77002
Directions (Map)
Phone: (713) 230-1600
Website
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