Schroder

Schroder
Posted Oct 2, 2008.


Big Smile Magazine: So, how's it going?
Shröder: Its going real good dude. Just soakin up that sweet Cali sun

Big Smile Magazine: What are your guys' names and what do you play in the band?


Shröder: My name is Keith Townsend and I play viola. Adam Ashe, who sings and plays the keyboard. Nick James plays drums and all things percussion. Andrew Kostrna who is our new bass player, and last but not least we have Justin Herigstad our violin player. No guitar dude.

Big Smile Magazine: How does that work with no guitarest? Is not having one out of choice?

Shröder: It's the staple of our sound, the bass and the drums give us all the rhythm we need. The keys kind of act as a rhythm texture.

Big Smile Magazine: Thats very original.


Big Smile Magazine: So, how did you guys start your band?

Shröder: Well it started when Adam moved to Oregon and started playing with a bass player and a drummer, he wrote some string parts for a song that he had already written and asked Justin to play them. That sound just stuck.

*We went through a lot of bass players and drummers before finally solidifying on the lineup, as we kept developing we realized that we were really learning how to work without a guitarist and things just kept moving from there. As a band we work really hard focusing on what we need to do to progress.


Big Smile Magazine: Andrew; what would you say your favorite bands were when growing up, and what are some of your favorite today?

Shröder: My favorite bands growing up was a lot of classic stuff like Zeppelin and Hendrix, Robin Trower a lot of those kind of characters and it has pretty well stuck there. I am a big classic rock fan.

Big Smile Magazine: And I want the truth when I ask all of you guys. I want to know about your obsessions with The Jackson 5, Back Street Boys, and New Kids On The Block. How about you Nick?

Shröder: My dad was actually on tour playing drums with the jackson 5 back in the day.

Big Smile Magazine: Wow, thats amazing!

Shröder: But my favorite bands growing up were people like Tower Of Power, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, and definitely Led Zeppelin. Today some of my favorites are Mars Volta, Incubus, and N. E. R. D.

Big Smile Magazine: Since your dad played drums, did you grow up playing them as well?

Shröder: Yes since I was 6, but I didn't actually delve into them until 5th grade.

Big Smile Magazine: Keith, How about you?

Shröder: My favorite bands growing up had to be whatever my parents were listening to at the time. Bands like Pink Floyd and Queen. I love Queen. Also my mother was a big Wailers fan so I got a lot of them too. Nowadays, I still listen to Bob Marley a lot and other reggae bands like Midnite and Sizzla. I'm really big into Junior Reid as well.

Big Smile Magazine: What is a Viola?

Shröder: It's pretty much like a violin except tuned a 5th lower with a much broader and thicker body, it's the sexy version of violin.
Adam has the smallest nipples in the world by the way.

Big Smile Magazine: Thank you for the small music lesson... and the Adam update.

Shröder: your welcome

Big Smile Magazine: Justin, what were your favorite bands growing up and what are your favorite today?

Shröder: My parents are not really big listeners of music, but they always emphasize the importance of music so I began at a young age. I used to listen to a lot of my brothers music, hardcore stuff like the Used, Atreyu, and other bands like that, but I really got into my own vein of music with Bright Eyes. There were many other bands that followed like Eisley and Copeland. Just alot of stuff along that vein.

Big Smile Magazine: Alright small nippled Adam, what would you say your favorite bands were when growing up, and what are some of your favorite today?

Shröder: My mom always listened to alot of stuff around the house, the first memory of an album that I love is Legend by Bob Marley, then it was the Phantom of the Opera, but a lot of the classics really stuck like the The Beatles and Bob Dylan. I have recently gotten into old soul music. Sam Cooke is a huge influence, as well as Otis Redding, and Ray Charles.
Big Smile Magazine: So, from the sound of it, your guys' biggest influence in the music world would have to be your parents.

Shröder: Yeah, definitely.

Big Smile Magazine: You all seem to like a different array of music. So, how do you all agree on playing the same kind and style of music.

Shröder: I think that the whole idea of our band is having a starting point, which is writing our songs. We try to make each other happy and not follow genre lines which that has its challenges, however, having no guitar helps to separate us from a lot of our influences and we can do what we feel is right for the music.
We aren't like a lot of bands out there. We got together because we all want to make good music, in a broader sense. We didn't get together to play good rock or to play good hip hop we just want to play good music.

Big Smile Magazine: So everyone has an open mind and whatever comes out is Shröder?

Shröder: Exactly! And making albums is definitely a goal of ours, not just collections of a few song but to build a set list a listener can really fall into.

Big Smile Magazine: So you guys have a new CD coming out soon, Gallery of Apples. When can we expect it?

Shröder: Later this month. We don't have an official release date, but we are working hard to get one for everyone. So keep in touch and we will let you



Big Smile Magazine: For your fans, what can they expect from you new CD?

Shröder: Well, if you've followed us you'd understand that we put our live shows together front to back to make the mood cohesive and the energy flow really well. That is what we tried to captured in this record.

Like we said before we work hard and are always progressing so when it came to making this record we had about 6 songs in mind and we wrote around them to create an hour of well rounded music.

Big Smile Magazine: You guys just signed to Wax Crown Music which you'll be releasing your new album, Gallery of Apples, through. How do you like working with them?

Shröder: It has been fantastic, the whole experience is more than we could have hoped for. The guys at Wax Crown have really great hearts for music and definitely put music where it needs to be.

Big Smile Magazine: Thats good to hear. What do you guys think about UFO's?

Shröder: Dude we see them all the time bro. I mean someone else might know what particular plane or helicopter it is but they are all unidentified to us, ya dig.

Big Smile Magazine: Yea I Dig. Are you guys on tour right now?

Shröder: No we are scheduling a spring tour right now, but currently we are just playing a bunch of shows down here in the L.A. area.

Big Smile Magazine: Anything that you would like to say to your fans reading this interview?

Shröder: Just that we are excited to see you all! Whether it's here in L.A. or on tour next spring, keep in touch and we'll see you all soon.

Big Smile Magazine: By the way, where did the name Shröder come from?

Shröder: Shröder is the name of the piano playing Peanuts character, Adam kind of looks like him so we based the name off of that.

Big Smile Magazine: If their was a fight between Flight of the Concords or Tenacious D who do you think would win?

Shröder: Tenacious D for sure, Flight of the Concords has nothing on Jack Black and K.G.

Big Smile Magazine: What do you think of Big Smile Magazine?

Shröder: Well to be honest this is our first real dealing with Big Smile Magazine, but if I were to base my opinion of you all off of this interview then I would say you guys are pretty freakin sweet.


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