Техас сазгері Роберт Шнайдер және оның шығармашылығы

the Texas musician
Robert Schneider (born October 12, 1965) is an Austin, Texas based musician and former lead singer of the rock band Ugly Americans. He has recorded and officially released over 20 studio albums and EPs, many on his own Shockorama Records label. He also regularly releases additional demos, live recordings, and other projects through various platforms. His first major record Lonelyland (2001) was licensed through Universal Records, which, along with a subsequent distribution deal through Vanguard Records, made his early releases widely available. Schneider's primary musical style centers on an acoustic singer songwriter presentation, with experimentations in electronic sounds, rock, and other cross genre combinations. He is known to perform live as both a solo act, and also with various musical groups, including his own Lonelyland and Texas Bluegrass Massacre bands, and has developed a reputation for improvisation and audience involvement. He continues to have a long standing Monday night residency at the Saxon Pub in Austin. He is married to Laura Moore Schneider, with whom he has two children, a son and a daughter.

Schneider was born to Robert Sr. and Katie Schneider (an opera singer/musician and teacher respectively) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He was raised with his sister in El Paso, Texas, as well as Munich, Germany, where he moved with his family at the age of 2 so his father could receive vocal training. Schneider later recalled the experience as a marginal existence, stating that his parents "had this big plan, but my dad just didn’t have the voice". He learned guitar and piano at an early age, and often performed at his parents' parties. In 1997, Schneider co founded The Scabs, a funk ensemble that regularly played local Austin venues, and was described as "inspired by The Rugburns (right down to the suits and ties) [with] bawdy show tunes and puerile blues".

In 1999 Schneider was convinced to record and release Songs Sung & Played on Guitar at the Same Time, a short collection of acoustic songs, which inspired him to officially form his own solo act, initially under the name "Lonelyland". Lonelyland went on to become the title of his first major studio album, which sold over 10,000 copies at Waterloo Records alone, and eventually led to a nationwide re release after signing with Universal Records in 2001. The track "Big Blue Sea" in particular received significant radio play, and garnered some national attention. He was eventually dropped by Universal, but went on to record I'm Good Now in 2004, which was distributed by Vanguard Records, garnering further national attention and some critical acclaim. During this time, Schneider began a long running weekly songwriting game with a rotating group of friends (including names like Jason Mraz, Patty Griffin, and Matt Nathanson), which saw him creating many new songs, sometimes at a rate of one per week or more. His contracts with Universal and Vanguard provided him the freedom to develop "side projects" under his Shockorama label, His subsequent albums were all gifted to backers prior to their releases, with Blood and Bones releasing June 8, 2018, In A Roomful Of Blood With A Sleeping Tiger releasing August 27, 2021, and The Human Torch releasing as individual tracks between December 8th and December 31st, 2023. 2023 also saw the release of FAYM, a crowd funded graphic novel with illustrations by Justin Barker, and a story based on Schneider's long time rock opera project of the same name.

Bob Schneider has won 55 Austin Music Awards, to date, for multiple different projects ranging from 1992 to 2017.

Schneider has many unpublished musical projects that, while never officially released, have been made available to fans (either partially or in full) via Patreon and similar platforms. Many more unlisted projects and older demos are simply uncategorized, or grouped under a legacy "Anthology" label.