Artist Information
Biography
All true artists are builders. Brick by brick, they assemble a career, building their craft, amassing their stories, growing their fan base. Talented Boston songwriter Rich Schroder is himself a builder. He’s been honing his craft since age 14, when he initially set out on his rock and roll apprenticeship. Today, his band experience on hold, Schroder has moved into the next phase of his career. "I’d been playing in rock bands for the last ten years,” he explains, “but after my last go around I needed a change.” After taking a breather from performing to build a successful business, Schroder returned to his first love, this time as a singer-songwriter. He found a great sounding acoustic guitar and began writing anew. “Originally, I was looking for a stripped-down way to express myself, and found it in the singer-songwriter tradition. I set out to write this record with that tradition in mind, creating characters and story lines that expressed my experiences.”
On Your Kind Words, his debut album as a solo artist, Schroder demonstrates a flair for evocative entertainment as he makes his way through a generous handful of literate and colorful stories. It is this flair and his enthusiasm for songwriting that have served as two critical building blocks of his burgeoning career.
Over the past year Schroder has been sharpening his trade every Friday night at a neighborhood bar in South Boston, working the crowd as he works on his songs. They’ve come to know him, mainly through his songs—they’re all on a first name basis—and they love his material. “It’s great to have a connection with people,” Schroder says, acknowledging the impact this residency has had on his career. “It means everything to me to have a receptive audience.” Your Kind Words emerges from this intimate connection, as well as the artist’s outsized songwriting ambition.
The recording comes primarily from the classic storytelling traditions of the great songwriters: Guthrie, Young, Dylan, Springsteen, and most recently reflected in contemporary writers like Ellis Paul and Ryan Adams. “Father Jones,” for example, fixes a cold gaze on the sex abuse scandals of the Catholic Church. “Never Happen Again” explores domestic violence, while “Me and Cousin Willy” is a careening getaway car of a tune, marked by violence and murder.
Not to be too monochromatic, Schroder proves he can write with humor and pathos as well. “Retail Therapy” is biting social commentary on American consumer culture, (Key lyric: “Are you happy or do you want more? Can you find what you are looking for?”) “Hillbilly Makeover” riffs on the country’s obsession with reality TV, and “(Sorry That I’m Not) The Home Depot Type” is a candid ode to the common man. “We worked really hard on the lyrics to these songs,” says Schroder, the “we” referring to he and his musical collaborator/producer Ross Adams (Vance Gilbert, Bo Diddley, Mark Sandman). “We focused on character development and rewrote the lyrics to most of these songs dozens of times.”
Due mainly to his father’s career, Schroder has not led a conventional life. Born in New York City the youngest of three children, Schroder's family moved to the Middle East when he was 4. For the next six years, led by his father, an international banker, he moved from one war-torn region to another, living in Beirut, Teheran, and Cameroon. For the young Schroder fun came in unusual ways. “In Beirut I used to collect gun shell casings and make cassette recordings of gunfire outside,” he recalls. He also began writing plays and stories. Eventually, that way of life became too violent for the family. They moved to Boston, where Schroder found himself lagging both socially and academically. “I’ve always had to overcome things and try to catch up,” he admits.
When he was just 14, Schroder became interested in music and formed a rock band in the Boston area with some high school friends. They started out with the classics—Zeppelin, Beatles, the Stones—and then moved on to original material. While that band broke up, as did the next handful of bands, Schroder’s dream kept growing, and so did his abilities as a guitarist and singer. He played music through college and grad school, eventually forming, Zen Lunatic, his first recording act. They’d go on to make a couple of CDs and tour nationally, nearly breaking through to the big time. But no one wanted it as badly as Schroder. “I don’t want to make it sound disappointing, I learned a lot in that band,” he says. “But like many bands that break up, in the end, everyone wanted something different out of the music.”
Rich then took a temporary leave of absence from the music business to make use of his MBA. “It was the first time in 10 years that I didn’t have a band to make music with,” he says. “I really had to take stock and decide what I wanted to do.” When his business ran its course, he found a Santa Cruz acoustic guitar and started putting pen to musical paper.
It was at that time he called upon his mentor and former music teacher Adams for motivation. “When I got together with Ross everything really clicked. He convinced me to work on developing strong story lines, then editing the hell out of the lyrics,” he says. At the same time he began studying with Ross’ wife, Diana Thompson, a vocal coach. At their urging Rich launched his career as an acoustic singer-songwriter. It didn’t take long to get off the ground. In 2005, he won finalist positions in both VH-1’s “Song of the Year” songwriting competition and "The UNISONG International Songwriting Contest,” both prizes an indication of Schroder’s natural gifts. Your Kind Words is Schroder’s impressive introduction to a national audience, and a new cornerstone of his artistry.
“I’m happy to say that this album is my best work both musically and lyrically,” says Schroder, driven and amiable. That’s something the folks in South Boston would have to agree with. And it’s what Schroder’s been building towards since his first steps as a musician. Much has happened in his lifetime—travels, tribulations, hurdles, and success. But in that time Schroder has also transformed himself into an important and noteworthy songwriter, something a single listen to Your Kind Words will prove.
Instrumentation
Rich Schroder - Singer / Songwriter / Guitarist
Discography
Your Kind Words - Full Length Album 2006
Video
Press
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Review
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"Songwriting that recalls Paul Simon at times, Boston-based Rich Schroder knows that his gift is gol...
Setlist
1 hour of original material is a typical set.
Also can play covers:
Song List
1. AC/DC: You Shook Me All Night Long
2. Adams, Brian: Summer of 69
3. Adams, Ryan: New York, New York
4. Adams, Ryan: Oh My Sweet Carolina
5. Adams, Ryan: To Be Young Is To Be Sad Is To Be High
6. Adams, Ryan: When The Stars Go Blue
7. Allman Brothers: Ramblin’ Man
8. Band, The: The Weight
9. Beatles, The: A Hard Day’s Night
10. Beatles, The: Help
11. Beatles, The: Tell Me Why
12. Beatles, The: Things We Said Today
13. Beatles, The: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
14. Beatles, The: With A Little Help From My Friends
15. Beatles, The: Yellow Submarine
16. Berry, Chuck: No Particular Place To Go
17. Berry, Chuck: Oh Carol
18. Blink 182: All The Small Things
19. Bon Jovi: Wanted Dead or Alive
20. Brooks, Garth: Friends in Low Places
21. Buffalo Springfield: For What It’s Worth
22. Buffett, Jimmy: Margaritaville
23. Cash, Johnny: Boy Named Sue
24. Cash, Johnny: Folsom Prison Blues
25. Cash, Johnny: Ring Of Fire
26. Clapton, Eric: Before You Accuse Me
27. Clash, The: Should I Stay Or Should I Go
28. Coldplay: Yellow
29. Cooke, Sam: Twisting The Night Away
30. Corrs, The: When The Stars Go Blue
31. Creedence: Fortunate Son
32. Creedence: Have You Ever Seen The Rain
33. Creedence: Proud Mary
34. Creedence: Who’ll Stop The Rain
35. Creedence: CCR Medley
36. Day, Howie: Collide
37. Denver, John: Country Roads
38. Diamond, Neil: I’m a Believer
39. Diamond, Neil: Sweet Caroline
40. Dion: Runaround Sue
41. Droge, Pete: If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)
42. Dylan, Bob: Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance
43. Dylan, Bob: Like A Rolling Stone
44. Dylan, Bob: Tangled Up In Blue
45. Dylan, Bob: Knockin’ on Heavens Doors
46. Eagles, The: Take It Easy
47. Grateful Dead: Friend Of The Devil
48. Green Day: Basket Case
49. Green Day: Time Of Your Life
50. Guns and Roses: Patience
51. Guns and Roses: Used To Love Her
52. Happy Birthday
53. Indigo Girls: Closer To Fine
54. Irish Drinking Song: Black Velvet Band
55. Irish Drinking Song: Dirty Old Town
56. Irish Drinking Song: Southie Is My Hometown
57. Irish Drinking Song: (Charlie and) The MTA Song
58. Irish Drinking Song: Whiskey In The Jar
59. Irish Drinking Song: Wild Rover
60. Jack Johnson: Flake
61. James: Laid
62. Jayhawks: Save It For A Rainy Day
63. Jennings, Waylon: Theme Song From Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys)
64. Joel, Billy: Piano Man
65. Joel, Billy: You May Be Right
66. King, Ben E.: Stand By Me
67. Kingsmen, The: Louie, Louie
68. Lifehouse: You And Me
69. Lynyrd Skynyrd: Freebird
70. Matchbox 20: 3am
71. Mathews, Dave: Where Are You Going
72. Mellencamp, John: Pink Houses
73. Mellencamp, John: Small Town
74. Monkees, The: I’m a Believer
75. Monkees, The: Last Train To Clarksville
76. Morphine: In Spite of Me
77. Morphine: Thursday
78. Nelson, Willie: On The Road Again
79. Night Ranger: Sister Christian
80. Oasis: Wonderwall
81. Pearl Jam: Elderly Woman
82. Petty, Tom: American Girl
83. Petty, Tom: Free Fallin’
84. Petty, Tom: Learning To Fly
85. Petty, Tom: I won’t Back Down
86. Petty, Tom: Walls
87. Petty, Tom: Yer So Bad
88. Phatom Planet: California (The O.C. Soundtrack)
89. Pogues, The: Sunnyside Of The Street
90. Poison: Every Rose Has Its Thorn
91. Presley, Elvis: Blue Suede Shoes
92. Presley, Elvis: Can’t Help Falling In Love
93. Presley, Elvis: Suspicious Minds
94. Ramones: I Wanna Be Sedated
95. Reed, Lou: Sweet Jane
96. R.E.M.: Fall On Me
97. Reverend Horton Heat: Bails of Cocaine
98. Rogers, Kenny: The Gambler
99. Rolling Stones, The: Satisfaction
100. Rolling Stones, The: Under My Thumb
101. Sandler, Adam: Lunch Lady Land
102. Simon, Carly: You’re So Vain
103. Simon, Paul: Me and Julio
104. Simon, Paul: Mrs. Robinson
105. Social Distortion: Ball and Chain
106. Social Distortion: Story of My LIfe
107. Son Volt: Tear Stained Eye
108. Spinal Tap: Gimme Some Money
109. Springsteen, Bruce: Atlantic City
110. Springsteen, Bruce: Born To Run
111. Springsteen, Bruce: Glory Days
112. Springsteen, Bruce: Lucky Town
113. Springsteen, Bruce: Nebraska
114. Standells: Dirty Water
115. Stewart, Rod: Twisting The Night Away
116. Sublime: What I Got
117. Traveling Wilburys: Handle Me With Care
118. Troggs: Wild Thing
119. Tommy Tutone: 8675309 (Jenny)
120. Uncle Tupelo: Give Back The Key To My Heart
121. U2: Angel of Harlem
122. Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl
123. Vega, Suzanne: Luka
124. Violent Femmes: Blister In The Sun
125. Wallflowers: Sixth Avenue Heartache
126. Wilco: Box Full of Letters
127. Wilco: Passenger Side
128. Yorn, Pete: Life On A Chain
129. Young, Neil: Rockin’ In The Free World
130. Young, Neil: Unknown Legend