Curt Schneider is a Grammy award winning writer, producer, mixer and musician and has been playing bass at the start of Rod’s current tour of American and Canada, SMILER caught up with Curt as he was just settling in after the first few dates to learn a little more about him.
Hi Curt, welcome back.
Hi, Thank you!
SMILER members will remember you stood in for Conrad Korsch at The Dancing With Stars in 2013 and The Wal-mart shareholders and employees show at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville,.back in 2015 Are you in the band permanently now ?
Yes, Iām not just filling inā¦ Iām part of the band now.
So the obvious first question is was it Rod who asked you to join the band ?
Yeah, Rod left me a nice voice message asking me to join. That was cool to hear.
Emerson has already told me you are excellent , so I guess you already know most of the band?…. They are all mega talented.
This band is really great, everyone is an incredible musician and they are still very inspired to play music each nightā¦that rubs off and keeps it interesting.
Did you listen to any of Rodās music before you had to learn the songs?
Well yeah, I grew up on that musicā¦and over these more recent years I developed even more appreciation for him. One thing that comes to mind is a few years ago I watched The Faces BBC Sessions from 1971. Really heās one of the most soulful singers ever. When I played with him a few years ago, I was blown away to hear that same soulfulness right in front of meā¦and it inspired how I played.
Do you have any favorite Rod tracks that you are hoping to get to play live?
Honestly I like playing them all, if I had to pick something that we arenāt currently doing Iād say Losing You or Every Picture Tells a Story.
What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?
I listen to everything really. Over the last few years Iāve especially been listening to older music. Motown, Stax, even olderā¦Sara Vaughan, Etta James. The new stuff I like is mostly re-capturing the soul and emotion of the older music. Like, Alabama Shakes for example.
I believe you have a very musical family?
Yes, my mom and step dad were country and western (and bluegrass) singer/musicians. It was a great time for country music in the 60ās and 70ās! I heard it all day every day, at home and at family gatherings there was a lot of singing and playing going on. I didnāt realize at the time how special that was. I played in their band beginning when I was about 12 or 13, and they were very supportive of me choosing to be a musician for my career.
What do you consider to be your career highlightā¦not including Rod?
Thats a hard one. On one level, winning the Grammy and the Latin Grammy awards was a nice ātrophyāā¦ but to me, itās really just being able to make a living making music. The biggest limelight moments are not really what does it for meā¦I like living it, and creating good music regardless.
Lucy Woodward is a friend of SMILER from her Rod days ..you have worked with her in the past?
Yeah Lucy! I love her, sheās such an amazing singer and really a great person to be around!
Going back to Rod, how are you enjoying the tour so far?
The tour is going great. The whole band is really great to be around, but more importantly, the whole organization is. The crew; the guys that set up our equipment, that run the sound for the audience and our monitors, lighting/videoā¦everyone is great. No attitudes at all, which is saying a lot with an organization this big.
Have you met many fans yet?ā¦if not you will do they are very loyal lot.
I have not yet, but Iām looking forward to doing so.
Are you hoping to be on the UK tour Rod has promised for next year?
Of course!
Ok, Thank you very much for letting Rodās fans get a chance to learn a little about you, do you have a message we can pass on to them?
Itās great to see such a dedicated fan base! Thanks for the support!!
Interview By Mike Walton
Photos By Anita Mathis
Montage By Tommy Kevitt
Bottom photo from Dancing with the stars
For more information on Curt go to https://www.curtschneider.com/