Like this artist? Click here to tune in to our stream and discover NEW Artists.
KGRL Exclusive Libbie Schrader Interview
Hotel Cafe - 09.14.06
KGRL had a chance to go on a one on one interview with Libbie Schrader before her birthday show held in Hotel Cafe - 09.14.06.
Listen to Libbie Schrader's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:
Alternatively, you can download the responses by clicking the listen icons. 
Offered in both High and Low Quality versions.
KGRL: You were in a band before, Think Of England. When and why did you leave the band and decided to be a solo artist?
Libbie Schrader: I guess the band broke up at the beginning of 2003 - so it's about 3 and a half years that I've been doing it solo. I think it's been the right thing for me. For a long time I felt like I was this singer/songwriter hiding in a band... because a band is cool. It's like, "I'm in a band," you know?
But really I think I like being the musical director, which means I have the ideas for the arrangements….and I like being the main songwriter so that's pretty much what a singer/songwriter does. It's a better fit for me being a singer/songwriter... but I do like a full band sound.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you have problems looking for a band when playing live?
Libbie Schrader: Well, I do have my own band. The band that's playing with me tonight - Adam Marcello, Carson Cohen and Greg Pajer - they play with me usually. (KGRL - So they're consistent?) Not always, like my last show at The Roxy - Greg was my guitarist but I had a different drummer (Karen Teperberg) and a different bassist (Mark Getten). I switch players around, but Carson has been playing bass with for me over 3 years; Adam has been playing with me for 2 years; and Greg has been playing with me for a year. So yeah, I do have a band.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: How do you go about your songwriting process?
Libbie Schrader: Usually what happens is, I wake up or I'll be driving or something like that and then a song will be in my head. I'll just kind of have a snippet of something in my head. Just like you guys will get a song in your head except that it's a song that I have not heard before. Maybe it's just a melody, or sometimes it's got words attached to it. I'll try to call my answering machine or something and leave it on the answering machine. But if it's really good then it will stay with me.
Sometimes there are songs that I have not finished that are years old... and then I wish they would go away! But yeah, I'll just get songs in my head and I don't know where they come from. They just kind of like pop out... that sort of inspiration. But then it's my job to craft it into a full song. That's sort of where your skill comes in.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: So do you usually write the music or the lyrics first?
Libbie Schrader: Usually I start with the music first, but every once in a while I have a lyrical idea. My song “Wish You Were The Woman” -- I'll play that one tonight -- that one I definitely had this lyrical idea first and then I made a melody out of that. I'd say 75% of the time it's music first and then sometimes it's lyrics first.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: How long does it usually take for you to finish a song?
Libbie Schrader: The song that I'm going to be playing for the first time tonight -- “San Francisco” -- I remember it took me probably 2 months to complete, working on it pretty steadily because there are a lot of lyrics in it and I wanted it to be perfect all the way through.
But then there are other songs of mine that have only taken a day. It's usually a simpler song - if it's very repetitive, just a few chords, and if it's not as many words – and a slower song will usually happen more quickly because there aren't as many words.
In terms of fast song, I've got all these things to fill in. It's easy to get lazy and say "Oh I just don't want to write a third verse so I'll just do a bridge and then do the chorus again" - and then it's over. Sometimes I’ll say, "Ok this needs a third verse" - and then I keep spending lots and lots of time on it. So, it depends, it depends upon each song.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: We caught one of your shows with Sara Bareilles and Kat Parsons and we saw you jump in on Kat's set to do one song with her. Do you usually sit down with Kat Parsons to write? Was that song one of the materials you two wrote together?
Libbie Schrader: Kat is a friend of mine. She actually called me today. She's in Australia right now. She called me and she said "Happy Birthday!" So I thought, Kat loves me -- It was 7:20 AM her time and she was calling me!
So, we're friends and we've written a few songs together. I think the song that I sang with her was “Hold On To You Forever.” Whenever I'm in the audience and she says "Do you want to sing this song with me?" I say "Sure!”
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you have any other musical collaborators?
Libbie Schrader: Well, in the community that's in LA... around Hotel Cafe, around Room 5, and through ASCAP or through friends or whatever, you meet people. Then you say "Oh we should do a co-write sometime." I've got co-writes with Shannon Hurley (that was one I did recently), Erik Penny... I want to do one with Elizaveta, with Annmarie (from Saucy Monky)... they're all on my list.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Any particular person you'd like to work and write songs with someday?
Libbie Schrader: One of my heroes is Van Dyke Parks. Probably people who aren't music nerds don't necessarily know who he is. But he's this really weird guy - he comes [to the Hotel Café] sometimes and he wears his overalls... He's about 60 years old and he has white hair and moustache. He is a string arranger. I think his heyday was in the 70s - but he did this arrangement on the U2 song “All I Want Is You.” It’s an incredible string arrangement....It's not the way that strings usually play - it's using strings in a pop way which is really awesome.
He also did an amazing arrangement on a Rufus Wainwright song, “Baby.” The arrangements that he thinks up are just not at all what you think strings would be. He's not coming from a classical way of looking at it - he's coming from a pop way of using classical instruments. If he did strings in some of my songs, it would be a dream come true for me.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you have any personal favorites from the songs you've written so far?
Libbie Schrader: I guess I do. It kind of changes -- it's usually the most recent song! I think the one that has sort of stood the test of time is “War On Science” since I keep coming back to that one. I'm pretty happy with that one. And lately, I really like “Wish You Were The Woman.” I think I might have really nailed something there.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: We love playing the song So Sweet in the station. The piano riff is simply amazing. It was originally titled So Close but was renamed to So Sweet?
Libbie Schrader: Because there's a new chorus... It's "You played me so sweet..." (sings) That's different from the version on Letters To Boys. [Editor’s note: the new chorus was co-written with songwriter Alissa Moreno.]
Actually if you're interested in that songwriting, I was at home over Christmas - my parents have a really nice piano - and I was just fiddling around and my fingers just went "ladada" [sings notes of the instrumental section of the song]. I thought, "Oh that's fun!" I didn't think it would ever be put in a song. I just thought it was kind of fun. Then I wrote the song and I realized "Oh, I can put that thing in my song!" I was just doodling it. I wasn't even songwriting when the doodle happened... but I stuck with it. (KGRL: It's too beautiful to let go!) Oh it's cool, it works.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Have you ever played outside the US?
Libbie Schrader: The only non-United States performance I've ever done was in Canada - in Toronto. There was this Pantene competition that I won a few years back and we got to open for India.Arie at some party in Toronto.
I studied in Ireland and I spent an academic year there, studying classical and traditional Irish music. I wasn't doing pop music there so I've never had any gig in Ireland or anything.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Any plans to play in Ireland or any other countries someday?
Libbie Schrader: Yeah... I don't know if I'm allowed to announce this but... Adam (my drummer) and my friend Naimee Coleman are engaged. Naimee is Irish and they’re going to be married in Ireland. They will supposedly (maybe) rent out some bar and we're all gonna go over to Ireland and play all night... That would be great.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: What was your best experience performing live?
Libbie Schrader: My best experience performing live.... I love performing in front of a large crowd. Think Of England got to do some really amazing shows - like we got to open for Jewel in Central Park. I remember a really good show where we opened for Poe in Atlanta at the Cotton Club. Then we got to open for Rusted Root in San Francisco at the Warfield. With Think Of England I think I've had some really good experiences... because there's a big crowd and I’ve really enjoyed that. Unfortunately, I have not won any contests yet as a solo artist!
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you prefer band or a solo performance?
Libbie Schrader: I far prefer the band, because I feel like I hear a lot of things in my songs and I want them to all be accented and enjoyed. And I can't do that with just me and a piano. I understand there's an intimacy to the piano that’s really nice, but yeah, I prefer the band.
Actually, the real reason is I'm a tremendous fan of the electric guitar. I'm very picky about my electric guitarists - Greg is great! Just about the sounds that I want. With just me and my piano, it doesn't feel like I’m fulfilling my songs’ potential.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Any new artists you listen to?
Libbie Schrader: Any new artists right now... What am I listening to? You know it's funny because I think I'm unlike most people in that I just don’t listen to much music. I have tons of CDs but it takes a lot for me to really like something. I just bought my friend Kari Kimmel's record. Her record is excellent. Who am I listening to? I love the Arcade Fire... I discovered them a while ago. I don't know...
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Anything you are working on right now?
Libbie Schrader: I am, yeah. Erik Penny, who produced part of Letters To Boys, he and I are right now working on some tracks. We're going to be mixing 3 tracks on Monday. They are: “War On Science” (again - but it's perfect this time!), “Wish You Were The Woman,” and “Alive,” which is an older song of mine. [Editor's Note: These songs are played in the station now]. And then with those, we are hoping that somebody will give us some money to record some more... So that's what we're working on right now.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you have any plans of signing up with a major record label?
Libbie Schrader: I would say that the last 5 years of my life have been very focused on trying to get a major record deal! It's just practically impossible. I know more about it now than I did when I started. I think right now the majors are falling apart. I have a lot of friends who are on major labels and it doesn't sound like it's good for anyone right now.
Of course, I want a record label... everybody does. First of all, like I said, I can only afford to record 3 songs on my own... you want more than that - an album. Second of all, you want distribution. If you're getting promoted, you want somebody in Iowa to be able to pick up your CDs. That's only something that a record label can do. I mean, there's iTunes... iTunes is only about 10% of the music market - 90% is still in-store. People still go to the store and there's no way to get your CD into a faraway store without a distributor.
At this point, I think an independent label with really good distribution would probably be the best thing for me. The majors are very wobbly right now, they're very unsafe. A few artists will make it through the cracks but it seems like artists are getting dropped and everybody at the labels is losing their jobs. It's not a good climate in the major labels right now... it's very scary.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
KGRL: Do you have any last words for our KGRL listeners?
Libbie Schrader: KGRL Rocks.
High Quality |
Low Quality |
Special thanks goes to Libbie Schrader for her invaluable help and support.
Libbie Schrader Links:
Official Website: http://www.libbieschrader.com
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/libbieschrader
-> Click here to go back to the main feature page! <-