Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Logo

Schroeder's music in tune with his reads | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Special Sections
    • Contact Us
    • Plus
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Local News
    • Photos
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Job Spotlight
    • Georgia
    • Business
    • Nation/World
    • Lottery
    • Sports
    • Alabama
    • Auburn
    • Braves
    • Columbus State University
    • Cottonmouths
    • Falcons
    • Hawks
    • High Schools
    • UGA
    • Blogs & Columns
    • War Eagle Extra
    • Bulldogs Blog
    • Valley Preps
    • Guerry Clegg
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • ToDo
    • Living
    • Dining
    • Celebrations
    • Outdoors
    • Faith
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Blogs & Columns
    • War Eagle Extra
    • Bulldogs Blog
    • Guerry Clegg
    • Tim Chitwood
    • Richard Hyatt
    • Ledger Inquirer
    • Valley Preps
    • Chuck Williams
    • Dimon Kendrick-Holmes
    • Alva James-Johnson
    • Natalia Naman Temesgen
    • Chris Johnson
    • Opinion
    • Forum
    • Letters
    • Dusty Nix
    • Sound Off
  • Obituaries
  • Readers' Choice

  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

Schroeder's music in tune with his reads

By Jeremy Dutton, Herald staff writer

    ORDER REPRINT →

July 10, 2008 03:00 AM

They say it all the time when a young singer-songwriter talks about experiences beyond his years: You have to have loved to write a love song; experience loss to write its bitter foil.

But for Kennewick singer-songwriter Aaron Schroeder, the songs he writes reflect what he reads. At 24, he does have a wealth of life experience, but when you're trying to write 10 songs a month and put out your third album in three years, what you've gone through only goes so far.

"I'm always stealing lines from books I'm reading," he said. "Writing songs can be so draining if you don't have something to reload the thought process."

The Los Angeles native has done a lot of bouncing around this decade. After graduating from high school he took off on a Hemingway-esque jaunt to Greece to fulfill dreams of working in vineyards and befriending a stray dog to tie a red bandanna around. The dream quickly soured when he ran out of money and ended up sleeping on the streets of an Athens ghetto.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Ledger-Enquirer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

But that experience probably led to one of his songs, Real World, which he wrote a couple of years later while living with a friend who was attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

From there, Schroeder left to repair his relationship with his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend Rachel who was moving back to the Tri-Cities from Portland. And he's been here since. The girlfriend is on-again permanently, as they got married a few weeks ago in Las Vegas.

He also has put out two albums while living here that are available on iTunes titled Southern Heart in Western Skin and Black and Gold. He's working on his third now and after listening to a demo disc, it seems like a logical progression in his repertoire. Southern Heart was indie-folk fried in a light country coating, while Black and Gold was an expansion on the indie folk, layered with great instrumentation rather than just jangly guitars.

But Schroeder is quick to point this out as well.

"I used to believe that content, not delivery, was the key to a good song." he said. "But after listening to bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, I noticed that it wasn't so much the content but the way the lyrics were delivered."

He's right, in part. And while he didn't say it, he struck that balance well on Black and Gold. Where he is on the demo disc is a little hard to say because he does it all himself on synthesizers and his computer, which give a sound like that of Dan Bejar's Destroyer. This leaves the songs sounding a little hollow without a full band to flush them out. But he'll be having Mark Watrous and Isaac Carpenter of Gosling provide a lot of the piano and drums over the next few months.

"It's going to be my best record ... but I think I'm supposed to say that," Schroeder said.

He says his forthcoming album also was heavily influenced by David Bowie, which still is not as heavy an inspiration as literature is.

To get a sense of Schroeder's lit addiction, listen to this: His current goal is to read every Nobel Prize-winning work of literature. Aiding his habit is the fact that he works at Barnes & Noble.

"If you're gonna work retail, it's far more rewarding pushing books rather than sub sandwiches," he said. It also gives him the chance to turn customers onto some of his favorite authors like Bernard Malamud, Don DeLillo and Henry Miller.

If you were to see Schroeder, you might pick up on the bookworm vibe.

He wears thick-rimmed glasses with a foppish haircut. But if you experience his music, you'll be opened up to a whole lot more than just one guy's take on love, loss and one big world.

*Jeremy Dutton: 582-1525; jdutton@tricityherald.com

  Comments  

Videos

Watch to learn more about $14 furry friends

Former President Carter, wife Rosalynn smooch on ‘Kiss Cam’

View More Video

Trending Stories

Man, woman die in Auburn after shootout and apartment fire on Stonegate Drive

February 16, 2019 06:51 PM

Man dies of gunshot more than week after shooting on Parkchester Drive, coroner says

February 16, 2019 11:09 AM

Miss Georgia will remain in Columbus and celebrate 75 years with the 2019 competition, mayor said

February 16, 2019 12:45 PM

Letters to the Editor for Sunday, February 17, 2019

February 17, 2019 09:00 AM

Suspect in killing of 4 hostages during standoff has died

February 17, 2019 06:56 PM

Read Next

Some Georgia lawmakers say it’s time for cultivation of medical marijuana in the state

Georgia

Some Georgia lawmakers say it’s time for cultivation of medical marijuana in the state

By Maggie Lee

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 03:09 PM

Thousands of Georgians already possess medical cannabis, with the state’s blessing. Some lawmakers, led by state Rep. Micah Gravley, say its now time to give them a way to buy it, too.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Ledger-Enquirer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

The last flight: Saying farewell to longtime reader, Navy air veteran Wales Whitt

Latest News

The last flight: Saying farewell to longtime reader, Navy air veteran Wales Whitt

February 17, 2019 04:46 PM
After 11 years and $1.5 million, there is no hope for Water Witch at Naval Museum

Latest News

After 11 years and $1.5 million, there is no hope for Water Witch at Naval Museum

February 17, 2019 03:23 PM
Georgia men’s basketball falls to LSU in close game, but there’s a silver lining

Bulldogs Blog

Georgia men’s basketball falls to LSU in close game, but there’s a silver lining

February 16, 2019 10:22 PM
Man, woman die in Auburn after shootout and apartment fire on  Stonegate Drive

Crime

Man, woman die in Auburn after shootout and apartment fire on Stonegate Drive

February 16, 2019 06:51 PM
Georgia House proposal preserves, but trims, pensions for future teachers

Georgia

Georgia House proposal preserves, but trims, pensions for future teachers

February 16, 2019 03:43 PM
Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition staying in Columbus, mayor Henderson says

Local

Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition staying in Columbus, mayor Henderson says

February 16, 2019 02:19 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Digital Solutions
  • Niche Solutions
  • Print Solutions
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story