Bob Schneider: Austin and Cali

Sep. 08. 2009

I have this new song in my head. And I don’t even know all of the words to it, so it’s as if I just hear the background music and what little words I do know playing over and over, ever have that happen to you?

I guess it is better than having that Gloria Estefan song in your head that starts “Come on shake your body baby do the conga…somethin something…” She talks too fast for me to keep up-and once that get’s stuck in your head it NEVER gets out. Or my absolute least favorite song in the world (that I know of): “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you never gonna keep me down” Man, I hope just reading those words doesn’t get that stuck in your head, it is like a curse!

It’s a song by Bob Schneider and it is called 40 Dogs, (album to be released Sep. 29, not a plug or self promoter, I just get the e-newsletters), but when I listen to the words it really has nothing to do dogs and it is kind of a love song, I l ike the part where he says, “there’s just something right about you and me, somethin’ right about you and me…we’re like Romeo and Juliet, were like 40 dogs cigarettes.” Now that is where I get stumped, the word cigarette ruins my image of love and romanticism, I hate cigarettes. I picture yellow teeth, raspy voices and that smell on my clothes the next morning when we used to be able to smoke in bars in Austin, and when I say we, I say my girlfriends that all smoked (or still do) to stay skinny…gross. Ok, not going to rant about my hatred toward cigarettes, I was discussing Bob. I think it is somewhat ironic that Bob Schneider plays frequently in Austin and has fans more so in Austin, Tx (quite a following at Antones, Saxon Pub etc) and quite a following in California…coincidence? I think not. Austin, Tx has been known to be that blue dot in the middle of red. Averaging 220 days of sunshine, a music scene, a more liberal population, educated, and gay friendly…just like (some parts) of California. I wonder why that is? Is it interesting the kind of influence an artist can have? Espcially when Austin has been called the mini-California? (Or the coolest city in Texas). I guess on the contrary we have been compared quite a bit to Seattle and Portland…and they aren’t in California, so maybe there goes my theory. But does Bob have a big following in Oregon? I wonder how Austin got so liberal. Oh, perhaps because of the largest university in the country right now? Maybe due to what comes from a large college population: a lot of conservationists, granola eaters and tree huggers, hipsters and health conscience…the educated.

Anyway, if you get some time, I recommend a little Bob. I once heard him acoustic by himself and it was a great perfomance. Some only appreciate him with the Scabs, but I think he is all around a good artist. And not just musically talented either, he designs some of his own album covers as well! Some of my favorites: Flowerparts, Oklahoma, A Long Way to Get…and the one you probably have heard (on radio for a bit) is called Big Blue Sea. The new one on iTunes (yay for new music Tuesdays) is called 40 Dogs, as per mentioned before.

And that is all I have to say about Bob.