Life has been an incredibly harrowing journey for Maryland-based singer/songwriter Reid Schoenfelder (show-in-feld-er). A childhood filled with chaos and uncertainly gave away to adulthood gripped in a struggle of mental illness and a constant search for self-identity. His latest album “Here it Comes”, is a collection of variations on the title, the sense of foreboding when difficultly rears its ugly head and (hopefully) finding the strength it takes to overcome. “Here it Comes” is out now.
Schoenfelder’s music career launched in 1989 as the lead singer and guitarist for the Baltimore-based band “The Wanting Seed” after a six-year stint in the Naval Reserves. Between gigs, he worked as a bartender and tried to piece together whatever living whatever way he could. The next fifteen years saw two divorces, the dissolution of multiple bands, and a life-changing diagnosis of bipolar disorder. This time, just as his childhood, was fertile for daydreaming as an escape and songwriting as the physical manifestation of a desire to be anywhere but here.
Although many of Schoenfelder’s lyrics are distinctly autobiographical, the compositional aspect of his music is as familiar as an old friend and rings true with his alt-rock roots. “I really like writing songs that people feel instantly familiar with,” states Schoenfelder, “I really aim to make songs that people can’t get out of their head.” And the songs on “Here it Comes” do just that. Lush vocal harmonies meet relentless guitar hooks and candid words that forge an amalgamation of power pop that could easily draw comparisons to Ryan Adams, Pete Yorn, or Matthew Sweet.
When asked how the events of this past year have influenced him, Schoenfelder muses: “Through the years, it seems life tends to be a battle between what is supposed to be and pure passion. It’s not a matter of wasted time, it’s a matter of now is the time.