Portland is one of the finest portions found in the Northwest’s musical microcosm. With the broad range of music that this region puts out, it is no surprise that Stephanie Schneiderman has found success along with her collaborator Keith Schreiner, contributing to this part of the country’s already-impressive musical breadth. These two talented people have come together in recent years to produce pure ambience. Schneiderman is going to release her impressive seventh solo album this Friday at an album-release party hosted by the Alberta Rose Theater.
Her new album, “Rubber Teardrop,” was preceded by the highly anticipated “Dangerous Fruit” released in early 2009. Since then, this guitar-toting, Frou-Frou-esque singer-songwriter has become quite an established artist here in the Northwest, making lists for pop radio stations from here to Seattle. Originally from Oregon, Schneiderman has been a part of the local music scene since she started in college and credits her beginnings with the Portland-based group Body and Soul in an interview with Alex Steininger (founder and editor of Portland’s music magazine In Music We Trust):
“I learned a lot singing [for Body & Soul]. I was the green one of the band, the youngest one, and got to sing with sisters who are sisters. That really stretched my voice. And it also got me into another style of music.”
“Rubber Teardrop” starts out with a track called “Hush,” kicking off the album with a slow, building tempo followed by mechanized beats and the sweet serenading voice of Schneiderman echoing the words, “You’re taking my time and you’re wasting it…” With plenty of reverb displaying the gallery of multiple effects in the background provided by Schreiner, here is an artist that has successfully found her niche with her sound, mastering every groove and note with ease.
As stated on the local KTVU’s Fox 12 news recently, Schneiderman and Schreiner talked about how they had utilized the
easy-going environment of the infamously easy-going Portland music scene to create the music they have collaborated on—which can best be described as “New York style meets Portland sound.”
With Schneiderman’s already pristine reputation in Portland, along with her other collaborative buzz band Dirty Martini, the artist is associated with many other highly popular musical acts such as Hall & Oates, Five for Fighting, Chicago and Ben Taylor. This quickly accelerating artist, along with her unique collaboration with New York’s electronic musician and producer Keith Schreiner, is destined to become a worthy contender in the pop music realm. She isn’t just another “girl with a guitar”; she exceeds by maintaining her ambitious attitude to excel, better stated by this House of Blues talent-buyer Adam Zacks quote:
“Schneiderman’s exceptional songwriting talent and radiating charm are a winning combination. Her honest, earthy presence and rich, serene vocals separate Stephanie from the hordes of ‘girls with guitars.’ She shows all the potential of becoming a world class, world renowned artist.”
It is no surprise that the above quote headlines her bio page in her media press package. But to be honest, just by reading review after review and listening to the impressive collection of material she has put forth, I can’t disagree with the common notion that Schneiderman has pure talent. Excelling in anything she does, which ranges from music to just about anything artistic, this artist shows much promise and ambition; just about enough to actually succeed. An inspiration to many, you be sure to catch her this Friday along with her new album “Rubber Teardrop.” ?