Robert Scheffler Calls a ‘Truce’
The NYC songwriter cuts his third album at home
Robert Scheffler has always been in the business of telling stories.
For decades, he served as a research editor and valued contributor to Esquire, where he penned witty and entertaining insights into TV, politics and music that are very much worth a deep dive on his byline.
By night, however, Scheffler was performing in such hallowed New York City haunts as Mercury Lounge, Arlene’s Grocery and the Bitter End both as a solo artist and with his band A Million Pieces, recording music when the time allowed.
However, since retiring from full-time duty as an editor and writer, Scheffler has shifted his focus on music, crafting an 11-song album at home called Truce that was mixed and mastered by Scott Anthony (Beastie Boys, The Feelies) at Storybook Sound in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Inspired by Warren Zevon’s process of recording the songs that would make up his 2000 LP Life’ll Kill Ya, Scheffler’s third album delivers a sound on par with the rootsy jangle of artists like Freedy Johnston and Jules Shear on opening track “Excuse the Mess” and “Punch Line” while flexing more electric musculature on songs like “Basher” and “Carry On Without Me” with its jubilant guitar work.
Rock & Roll Globe caught up with Mr. Scheffler — who makes furniture when he’s not penning heartfelt songs like the Westerberg-esque “I Don’t Love You Like I Should” — to talk about Truce, music journalism and the Zen of woodworking.
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What’s the biggest difference for you between writing songs and writing stories? What is the most similar?
I mainly wrote short pieces that attempted to be funny so I guess you could say they shared a similarity to songwriting in their attention to brevity and timing. But I wasn’t going for much emotion there. With songwriting, I get to explore. I love the puzzle of it. Like, if there’s a recurring chorus you have to navigate how a second or third verse adds something new but justify how it circles back to the refrain. I love the emotional punch of a good melody and a rowdy guitar. I love that a rhyme scheme makes you come up with lines you wouldn’t normally think of.
How do you feel music journalism has evolved or devolved since your Esquire days?
I got to work with Chuck Klosterman, who had a great way of writing using a rock music lens. One time, checking facts on an essay about his favorite bits of different songs, I had to confirm the order of who-was-playing-what-guitar-when on Humble Pie’s 1971 Fillmore recording of “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” I listened to the song a hundred times but couldn’t be sure. As a last resort, I reached out to Peter Frampton’s people but I didn’t expect to hear back — I mean, it’s a question from some researcher on an article not about Frampton. But I did hear back because Frampton, it turned out, was a Klosterman fan. What’s the point here? I don’t know. I suppose there are other Klostermans out there — music writers people want to follow for their cultural insights — and maybe there’s more of them but maybe they’re harder to find and no one’s paying them what they’re worth. (PS: Frampton couldn’t have been more gracious in his response. And Klosterman had the order right all along.)
Does humor belong in songwriting? Why or why not?
Sure, be funny and sing, I guess, if you can pull it off. They Might Be Giants did it and there’s that brilliant bait and switch rhyme from The Killers in “Mr. Brightside.” People do it all the time in musical theater. God, did I just say that? My theater geek husband just caught a chill. There’s some humor in on Truce in a track titled “Where Do I Know You From?” But mostly, I don’t go there. That’s not what songs are about for me.
What is the story behind calling your new album Truce?
Truce the album comes from “Truce” the song. “Truce” the song comes from the notion of the unspoken agreement you enter with another person in a relationship — love me, I’ll love you, don’t hurt me, I won’t hurt you — though in the song, it doesn’t work out that way. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that subliminal but counted-on balance described much of what the whole record was about. Like some kind of undertow in how we all approach the world every day. One of the other title ideas was “Rooster” but that’s a story for another day.
How do you feel your songwriting aptitude has evolved three albums in?
For sure, I feel more confident and resolved in my approach. Hindsight and distance count for something. The more you write, the less you can rely on your old tricks, so you have to push yourself.
Please tell me about working with Scott Anthony on this album at Storybook Sound down in Maplewood.
Who? Oh, yeah. I first met Scott when he happened to be the assigned studio engineer for my old band’s first demo sessions years ago. We were called A Million Pieces. Since then, I’ve basically followed Scott to whichever studio he was at. Now he’s got his own place called Storybook Sound. Once a week or so, over several months, I’d take a train out from New York and spend the day at Storybook working on the homemade tracks I brought him. Slowly, the tracks got built up and filled out. As a studio partner, he’s thoughtful, wise and patient. And tall. Really, really tall.
You mentioned how listening to Warren Zevon speak about how he constructed the songs on Life’ll Kill Ya inspired your own creative process.
Yeah, back at Esquire, they’d get tons of promo materials and one time an invite came into the office for a Zevon record release event. It wasn’t part of my job at the time but I cleared it with the office and I got to go. The event took place at a studio downtown. Zevon was there along with some engineers and industry types. It turned out he recorded much of the record at home and brought the tracks into a studio to finish up. My memory is that much of the crowd seemed to want to party (Maybe there were drinks? Not sure.) but I was able to plant myself in the control room with Zevon while an engineer pulled up the tracks on the board. I tried to pitch an article about the whole thing but couldn’t sell it. But I kept the promo CD and never forgot that night. I have no doubt back then Zevon had a superior home studio setup but with software and DAW tech advances, I felt like I could give the home-to-studio path a shot.
AUDIO: Robert Scheffler on Zig At The Gig
Are there any plans to take Truce on the road?
I don’t have a band right now and may do some solo gigs. But mostly I want to get back to writing and keep building my catalog of material. And I’d really love to hear other artists perform my songs. That would be amazing.
I’d love to hear more about your furniture making skills. What got you into it and whats the most challenging part of the craft?
My dad was an electrician — a job that includes some carpentry, actually — and I’d work with him occasionally on construction sites. Later on, woodworking for me became a brain-clearing exercise after spending so much time doing mental work at a desk. I love the design process, the math, and the beauty of wood. But it can be surprisingly difficult to get a simple joint square, or how seemingly well-measured pieces still come out wobbly — for me, anyway, without a proper workspace (I’m in a Manhattan apartment) and fancy tools. It’s completely possible I’m coming at it ass-backwards. But fixing mistakes is part of the learning curve. And you also become aware that wood can have its own ideas. Yet another truce to ponder.
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I worked on hundreds of stories with this guy at Esquire – a first-rate thinker and editor. Then he gave me his CD to listen to, which is usually an eye-rolling, uncomfortable experience. To my delight, it was excellent and that record’s best song, “Bleeding on Broadway,” sticks with me to this day, 20 years later. Glad to discover Bob’s still putting out music!