Musician repelled by attitudes on coasts
Songwriter returns to Midwest
By Andrea Christensen
Staff Reporter
Conventional wisdom says that to
be a success in the music business, an
artist must live on the East or West
coasts. But Mimi Schneider has never
been bound by conventional wisdom,
and she has decided to make her music
in the Midwest.
Schneider has performed on both
coasts but found she preferred her
hometown of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“I came back because of the ex
pense and the altitude of people on
the coasts,” Schneider said. “They
think we’re geographically disadvan
taged, and they sec us as consumers
of culture. But that’s just not true. I
have more access to the information I
need to make music here than I had on
cither coast.”
A producer at KIWR radio in
Council Bluffs, Schneider has just
released “Catastcrpicce,” her first full
length album. The LP is about her
experiences as she moved back to her
hometown.
“There is a beginning, middle and
end to the story on this record,” she
said. “It’s about things I had to deal
with when I found myself living in
the town where I grew up after being
away lor many years.”
Schneider left the Midwest after
receiving her bachelor’s degree in
American studies from the Univer
sity of Iowa. She was a member of an
acoustic trio called The Stouthearted.
The group moved to the San Fran
cisco Bay area in June 1985. The
move was unsuccessful. Despite some
good reviews, the band broke up.
We weren’t handling our affairs
® big city manner,” Schneider said.
We all had day jobs, so we didn’t
have time to attend all the dinner
parties and do the schmoozing that’s
needed to get recognized.”
Schneider said that returning to
Council Bluffs was a big risk, but one
that paid off.
“I’ve always struggled to be my
self, and try to cram that down people’s
throats. So returning home could have
been the worst thing that ever hap
pened, but I turned it around and
made it a catastrophe with a good
save, a catastcrpiece.”
“Catasterpiccc” was recorded live
to-tape in one 10-hour recording ses
sion. Most of the cuts feature simple
vocals, two acoustic guitars and a
snare drum. The album addresses the
problems of isolation, failed relation
ships and cultural snobbery. Despite
the bare instrumentation and the seri
ous issues that “Catasterpiccc” ad
dresses, Schneider insists it is not a
folk album.
“I’m not thrilled with being la
beled a folk singer,” she said. “Ameri
cans hear the word folk and they think
of a land where it is always 1971 and
performers are'boring them with their
innermost thoughts. That’s not what
this album is about.”
Instead, Schneider considers her
self a songwriter, one who is inter
ested in different music styles. She
even plans to do a pop album one day.
“Right now I don’t have access to
the equipment to do a pop album,”
Schneider said. “Rock bands are
expensive. But even though wedidn’t
have a band for ‘Catastcrpiece,’ the
album is more like a skewed version
of country music than folk. It’s not
twangy, but it deals with adult themes.”
Schneider said she gets her inspi
ration from pop, country and the old
standards she listened to as a child.
“Listening to AM music in the
’60s, I got hooked on the songs of my
parents’ generation, and I think that
has influenced my work,” Schneider
said.
“This is a strange business. You
can go for years as an unknown. But
you always hope you’ 11 reach the right
person who will make all the differ
ence in your career,” Schneider said.
“You can’t wail around for some
major corporation to validate what
you’re doing,” she said. “You have to
live life instead of wailing for life to
live you.”
“Catasterpiecc” is not available in
Lincoln stores, but it is available at
Homer’s Music in Omaha.
Courtesy of Indelible Records
Council Bluffs, Iowa, native Mimi Schneider has just re
leased her solo debut “Catasterpiece.”
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