Schema Things Keyboardist Excited to Return Home Via Lincoln Show | Make
Matthew Schulz really got to know Interstate 25 South growing up.
The Cheyenne native, who currently plays keys and sings for Denver-based jamtronica band Schema Things, was constantly traveling to Colorado to see shows as a teenager. The fact that his hometown did not offer concerts that interested him – or did not have an independent venue to support them – makes him particularly excited about recent cultural events in the capital.
âWhen I saw them refurbish (The Lincoln) and talk about it on social media, I was more than thrilled. Cheyenne culture is growing, âhe said. âWe need a venue – we need high quality shows and performers to come to Cheyenne. We need a place for them to actually go. So when I saw The Lincoln I thought we would have a great opportunity.
Schulz made his Cheyenne (outside of the childhood choir, that is) debut on May 15 at the Lincoln with his bandmates and Denver’s beloved jam band Magic Beans. And he’s excited to contribute to the growing buzz of live music in his hometown.
Growing Cheyenne’s cultural offering has long been a passion for Schulz. That’s why he participated in the Compound Sound micro music festival in Southeast Cheyenne for several years, and why he keeps his finger on the cultural pulse of his old home.
And especially after the year he and his band mates have had, Schulz is ready to connect with an audience in person again. Schema Things were set to embark on an East Coast tour just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the group was also starring at the 2020 Sonic Bloom festival (both of which were, unsurprisingly, canceled. ).
âWe had a bunch of big things lined up for 2020 and of course this little virus had other plans,â he said. âSo we turned to high quality recordings, video and audio. We didn’t actually broadcast live, but we recorded the sets and then broadcast them, kind of like an evening of live viewing. “
The group’s four themed shows âMarch to the Screenâ consisted of a YeeHaw cowboy set, a club set, a Santa set, and a 2021 set. The band posted all four on Facebook. and YouTube and got a lot of attention for them, but it wasn’t the same.
Nothing could replace the experience of having a live audience, in person, in front of the musicians.
The members of Schema Things have therefore embarked on a new project: their first full album, “Human Era”, which will be released on May 14 – the day before Cheyenne’s concert.
It took a full year to create the album, and the musicians faced their fair share of challenges along the way, but they can’t wait to bring it to people.
âOur new album coming out, in my mind, really captures the evolution of music and genres,â Schulz said. âIt really starts with a sort of classical music feel, which I was trained into, I’m a classical pianist, but it quickly evolves into rock, metal, funk, pop, hip-hop and what I describe as almost a country vibe in a song or two. But most of the time our bread and butter is dance music.
Schema Things is fast-paced and energetic music, which often places the band somewhere in the electronic / house / trance category, but basically the band is just aiming to fall out.
Bands that play this type of music have been particularly affected by pandemic cancellations, Schulz noted, as audiences play a vital role in a Schema Things show. Their energy is crucial in determining the musicians’ next move, and without them the mood is completely different.
âWhen it comes to the jam bands and the improv music that is out there, we really feed off the energy of the audience,â he said. âThe jams are what is unique about each show. And that really comes from the energy in the venue compared to a band showing up and playing six nights at Red Rocks and playing the exact same set every night. ⦠With improvised type bands, you really rely on the audience to help you move the music forward.
Schulz said he felt more than grateful not only to have the opportunity to perform a live show again for the first time in over a year, but to do so alongside one of the most great Denver artists (which is a first for him, although some of his bandmates have played with Magic Beans through other projects).
The keyboardist is ready to return to his old playground and reconnect with familiar faces through his favorite medium.
âIt’s really an honor for me to have this opportunity to come back to my hometown and perform,â he said. “It’s really kind of a dream come true that number one we even get to play on a big stage like that and support a great band like the Magic Beans, but number two that I can do it in front.” all my family and some old friends.