Many see college as an experience where they will gain life-long friendships and break outside of their comfort zone. Unfortunately, not many college students will continue their friendships from high school, which is especially relevant for bands and other musical collaborations. But Schroeder, a punk rock band from UMBC, challenges this assumption as they have been going strong since 2012.
Schroeder is led by Lane Kennedy on vocals, a sophomore undecided major, James Callahan, a sophomore psychology major, on guitar, Robert Chappell, a sophomore undecided major, on bass, and Alex Armbruster, a sophomore global studies major, on drums.
The band formed when they were all in the ninth grade during their high school’s Battle of the Bands. But the bandmates have been close with each other since the seventh grade. During the interview with Alex Armbruster, he noted all his bandmates had “become friends [during] middle school” and have always been passionate about performing with each other. Armbruster cited that the band’s name, Schroeder, is in reference to the “Peanuts character, which was an early nickname given to James Callahan [guitarist] because of his blonde hair.”
Popular for their lively and energetic performances in bars and house venues all across the College Park and Baltimore area, Schroeder was easily drawn to this style from the beginning. For Armbruster and his bandmates “it is the style that fits most naturally with the instruments we play.” All the bandmates “were guitarists from a young age, so it seemed natural to do punk rock music.”
Though their style have always been rooted in punk rock, “Their inspirations and sounds has changed over the years.” When the band was first formed they were easily driven towards the “sounds of early pop-punk bands like The Descendants.” But since then “their music has been geared towards the slower sounds of 90s rock” with influences of Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. It could be easily said that they are a modern day No Doubt. This is evident with Kennedy’s vocals that flows beautifully into their songs similarly to Gwen Stefani, which is straight from the most recent EP.
Though, Schroeder is not the only band the bandmates are involved in, they can unanimously agree that this is by far one of their favorite music collaborations. When many bandmates go off to college, rarely do they stay together, but Schroeder is still going strong. When Armbruster was asked why him and his bandmates have stayed together for so long, he said, “There is probably nothing more important than friendship and spending time with people you love,” and there is no one better to do it with than the bandmates of Schroeder.
Currently, Schroeder is recording new music in time for their new EP. But in the meantime they will be performing April 12 at The Sidebar. If you are interested and want to hear more of their music, check out their webiste, www.schroeder md.bandcamp.com for updates and free music samples.
