Dawdling, in Schroeder’s estimation, is the mother of invention. As one of Seattle’s most prolific audio engineers, he’s witnessed bands tackle recording like a job, blinkered by efficiency and aiming at results. Which makes sense in the pay-by-the-hour confines of a traditional recording studio. But Schroeder will tell you that brilliance doesn’t come when called; it slips in through the side door when nobody’s looking. In making music, wasting time is a kind of purposeful misdirection, and the more openness an artist has to mull and noodle and fuck around on their instrument without stress or expectation, the sooner they’ll arrive at the perfect note. 

 

Pierced Ears is a culmination of Schroeder’s 10+ years working as a full-time engineer.  Over the years Schroeder has quietly—or loudly, rather, but unheralded—worked with the cream of Seattle’s rock ’n’ roll crop: Wimps, Dude York, Rose Windows, Childbirth, Kinski, Posse, Zebra Hunt and 60 or so more artists. His role, as he understood it, was as a clear conduit for each band’s energy.

 

- City Arts Magazine, March 2017

 

“I want to utilize the space to motivate artists to push themselves further. I want to tap into the feelings behind why the band wrote the song the way they did.”