Reviews

EER Music Reviews Chris Ruel

Skyrats Scraps from Dave Schmeidler is a collection of mainly instrumental compositions that feature the fine fretwork of Dave Schmeidler. After first listening to this CD, I was not sure what to make of it. So, this CD sat in my CD rotation for two months so I could better absorb it. And, this extended exposure paid off for me because the musical vision finally sank in.Schmeidler draws from a tactful repertoire of axe chops to cover the auditory canvass with his unique artistic vision. The album is comprised of a coherent set of arrangements that showcase Schmeidler's calculated voicings and phrasings that pleasingly take the listener by surprise with unexpected changes in tone, feel, and direction. Schmeidler plays with animated, deep feeling and deftly-disguised calculating precision in executing his musical motives. The resulting music has an appealing direction and highly satisfying stream of consciousness that it conveys. The bittersweet melodies and unwinding themes are complimented by sometimes aggressive, sometimes nostalgic, and sometimes funky sections that somehow work together to form a very unusual yet coherent collage. But, it was the balance of the soulful melodies, aggressive guitar work, and selective tonal voicings that
really captured my attention. There is something that is conveyed in the music that is a sort of tormented yet hopeful sorrow that is an undercurrent that runs throughout the music that draws the listener into it.The unusual elements that are integrated in the arrangements make it difficult to characterize the style. This statement alone is tribute alone to what Schmeidler has achieved on this effort, because it is a difficult achievement to defy categorization. But,
though the album is unique in character, the music can be described as highly developed instrumentalism based around advanced, evolved rock and blues stylisms primarily, but also pulling in other influences such as jazz and fusion. This is all then packaged within some very provocative and intricate arrangements. In summary, this CD may require some adjustment on the part of the listener. But, if the listener is willing to take the effort to
absorb the stream of consciousness that is woven through the music, then the listener may be rewarded with another enjoyable CD for their rotation. Once I made the adjustment, this became a CD that I really enjoyed. This CD has been added to the good shelf in my review collection

European Progressive Rock Reviews

On hearing any musician for the first time, the thing I look for is some essence that I feel the artist is striving to convey. I instantly found this in Dave Schmeidler's music. It has passion and a depth which instantly transported me into his blend of blues and jazz rock. Dave's thoughtful and tasteful guitar work seemed to flow yet soar and dive and at times brutalise some of his compositions. He certainly creates magical moments that tended to flow from one track to the other which kept me transfixed till the album was over, I didn't even remember the gaps between the tracks. The sound and arrangements are full, mood creating and at times melodic, creating moments of great intensity and thought, be it on the uptempo and at times complex,"Blues For Sonny" and "The Geek Sheik" or the darker moods of "The Driving Dead", "The Maze" and "Perfect Time". The tempo then dropped and deepened on the more subdued and intimate moments of this album e.g. "U T Two", "Lullaby", "Arghhh" and "Lullaby Reprise". Finally, I have to mention "State Of Affairs", this is a fine example of Dave Schmeidler's outstanding talent and thought process, it's only 5:30 secs long but I was so engrossed in it I thought it would never end. Time seemed to stand still as the notes flowed effortlessly from Bill Ludwig's bass and Dave Schmeidler's magical fret board.
A unique new talent that deserves to be heard. 85%

Robert Silverstein 20th Century Guitar Magazine, MWE3.com

As a fusion guitar virtuoso Buffalo, N.Y.-based Dave Schmeidler is pretty darn impressive and his 2003 instrumental CD features some fine players who enhance his guitar-driven vision. As far as influences go, you can spot Cream-era Clapton, Santana and even Steve Howe but Schmeidler is no hack and can clearly cut it with the best of them. His atmospheric “State Of Affairs” is simply gorgeous—featuring a majestic melody enhanced with a rare guitar sustain—and “Lullaby” is just that, but with a guitar tone on par with Jan Akkerman. Sometimes he takes it over the top with a humorous Zappa influence, but overall Skyrats Scraps is a fine CD that illuminates Schmeidler’s remarkable grasp of various electric guitar techniques and styles.

MJ Brady www.proggnosis.com

When seeing this cd at first glance, there was nothing overly appealing about the cover art, and the fact that it was yet another guitarist doing a solo album almost set the stage for a preconceived notion that with the Telecaster forshadowing the Picasso t-shirt on the front cover, I would be hearing something perhaps a bit abstract or avant-garde. Yet I should know better by now, that I make sure to keep the mind and ears open prior to hearing a cd.

Dave Schmeidler is a musician that plays instrumental music, not strictly fusion, or guitar rock, and this is not merely a showoffish guitar album either. What I have noticed about his music, is that it is very thematic, almost as if the songs were meant to have lyrics. He plays in a manner that realizes the similar melodies a good vocalist would impart to a nice arrangement. I'd say he has more of an old-school approach to his style, which reminds me of a few different players from the seventies such as: Jeff Beck, Tommy Bolin, Ray Gomez or Ronnie Montrose. Now I am not aware if Dave Schmeidler was a fan of those artists, but his style is somewhat reminescent of those players. The main common thread each of those guys shares with Dave are that they come from a rock background, and manage to integrate enough creative writing to concoct something close to progressive rock, or even fusion in certain sections.

Having cut my teeth on those artists, the beauty of the music was it's ability to draw your attention to the themes as opposed to any particular riff, or exotic technical virtues. Dave is indeed a fine guitarist, and enjoys the exploration of tone. One thing I found noticable was his interest in blending clean and saturated tones from his guitar in many different facets, providing balanced counterpoint with the other musicians to embellish the fullness of the cds sound quality.

None of the songs are of great length, so you find that the music flows nicely through the 12 song cd. No long drawn out meanderings, just concise and short tunes that are built on substance and expression. Dave is joined by a slew of different musicians, each allowed to leave a statement in the context of their particular contributions. I'd have to call this cd a fun listen, music that is not going to annoy you with run of mill shred guitar or mindless aggresive play. Schmeidler has a vision of what he wants to convey through his music, and the view stretches beyond simply playing, he writes with a passion for music of lasting value. Something you might remember from those other old school players.

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