Go FAQ Yourself!

A schnook is a Yiddish term for someone who is gullible, easily duped, etc.. It is often used as a “playful” insult, as opposed to one meant to truly offend.

I chose that name for a few reasons: It was a lyric in a Beastie Boys song that I thought was funny, it’s a nod to my heritage, and because, frankly, I am one. I thought it was catchy, but is often confused by smart speakers with the grocery chain Schnuck’s, the legendary musician Snooks Eaglin, or other similarly sounding names.

Maybe I should have chosen “The Shmendriks?“

Oh, and the label’s name, “Kvetchin’,” is another term for complaining. Another term for complaining is “bitching.” Therefore, translated, the label is “Bitchin’ Records.” Clever, huh? Right? Hello, you still there?

Guitar, keys, drums, vocals, bass and everything else – Me.

Now, if someone contributes, he/she will be added to the roster and/or credited accordingly. Collaborations are not out of the question.

Mainly, I never could afford lessons. My father became sick right when I started playing guitar, and that took our most of our finances. Later on, I either had no time, or again, no money for lessons. Therefore, I just never had the opportunity.

I recommend anyone wanting to learn an instrument to get lessons from a qualified instructor if at all possible. I personally would like to get some, myself, as a musician always has room to learn and improve.

Now, the question is this: Is someone who is self-taught not going to be as talented or skilled as a trained musician? My belief, based on myself and other self-taught musicians, I think that the answer is “It depends on the person.” The assumption that being self-taught is automatically an indication of lesser skill or talent has been proven to be false time and time again throughout history. So, please don’t dismiss us just based on that alone. Judge us by our output, not our education (or deficits).

Cauda equina syndrome. Started in 2005 after an incident while working in public safety. I didn’t have surgery until 2016 (not by choice). That’s a really, really long time to have pressure on those nerves, and the neurosurgeon who finally did the procedure stated that I shouldn’t have been able to even walk with what he found when he opened me up. The inner material from a bad vertebral disc extruded out and wrapped around my nerve by the time they operated.

Yet, here I am, learning double kick drumming. Though it isn’t going as smoothly as I’d like. Most instruments hurt to play, but the drums are the most physical and demanding on the shoulders and arms, back, hips, legs, and feet. Posture is important with drumming, and my posture sucks ass.

I am also on the spectrum. This doesn’t factor into the disability, but it does cause executive dysfunction in me which affects my playing in different ways (difficulty with working memory, cognitive flexibility problems and other stuff).

Lastly, I just went blind in my right eye. Well, not completely. I can make some shapes and colors out at the moment.

I mention both my disability and the autism for a reason. I hope to demonstrate that neither a disability nor autism should automatically mean that the individual with the issue should be dismissed or disregarded. That has happened to me on numerous occasions, both as a musician and someone trying to find gainful employment (this is a big reason The Schnooks is a solo endeavor at present).

If I can do what I do in regards to the music and record label while being both disabled physically and autistic, then others absolutely can do that and more, as well. I’m no one special (but my mommy thinks so!!!), and there are others just like me who can accomplish so much more than I ever will.

(Now pulling out soapbox…)

Speaking of autism, don’t listen to the bullshit coming from people who ARE NOT medical professionals and /or who dismiss expertise and scientific method in favor of faulty science and conspiracy theories. I won’t mention names, so I’ll just use the initials: RFK Jr. This is not a political statement, but a public health and welfare one. That transcends any party affiliation.

Asking questions and being skeptical of certain claims is indeed important. But the outright dismissal of scientific method and modern medicine because their findings are inconvenient to an individual’s agenda is dangerous.

(Putting soapbox away… See Lisa? I do put stuff back where it belongs. Sometimes. Assuming that it’s imaginary.)

You know, I’m glad that you asked. Mongolia is often thought of as a barren land, but is in fact a place with a history just as compelling as any other country.

 Ulaanbaatar is an ancient city which is home to over 1,700,000 inhabitants, of which approximately 95% are ethnic Mongols and Buddhism is the dominant religion. This is the largest city in Mongolia, and actually almost half of the country’s population live there.

Now, I can go on for days about Mongolia and their resilient and fascinating people, but I digress. The answer to your question is Khishgeegiin Nyambaatar, former Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs for Mongolia. He was first appointed in 2023, and was elected to continue serving in 2024.

Rumor has it that he’s a huge fan. I hope to meet him on my next sabbatical to the Gobi Desert city of Bayankhongor. It’s a distance from there to Ulaanbaatar, but Bactrian camels are strong and the yaks will provide us with milk for the journey.

In my studio, primarily. And if you bring snacks and a cool attitude, then you’re welcome to come listen.

Unfortunately, gigging just is not in the cards right now. Because of my injury, I have to take frequent breaks, my gear is too heavy for me to move, and I would need either a backing band or several backing tracks. That would be a nightmare.

It wasn’t necessarily an intentional choice at first. I started learning guitar because of noise complaints from my drums. Then in high school I started playing bass when the band I joined needed a bassist. From that point, I discovered that I enjoyed learning the different instruments.

I find most instruments and noise making gadgets fascinating. There is also a sense of satisfaction from doing something new or nailing a different instrument. It’s just something I usually enjoy.

Though, some instruments I just can’t quite figure out yet.

Well, I have quite a bit of junk that I use, so I’ll list the things I use most often in production.

-Synths: Roland JD-Xi, Behringer Deepmind 12 and MS-1, Arturia Microfreak
-Drums: Roland TD17KV, various percussion instruments
-Guitars: 1987 USA Stratocaster, 1981 Ibanez Destroyer II, Peavey Raptor 1 International, Epiphone Les Pauls (Special and Jr.), Modified Epiphone Les Paul Jr. with the tuning (low to high) GDADGB, which I just call “The Bernhard Tuning.” This is a short-scale baritone instrument.
-Basses: Customized imported (fretless basses and 6 string, 1995 Ibanez ATK100, and a Washburn XB102, 25.5 inch scale mini bass (unmodified and likely a kid’s model, to be honest) tuned to match the baritone Les Paul. Unorthodox? yep. Does it work? Yep.

I have things from a mouth harp (can’t make a damn sound with it) to a didgeridoo (also can’t figure it out yet), to African and Latin percussion (cajon, bongos, djembes, etc.). I have smaller synths I use on occasion, many more electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, ukulele, and even a cigar box guitar to experiment with. And other miscellaneous things that are supposed to make music.

I also have built some stuff that may appear in my work, like pedals and mini amps. I use the amps for testing, re-amping (playing the recorded clean signal back through an amp and re-recording it), and for fun.

On the fretless instruments, I first used a tuner to find where each fret would be and then marked the side of the neck with marker denoting those fret locations. I also swapped out capacitors to give one a deeper tone. The other I added a tone bypass. They both have that, actually.

The Destroyer’s neck pickup was a bit screwed, so I put in a P94 there. The strat is all stock. The Peavey has a hot rail style pickup and a spin-a-split installed. The short scale bass has a guitar hot rail in it that is split via switch and has a tone bypass. I have done a bit more to other things, so I may add them to the list later.

Admittedly, I consider myself a drummer, first and foremost. I’m not great, but it’s the one I feel is the best for me. No scales to remember, no fretboard to memorize…. They are a better fit for me, not on a physical level (I am in horrible shape for a drummer, and lack endurance due to my disability), but on a deeper mental level.

Viktorija, lūdzu, vienkārši apstājies. Klausies, “tu esi jauka meitene (Tu esi jauka meitene). Kāda laba sieva tu būtu (Tik jauka meitene). Jā, tavas acis varētu nozagt jūrnieku no jūras.”*

Bet lieta tāda, ka – un Kungs, lūdzu, neuztver to nepareizi – bet tu biji tikai jautrs vakars Rīgā, labi? Klausies, piedod… Ielej sev brendiju* un ļauj man pateikt sekojošo.

Tev ir visas tiesības dusmoties. Dāmas Liepājā, Daugavpilī, Jelgavā un Jūrmalā visas bija uz mani niknas, tāpēc kāpēc gan ne arī tu, vai ne? Man tiešām žēl, Viktorija. Es saprotu. Kad es skatos caur spoguļu*, es redzu, ka esmu vienkārši pārāk viegla, es domāju.

They span from Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Sepultura, and all in between. Honestly, the list is too long. But here are some more important ones:

Boston, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Clutch, Faith No More, Primus, Jaco Pastorius, Tool, Link Wray, The Kinks, The Guess Who, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew (yeah, I’ll admit it), I really can go on. Mitch Mitchell, the Appice Brothers, Louis Cole, Nancy Wilson ….

There are also those you might not think of, such as my personal hero, Mel Brooks, and foley artists. Even sounds can be influential to me.

Let me know some of your more interesting or obscure influences. I would love to learn about them. Seriously, contact me via the link in the header and let me know.

Yes, he is. It is because he had the balls to release “The Producers,” “History of the World Pt. 1,” “Blazing Saddles,” and others that were controversial for one reason or another. He has inspired me to do what I do, to stand up for myself, and not be afraid to do something stupid.

Plus, he used his skills against the Nazis in WW2, and that’s badass.