Ben Schwab - Sylvie Interview
Born in Glendale, CA, Schwab began to fall in love with music as a young kid and was influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Todd Rundgren, Jon Brian, Everly Brothers, CSNY and his father’s band “Mad Anthony”. As Schwab began to enter his 20’s he tapped into his very own songwriting capabilities and immediately wrote his first song. In this interview we explore Schwab’s childhood growing up, meeting bandmate Jacob Loeb, forming Golden Daze and eventually Sylvie. With a summer tour in Europe and a new Sylvie album underway, Schwab has a lot of music to share with the world and we coudln’t be more excited to see and hear what he has in store.
When and where were you born? What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music, more specifically guitar and songwriting?
Glendale, CA. I come from a very loving and supportive family and my childhood was good growing up. We moved to Ohio when I was 9 and I moved back to California when I was 17 and I’ve been here ever since. I first fell in love with music around age 9, or 10. I was around my fathers music as a kid a lot and listened to all the stuff he would play. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s that I became more serious about pursuing music and wanted to write songs. The first inspiration to write my own songs was from listening to Elliott Smith. I was fascinated by his songs and how imaginative he was; how he created his own world lyrically and musically. I wrote my first song around that time called “Pyramids in the Moonlight”.
Was this something that was relevant around your household growing up? What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of our earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your first concert and when did it dawn on you that you wanted to be a musician?
Music was a part of our household and was a huge family bond between my father, my brother John and myself. I had an older brother who passed away last year. Rollerblade. The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Todd Rundgren, my dad’s band “Mad Anthony”, Jon Brian, Everly Brothers, CSNY. I honestly think my first concert was a concert by the rapper Ludacris. I just went with some friends from my high school.
Prior to Sylvie you participated in the duo group with bandmate Jacob Loeb. How did you initially meet him and what initially led to the decision to form this band? Tell me about writing and recording the group’s 2016 debut.
We met while I was attending art school at California Institute of the Arts. We shared a mutual love and interest for a lot of the same music, especially Jon Brion. That first album was a really fun experience where we all booked an air bnb in Joshua Tree and recorded it with our friend Kai Hugo. My brother John, Jacob, Me, Jordan and Fielder Thomas and friends just went out there and did it.
In 2019 you guys released your follow up, “Simpatico”. What was the overall approach to that record? What did you guys want to express as well as explore that was different from the previous work?
That album was our best work and dealt with the themes of friendship, family, and loyalty. I think some of those songs are still some of the best things I’ve ever been a part of, songs like “Took a Fall”, “Bluebell” and “Wayward Tide”. They have an ever deeper meaning to me now because my brother is playing drums on them and I’m now able to still listen to him play through that album
When and where did recording begin and would you mind giving some back story to some of the songs that are featured on the album? 2022 saw the release of Sylvie’s debut LP on Full Time Hobby. Tell me about writing and recording this wonderful record.
Recording was around 2016? We rented another air bnb in Big Bear for a month with all of our friends and recorded the whole album. Writing this album was a full return to the musical lineage and music I grew up with. I had learned so much over the years through writing and playing in Golden Daze and Drugdealer. I used a lot of what I learned and put it into the Sylvie album. I’m grateful to have such talented friends who I’ve grown with musically over the years.
Having created this album with friends and family, what does does this music mean to you? What did you want to ultimately express with these songs?
I sort of romanticized that was how it was made and to be honest I created the album mostly myself. I featured a couple people who I was close with because they were great singers and I believed in them as artists. The vision, writing, and countless number of hours of work was basically just me. I just love songwriting and sylvie is an outlet for me to do that. Because the songs have gained momentum and I want to share the music live I have had to put together a band. The new line up/version of Sylvie is the best it's been yet and I'm excited to share it with everyone live. Through Sylvie the goal has always been to write songs that I love and feel true to my emotional world and to try and cultivate positivity through sharing these songs with my community. I want to create a feeling, or atmosphere that people feel a part of, that is about empowerment, sharing and celebrating our love for music with each other.
What have you got going for this Spring/Summer? I’m sorry to hear you guys were in a terrible car accident recently. I interviewed Sam Burton last month and he shed light on the matter. is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
A summer tour in May in Europe. Yes the accident was horrific and I’m glad everyone is safe. Look forward to playing this year and getting started on Sylvie II, Thank you!
