Gary James' Interview With The Keyboard Player For Berlin And Cherie Currie
Dave Schulz



He's a guy from Upstate New York who's made quite a name for himself in the world of Rock music. He's the keyboardist of Berlin and Cherie Currie. He's toured with The Goo Goo Dolls and Wang Chung to name just a few. He was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame in 2008. The man we are speaking of is Dave Schulz.

Q - Dave, I'm looking at all these name acts you've played with over the years and one thing comes to mind. If you had been a drummer or a lead guitarist you might not have been as successful as you have been. Being a keyboardist made all the difference in the world, didn't it?

A - I think being a keyboardist and a vocalist is really the key. There's a lot of keyboard players out there that are great. I'll try to find a sub for myself for a gig and it's hard to find because they don't sing. That's the key, the singing and playing together. That's what makes it unique.

Q - Are you currently with Berlin and Cherie Currie?

A - I've been with Berlin probably thirteen years. Cherie Currie, we're definitely doing some stuff. We did a video for a Burt Bacharach song that I produced. That was pretty successful. We enjoyed that. She decided to let me produce more music with her. So at this point, we're just recording songs that hopefully, eventually will become an album. But it's mostly covers of songs that no one would ever expect her to be singing. For example, the first one we did was "What The World Needs Now" by Burt Bacharach. She nailed it. It's very unique for the singer of "Cherry Bomb" to sing a Burt Bacharach song. So that's kind of the idea, the angle there.

Q - As rockers start to get a little older they start to look back on the crooners, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett.

A - Yeah.

Q - And they say, "Maybe I can do that." Rod Stewart had success doing that.

A - Absolutely. For sure. I would love to do original material too, but that's just what we're on right now and we're having fun with it. We're picking songs. Next song we're going to do is "Starman" by David Bowie and maybe "Nights In White Satin" by The Moody Blues. We'll see. (laughs)

Q - When she's finished with this project, how does she get the world to hear it? Does she have a record deal? Is she putting it out herself?

A - That's out of my jurisdiction. When we did the Burt Bacharach single, in the beginning of the pandemic, she got it into American Songwriter magazine and The Boston Harold. She just has a lot of friends in the press. They like her. She's got a good publicist. As far as a deal, I don't even know how worthy a record deal is these days. I don't even know if that's really the goal. That's not my job. My job is to make the music, produce it, and whatever she wants to do at that point is her decision. Of course I'd like it to be heard. Of course I would. But nobody really has a straight answer for that. It's kind of murky.

Q - Does Buffalo, New York have more bars than say Syracuse or Rochester?

A - (laughs) I don't know, man. It's definitely a drinking town. I feel like there's a lot of bars in one area. Most towns they have like a street. Buffalo has Chippewa and Allen Street. That's where a lot of the bars are sandwiched in. Then they have Hertel Ave., which is more of an Italian neighborhood. There's lot of bars popping up there lately. And Elmwood Ave. too. So, there's like these four areas that have a lot of bars in it. So, I guess so. I haven't lived there in twenty years, but I go back a lot.

Q - You were inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame in 2008.

A - Yeah.

Q - Have you heard of the SAMMYS (the Syracuse Area Music Awards)?

A - I think so, yeah.

Q - You can't say what it means to receive a SAMMY, but what does it mean to be inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame?

A - It was great. We were a unique induction in the sense that it was a family induction. So, it was me, my sister, my brother and my dad all at the same time. Basically my dad was a conductor. He died when I was ten. He directed the Philharmonic, so it was partially giving his some credit, post mortem as well. And then my sister is a great singer and my brother is a drummer. He's got Grammys. And I'm the guy who's out in L.A. doing what I'm doing. They just decided to give us one single award. What means is, it's definitely an honor because Buffalo has great musicians. It's just a shame the world doesn't know as much about it as they should because I think the weather is so shitty that they just practice all day long. (laughs)

Q - If Buffalo has California weather you'd be out on the beach, chasing girls in bikinis.

A - Exactly. It's definitely a bit lazy out here (Los Angeles). So when I came in, I'm showing up to rehearsals twenty minutes early and everyone else is showing up twenty minutes late. So there's the difference. (laughs)

Q - How did Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls hear about you? Did he see you in a band somewhere?

A - When I was like seventeen I was in a band called Marvelous Sauce, which is a funny name. Well, I've got to really think about this one. So, I was in a band called Electro Man. I was a huge fan of the band before I got into the band. I was in another band called Marvelous Sauce, which had sort of a record deal on a label called Eureka Records, which was distributed my E.M.I. at the time. I was seventeen at the time, so in my mind I thought we were going to be big Rock stars, but it never happened of course. But we rehearsed in The Goo Goo Dolls rehearsal space. So, that's how we met.

Q - Your tour with The Goo Goo Dolls took you all over the world. I never thought The Goo Goo Dolls had all that much success, but I guess I'm wrong about that.

A - They're huge. They got pretty big. I was touring with them in the late '90s. That was probably their peak. They had five Top Ten singles in the country in one year. That's massive. I mean the song "Iris" alone was the most played song in the world that year. It was more played that The Beatles if you just add that up. I think there was a stat that was listed for that song that it was played somewhere in the world every second of the day during 1998 or 1999. They've got two "Greatest Hits" albums. That's pretty impressive.

Q - Were you able to see other groups in cities you visited?

A - Oh, yeah. I would try as much as I could. The schedule was always pretty nuts. I'm just like that in general. I like to explore. I had my ear to the ground trying to discover new music. One of the biggest thrills I had was opening up for The Stones. It was pretty wild. I never expected to do that. That was towards the end of the tour. March, 1999 I think. If I went to a city like Austin I would always go out and try to see bands.

Q - Did you get to meet The Stones?

A - I did meet all of them. They were super nice, very cool, very accommodating, very friendly. I got to play pool with Keith and Ronnie and I beat 'em. (laughs)

Q - You mentioned your father passed away when you were ten.

A - Yeah.

Q - When you lose a parent at that young age, it gives you a drive and determination that your contemporaries don't have. You were almost destined to have success in the music field at that point. The last time I said that to anyone was to an up and coming Country singer by the name of Shania Twain. What do you think of my analysis?

A - I would never have known it at the time. There's no way to know. You're just a kid. But maybe you're right. I'm successful in the sense that I've made music for a living only. I haven't had to get another job, ever. That's successful. I'm not famous though. I'm not like a famous artist. I'm just a guy who supports a lot of people. I do what I and I'm proud of it. I would obviously like to have more success as an artist, but it just hasn't happened. But, it doesn't mean I don't work my ass off to try and make it happen. I always push the envelope. It's interesting. I never thought of it. You're the first person to bring that up. It's weird. We're stuck in our own bodies and minds. I never really thought about how and why I do the things I do. Now you're making me think a little about it.

Official Website: www.DaveSchulzMusic.com

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