The “Utility Player”

Stephen Bernhard, multi-instrumentalist and founder of the music project The Schnooks, has kept a low profile for most of his playing career. Originally taking up drums as a young teen, his dreams of being a percussionist would have to be put on hold due to noise complaints.

As an alternative, he received an old Montoya brand SG copy guitar and a Peavey Decade amp to try guitar out. In high school, Bernhard joined a garage band that needed a bassist. So, He became the low end for the band, and he was hooked on bass.

He eventually returned to drums, and in 2004 he had begun to put together a new project called Point 19. That didn’t last long, as the next year he suffered a severe disabling back injury and he was disability separated from public service. He also had to stop playing music for the most part in order to reduce the amount of pain he was in.

Fast Forward to 2022. Things have changed greatly in the music industry since he first started in the early 90s. By that time, anyone with a computer and a few bucks could get their creations published, for better or for worse. The bar for entry became significantly lower for the musician to be published. Maybe a little too low? maybe…

Bernhard took advantage of this opportunity be founding the music project The Schnooks (https://theschnooks.com), a confounding mix of humor, emotional heaviness, and a lot more in between. The Schnooks’ site displays a more irreverent and maybe at times a little more boundary pushing side to Bernhard’s persona. He describes it as his neurodivergent digital playground.

Despite the decidedly unserious tone found on much of The Schnooks site, Bernhard’s music is often found to to compelling and honest. In fact, The Schnooks song “Bleeding Me Dry (Anhedonia)” is being used as a clinical tool in counseling. This, he considers, to be his greatest achievement.