Guy Schwartz

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Guy Schwartz
Birth nameGuy Donald Schwartz
Also known asBluesGuy Schwartz
Born (1952-02-17) February 17, 1952 (age 73)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres Americana, blues rock, new wave, progressive rock, folk, funk, blues, jazz, indie rock
Occupation(s)Bandleader, singer-songwriter, film maker
Instrument(s)bass, guitars, piano, drums
Years active1966–present
LabelsSpace City Records, HSR Records
Website GuySchwartz.com

Guy Schwartz (born February 17, 1952) is an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, videographer, music journalist, media activist, and 2016 presidential candidate[ citation needed ], mostly known for his collaborative involvement with other Texas musicians, a couple of regional minor-hit[ according to whom? ] records in the 1970s and 1980s, his three local Houston, Texas cable access TV series featuring local and regional original music, and live performances featuring set pieces plus spontaneous music and lyrics.

Contents

Career

Music

Schwartz began taking piano lessons and doing voice work on radio commercials at age five. The crew assembled to record spots for his father's furniture store in Newark, New Jersey, included the voice of Pat Conell, a local DJ on a 'race-music' station (who later became the first black network announcer), and two teenagers who wrote (Don Kirshner) and sang (Bobby Darin) the jingles. Schwartz credits the witnessing of Darin's rise on the music charts as his primary inspiration for a lifetime in music.[ citation needed ]

At ten, after his family moved to Houston, Texas in 1962, he switched to drums, then bass at 15.[ neutrality is disputed ] He attended Houston's Memorial High School and was classmates with Vince Bell, and Bill Browder. In 1966, as a fourteen-year-old, Schwartz met vocalist Ray Salazar and began gigging at Old Market Square in downtown Houston, at all-night clubs and dancehalls in Texas and southern Louisiana, and on the east Texas soul circuit.

Schwartz did some of his early basswork behind Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, BW Stephenson and Blaze Foley.

While an opening act for Pete Samson & Roadmap in 1973, Schwartz met recording studio manager Roger Tausz and began his recording career and a lifelong association with Tausz. Using Roadmap as a studio band, Schwartz recorded four songs, including 'Ride That Train', which broke onto local, the regional radio, and 'I Found God At A Truckstop', which was recorded by many, including Pete Samson & Kinky Friedman, but only released by Samson & Schwartz. These small successes gave Schwartz the credibility and momentum on which he built his regional music career. [ according to whom? ]

In 1976, Schwartz co-founded the band RELAYER, who only released one (RELAYER – 1977) of the three albums they recorded, but, found an underground prog-rock audience in the US and parts of Europe (partially thanks to the guitar work of Michael Knust[ according to whom? ] from the Texas band Fever Tree, and the similarity of the band's name with that of an album by British prog-rockers, Yes).

In 1978, Schwartz released his first solo album, featuring collaborations with two dozen Texas musicians with whom he performed live (on guitar for the first time) in a loosely knit group called Guy Schwartz & The Zap Rhythm Band, including Knust, Tausz, Tony Braunagel and Billy Block, each of whom found careers in music.

In 1980, Schwartz teamed with Randy Soffar and Mike Rayburn and formed Z-ROCKS, a new-wave power-pop band that had some minor regional hits, including "The Teacher's a Punk" and "Autorock", [1] fueled by touring with the likes of Duran Duran [ citation needed ], Todd Rundgren and Huey Lewis and The News. After their first album was added to over 200 radio stations across the US, it was reviewed as 'too derivative'.[ according to whom? ] Z-ROCKS never released its second album and disbanded in 1986.

From 1987 to 1997, Schwartz recorded and toured as a sideman[ citation needed ], and went back to school (University of Houston) to study video production and digital media to keep up with the new digital music business.

In 1997, Tausz & Schwartz reunited to update and remix that first solo album, and went on to record another two dozen albums together, forming a band, THE NEW JACK HIPPIES, which toured the US and western Europe from 1999 until 2004, [ citation needed ] and still performs regionally in Texas. Schwartz tours as a solo, and performs on tour with other bands in their locales. Schwartz' repertoire includes rock songs, blues, funk and americana, with a bit of humor and songs about weed thrown in for good [ according to whom? ] measure.

Since 2001, Schwartz has settled into a 2-year cycle which includes and annual free local original music festival and TV shoot (SOUTH BY DUE EAST – now in its 14th year), production of the TV series, new films and an album of new songs every year or two, and 3–6 months of touring. He's also looked to the past and engineered reunion shows and recordings with The Zap Rhythm Band (new songs – released August 2014) and Z-ROCKS (new recordings of old songs – unreleased). In 2012, Schwartz formed a band full of Austin players (Guy Schwartz & The Affordables) to perform locally in Austin, Texas. A live album and DVD of that experience will be forthcoming in 2014 or 2015.

Video and film

Guy Schwartz & Marlo Blue formed their SIRIUS HIPPIES PRODUCTIONS and have produced (and Schwartz has directed) several films and television series based upon the careers and live performances of Texas musicians and the Texas music scene, as seen through Schwartz' events, concerts and 'ad hoc' unconventional touring. His film/video career was a natural extension[ according to whom? ] of his local music journalism, and desire to promote the Houston, Texas original music scene, and his music, in the digital age.

Directing concert films on Billy Joe Shaver, Mr. Scarface and Carolyn Wonderland, as well as films about SOUTH BY DUE EAST and Schwartz' own New Jack Hippies, Schwartz & Blue have created three successful[ according to whom? ] TV series – 'Hippies.TV' (14th season), 'SOUTH BY DUE EAST TELEVISION'(8th season), and 'Guy Schwartz' Road Journal'(4th season).

Schwartz has also created music videos for Texas artists, including Trudy Lynn (2), Steve Krase (2), Tom The Folksinger, Hogan & Moss, and Almost Endless Summer, as well as several videos for his own music releases.

Community events and activism

Guy Schwartz has served five elected terms on The Harris County Democratic Party Executive Committee [ citation needed ], was a founding volunteer at Houston's Pacifica Radio station KPFT [ citation needed ], founding a 'local music' program on the station in 1975[ citation needed ], and has been active in movements to legalize marijuana and protect consumers and the middle class[ unbalanced opinion? ]. He and Marlo Blue shoot & record bands and musicians at SOUTH BY DUE EAST (a Guerilla Marketing Experiment, Movie Shoot, & Indie Music Festival in Houston, Texas, USA.) every March since 2003,[ citation needed ] making TV shows, indie films, radio shows, podcasts and compilation CDs, and put them out there to promote the artists,[ citation needed ] and the Houston, Texas, USA original music community. They say that they "give the artists free video and mixed audio and hope it helps." Schwartz declared his non-partisan candidacy for the U.S. presidency in August, 2015, which was unsuccessful and ended in Iowa.[ dubious – discuss ] In 2016, Schwartz, Blue & Tausz formed The Guy Schwartz Foundation for Houston's Original Music[ citation needed ], a Texas non-profit aimed at archiving, supporting and promoting the original music, musicians, and music scene of Houston, Texas, USA. [ dubious – discuss ]

Discography

TitleYearArtist NameGuy's Participation
Rock Side / Rhythm Side1977Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Relayer1979Relayerbandleader, songs, bass, vocals, producer
Z-Rocks1981Z-Rocksbandleader, songs, bass, additional guitars, vocals, producer
The Return of the New Jack Hippies1999Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Blue Jack Hippies2000BluesGuy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
The Sun's Gonna Rise Before I Get To Texas2001Bluesguy, Opie Hendrix & Kool Bartist, songs, guitar
Little Rock Live2002Guy Schwartzartist, bandleader, songs, guitar, vocals
Glo & Guy – Live in Texas2002Gloria Edwards & Guy Schwartz and The New Jack Hippiesartist, bandleader, songs, guitar, vocals
The Wandering Poets2002The Wandering Poetsmusic, guitars
The New Jack Hippies Homegrown Collective2003Guy Schwartzartist, songs, vocals, curator, producer
earthwire blue2003Little Joe Washington with The New Jack Hippiesbandleader, guitar, bass, producer
Blue Motel2004BluesGuy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Texacousticana2004Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
What Does She Want?2004The Wandering Poetsmusic, guitars, producer
Rock Onward2004Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Chameleon v3.52008Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Flying Solo Over Bong Island Sound2009Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, vocals, producer
Release & Revisit – Reissue with Previously Unreleased Material2009Relayerbandleader, songs, bass, vocals, producer
History – Reissue with Previously Unreleased Material2010Z-Rocksbandleader, songs, bass, additional guitars, vocals, producer
20102010Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
BluesWriter2012BluesGuy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
Weed at Walmart2014Bourbon & Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, producer
The Return of the Zap Rhythm Band2014Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, vocals, producer
Singer-Songwriter Night at The Green Oaks Tavern2019Guy Schwartz & The New Jack Hippiesartist, songs, guitar, vocals, producer
Under The Influence2020Guy Schwartzartist, songs, guitar, bass, vocals, producer

Filmography

Films

Television

References

  1. ↑ "Houston band, Z-Rocks, to play at beach party". Corpus Christi Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. July 15, 1983. p. 73. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
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