Watch Bob Schneider Directed by Robert Rodriguez
This week has been a nostalgic one for me. Two days after I moved to Austin in 1993, I saw Bob Schneider as the hair-slinging, shorts-dragging frontman of Joe Rockhead at a Fourth of July outdoor concert at Zilker Park. I became better acquainted with Schneider that same year as a regular at the Steamboat 1874 and the Black Cat, two historic Sixth Street music venues that are long gone (although there's a huge Steamboat reunion at Threadgill's on May 16). After Joe Rockhead left the scene, Schneider fronted Ugly Americans and then The Scabs before striking out on what's proven to be quite a successful solo career.
Schneider has always been good about releasing live recordings of many of his performances, but until now the Austin musician has not really explored much on the video side of his music. That's changed recently with the help of one of Austin's busiest and most well-known filmmakers, Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez took a weekend off from post-production on Predators and Machete to direct a music video for Bob Schneider's song "40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)," from the album Lovely Creatures. The video stars Schneider and actress Kat Denning, and, Rodriguez's youngest son Rogue Joaquin also appears. The video is embedded below -- see if you can identify the Austin locations, which I'll reveal after the jump.
Schneider is no stranger to the Austin film scene, having appeared briefly in Bob Byington's films RSO [Registered Sex Offender] and Harmony and Me (read Jette's review). A few of his songs have been featured in movies, including Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and 40 Days and 40 Nights. Most notably, many of his songs were featured on the soundtracks for Miss Congeniality and Gun Shy, both of which Sandra Bullock filmed during her relationship with Schneider in the early 2000s.
IFC's Brandon Kim presented the exclusive video premiere along with an interview with Robert Rodriguez and Bob Schneider here.
Those Austin locations in the video? Zilker Park playground, the First Street bridge, Austin Hike and Bike Trail at Auditorium Shores, and featured extra "Hey Cupcake" South Congress trailer.
[Photo credit: "Robert Rodriguez at Troublemaker Studios," by Jette Kernion]