Today we’d like to introduce you to Brett Schieber.
Hi Brett, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been obsessed with music and that has never wavered, for both good and bad and despite all the ups and downs. For one reason or another, music is what I love and how I process my thoughts and feelings about everything. My “professional” career began as 1/2 of Arcanum (an alternative synth/electronica group), then I went on to my “solo” music, Mark D. Pencil and Friends (children’s educational music), playing on a bunch of other people’s music, and now I’m doing a “rock and soul” project where I’m getting different singers for every song. It’s much more “pop” than anything I’ve done before and I’m really excited about it. Of course, I’m still working on all my other aforementioned musical outlets too.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle is simply trying to get heard. There is simply so much out there that it’s difficult to get anyone to listen and if they do, you’ve only got a couple of seconds. I guess that’s why TikTok, and apps like that, is how music is getting discovered. Unfortunately, in most cases, that brings everything down to the lowest common denominator. But anyway, yes, the most difficult thing is just to get heard, so thank you for asking me to do this and for listening!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m proud of all of my musical endeavors. What sets me apart from others? I don’t know. I just am who I am and I do a lot of different things. What am I proud of? I’m always very hard on myself, but I’ll try to overlook that…..let’s see… One, I’m proud of my new rock and soul project. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying working with such talented singers. My latest single, “Learn the Hard Way”, with Sean O’Donnell – a great pop vocalist – and Bricey, who wrote a cool rap for the song, is something I’m really happy with. In a fair and just world, I feel as if the song should be a big hit, so wish me luck! https://brettschieber.bandcamp.com/album/learn-the-hard-way-single-edit I’m also really proud of my Mark D. Pencil music for kids. I frequently get videos and notes sent to me from teachers and parents who use the music with their students. It’s very fulfilling to see kids having fun and learning something with my music. http://MarkDPencil.com
Finally, the thing I’m probably most proud of is the musical audiobook I wrote with Tree (the other 1/2 of my group, Arcanum) called “Wonderworld: The Musical”. I love writing songs with Tree because he’s the most creative and best songwriter I know, so when I had this idea for it, I knew Tree would be the best person to help me with it, so I’m very grateful that he agreed! I’m so proud of how it came out and I’ve also completed a remix version of the audiobook which I hope we can put out soon. https://youtu.be/f_Z20j4QCks
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think most people are surprised that I do several different styles of music – my personal singer/songwriter type stuff, the artsy pop I do with Tree for Arcanum, the Mark D. Pencil music for kids, and the new rock and soul/pop stuff with other singers.
Contact Info:
- Website: MarkDPencil.com
- Instagram: @brettschiebermusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/brettschiebermusic
- Twitter: @brettschieber
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/markdpencil
- Other: https://brettschieber.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Photo by Julio Sandoval Illustration by Gian Uy
