LOUIS SCHEFANO
Louis Schefano is a singer-songwriter, producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He has recorded under various monikers including Regia, Louis, and Suspicious Light and most recently as a solo artist, under his own name. Schefano was the original drummer for Remy Zero when they first formed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1990. He later joined Verbena and then Little Red Rocket (featuring Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink of Azure Ray)
Regia's The Art of Navigation, which was Schefano's debut as a frontman, was released in 1999 on spinART Records and was co-produced by Shelby Tate of Remy Zero and mixed by Robert Schneider, best known as a producer for his work on Neutral Milk Hotel's critically lauded In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Maria Taylor, who was previously romantically linked to Schefano, credits him for teaching her "how to write songs, play drums and find my voice." Taylor covered several of his songs on her releases including "Nature Song" on her 2005 debut 11:11, "A Small Part of Me" co-written by Schefano on 2007's Lynn Teeter Flower and "A Chance" on 2009’s LadyLuck.
In 2007, Schefano, recording under the name "Louis," released Freak Show Revenge on Superphonic Records and also co-produced, engineered and contributed to Jaymay's debut album Autumn Fallin'. He is also credited with additional recordings on Bright Eyes' 2007 critically aclaimed Cassadaga on Saddle Creek Records and is featured on Maria Taylor's newest record In the Next Life, credited with vocals and additional recordings on several tracks.
Schefano debuted his first solo record Opposite Side of the World with the single "Come to Think" released on Maria Taylor's new label, Flower Moon Records. The song "The Future is Now," from the Friends and Family Vol. 1 compilation, premiered in May of 2018 in LA Weekly, calling it a "sprawling, drawling, epic pop-rock song that sways in and out of layers like a beautiful Pink Floyd/Beatles hybrid." Schefano recorded and co-produced Azure Ray’s Waves EP, released October 26, 2018.
OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WORLD
Released February 17th, 2017, Opposite Side of the World is singer-songwriter and producer/engineer Louis Schefano’s first full-length record as a solo artist and the second release on Maria Taylor’s newly launched label, Flower Moon Records.
Schefano, who currently splits his time between NYC and LA, is a Birmingham, AL native and was a seminal figure in the indie-rock scene there as a founding member of Remy Zero, Little Red Rocket (featuring Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink of Azure Ray) and Verbena (A.A. Bondy). Schefano has previously recorded under various monikers, most notably Regia which released the “great sixties-inspired pop” The Art of Navigation (mixed by Robert Schneider, producer of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea). In addition to his steady catalog of EP’s and other projects, Schefano has also performed, produced or recorded with a variety of artists over the last two decades including Maria Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, Bright Eyes, The Ladybug Transistor, and more.
Arriving in Los Angeles this past summer to complete work on other projects and Maria Taylor’s critically acclaimed In the Next Life, it was long-time friend Maria (who had just announced the launch of Flower Moon Records) and husband & label co-founder Ryan Dwyer, that served as the catalyst for Schefano’s solo debut. “These are some of my all-time favorite songs” said Maria, who has openly credited Schefano with “teaching me how to write music and find my voice.” Taylor also appears on the album (including the single “Come to Think”) and covered Schefano’s “Nature Song” on her own solo debut 11:11. During the fall of 2016, Taylor and Dwyer worked with Schefano in Los Angeles to curate a collection of their personal Schefano-best-of’s that ultimately became Opposite Side of the World.
On Opposite Side of the World, Schefano cohesively embodies equal parts the Zombies, the Smiths, Guided by Voices and Radiohead. Sonically colorful yet easily accessible, the album’s lush harmonies and instantly memorable melodies are arresting, inescapable, and timeless. The sounds-like-summer single “Come to Think” or wistful and breezy lullaby-esque “After All” beg for instant replay. Recorded and produced by Schefano, on Opposite Side of the World he emerges for the first time from behind a band name or mixing console, as a mature and poignant front-man.
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NEWS & REVIEWS
LA WEEKLY PREMIERES LOUIS SCHEFANO'S "THE FUTURE IS NOW"
Stream the Flower Moon Records "Friends and Family Volume 1" compilation opener from Louis Schefano "The Future is Now," what LA Weekly called "a sprawling, drawling, epic pop-rock song that sways in and out of layers like a beautiful Pink Floyd/Beatles hybrid..." Stream the track at LA Weekly.
"COME TO THINK" FEATURED IN CBS' "ME, MYSELF & I"
"Come to Think" appears in season 1, episode 6 ("New Job") of CBS's "Me, Myself and I" featuring Bobby Moynihan, John Larroquette, and Jaleel White. Watch the clip on Facebook here.
