Robert Scheffler once held a day job as a research editor and writer for Esquire Magazine, but there came a time to leave his position and get back to where it all began, writing songs and recording. The question was: What more did he have to say? How would he create music without a band? In pre-magazine days, he played with one called A Million Pieces (there were only four). “I was with John Abbey on bass, Phil Cimino on drums and Boo Reiners on guitar,” he relayed by email. “All musicians in demand, who had their hands (and feet for Phil) in tons of projects.”
Late one night, he saw an interview with the writer George Saunders. The novelist’s process, as he described it, was surprisingly down to earth: if it’s not fun, don’t do it; have a plan but be willing to abandon it. It was just the advice Scheffler needed. Starting fresh, the songs began coming together. The result was his third full-length studio album (“Truce” 2025), recorded at home. “I recorded the album in my home studio,” he noted, “aka, a corner of a room in my tiny apartment.”
“Big things have small beginnings” is what Mr. Dryden said to General Murray in the film, Lawrence of Arabia. Scheffler was originally from the suburbs of NYC called Long Island. “It’s famous for people who talk loud and sarcastically. I taught myself guitar as a teenager and started writing and playing solo soon after.” Following college, he was in a few bands on Long Island before moving to the City to write and perform under his own name.
For his exclusive AUK Mini-Gig, Scheffler recorded the video at NoMAA Studios in uptown Manhattan. “It’s a rehearsal and performance space connected with an uptown artist’s alliance, the big, beautiful United Palace theater (I saw Wilco and the Allman Brothers there in the past), and I was thrilled to have access to it.” He is playing a Martin acoustic guitar and a Bushman ukulele. “I wish I had better stories about them, but they’re both store bought with cash money.”
Scheffler’s albums are available on all streaming platforms: Apple, Amazon, Spotify, etc. But the best place to find out more about the artist and his music (maybe furniture, too) is at his website. Before you head over there, what he has to say about the songs in the video follow below.
1) Bleeding on Broadway
One of my favorite tunes to perform. I had a friend who was maybe partying too much. There was a kind of grandiosity to the pain that I thought was behind it all. It was tough to witness. Producer Jim Rondinelli did a fantastic job recording the full-band studio version on the album “Life of Luxury” and I’m forever grateful.
2) I Don’t Love You Like I Should
From my new album, titled “Truce.” I had the song title kicking around in my head for a long time but every time I tried to flesh it out, it sounded dour. Then I picked up the ukulele and – bam – it became light and playful and not about failure but aspiration.
3) Unconcerned Stars
This is a new song not previously recorded. Growing up LGBT, there’s so much BS you have to put up with, some of which is handed down by those who presume to know the unknowable. This is about the journey to self-discovery and self-worth. The title is a brilliant phrase in the novel Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer. I thought about the words for a long time. Then I came across the phrase “idiot heart” in a book by Benjamin Alire Saenz, and a story seemed to come together.
4) Punch Line
Another song from “Truce.” I blended the stories of a couple of friends – one who reignited a past relationship (successfully) and my friend Rich, who had a running joke about being willing to overlook most any red flag (unsuccessfully).
