Meet Johnny Schaefer | Singer-Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Johnny Schaefer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Johnny, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My music career is a natural result of pursuing a calling that I’ve felt since I was four years old. My first album cover is a photo my grandmother took of me at that age holding a toy guitar. I had already written my first song and sung my first solo in church by then. I used to tell people I was going to be a
singer-songwriter and I pretended jump ropes were microphones. I put on shows for the neighbors in our backyard. I was active in band and choir growing up and was lucky that I went to a school where that was cool. We also had fantastic teachers. I got a degree in music from Cal State Fullerton and set out to take the world by storm. My family strongly encouraged me to have something to fall back on, and I worried that if I did, I would fall back. In my twenties I met a few different individuals who took advantage of my naivety and promised to help me “make it in the biz.” They took huge amounts of money. I had to get a “day” job to pay for it all and sort of happened upon the banking industry by accident. It was a tough time. On top of that, I was wrestling with being gay. As a preacher’s kid growing up in conservative Porterville, CA, I had a lot to work through. The positive aspect is the
way these challenges informed my musical journey. Music helps me process and share my feelings and unique perspective on life and the world. I excelled in the banking industry and over time I rose higher and higher in the ranks, all the while singing and writing music on the side as time would allow. But, I didn’t see a way to make a living at it. It wasn’t until I was the last man standing in a corporate restructure that I decided to make my Lebron James move and fully pursue the music career I always felt I was meant to have. I’ve sung backup for Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Pete Townshend, Billy Idol, Sarah Vaughan, Dianne Carrol, and others and recently released an Award-winning original song featuring Grammy® legend Melissa Manchester, When I started believing in myself, others believed in me, too.

What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are unaware of?

I think people have a general idea that a career in the arts is a struggle for most of us financially, but I
don’t think they know how hard it is for most musicians. In the “Industry,” decision-makers are
too often business people who don’t seem to know a lot about music. Musicians have tried to adapt to
streaming services and a complete dismantling of the way things used to work. Many famous,
established artists are even having a hard time making a living. We get a fraction of a cent for every
stream. People rarely buy music, even from artists they like, and even playing live is costly. I don’t play
well enough to accompany myself, so I hire players (other musicians.) There is a huge cottage industry of
people making money off musicians in all sorts of ways, but the ones creating the art are often the
last to profit. For me, it is a mixed bag because I am aware that at my age (I’m 61) , if the industry had
not changed, I probably would not have had a chance within the former structure. That’s because The
the indie scene has opened a world of opportunities to be heard. But there are between 40,000 and
80,000 songs released every day. It’s a real challenge to cut through that. So, I am truly grateful to
publications like yours that allow us to tell our stories and reach people who appreciate what we
do. I’ve always said that with more than 300 million people in the US alone, I would have a million fans if
just one in one hundred liked my music. I am certain that my songs would appeal to many more than
that. So, I need to reach them.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

The late Gary Austin, founder of the Groundlings improv company, once told me “Always make the
riskier choice.” As an artistic expression it will be the more interesting choice. It’s how art is expanded
and how new paths are forged. Obviously, calculation and evaluation are important. I might add, “When
there are two or more sound options, always make the risker choice.” Growth is important, but it can be
unsettling. In my life and my career when I have listened to my gut and taken risks it has served me well.
And I do not regret the ones that didn’t work out. I rather find myself pondering what might have
happened those times I played it safe had I tried.

Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that
contributed to your success?

Everything changed when I chose to fully believe in myself and my vision. I noticed this, too, when I
finally came out of the closet at 23. Up to that point, I often attracted people who reflected
my self-loathing. I was bullied, told how evil I was, and rejected, but when I loved myself exactly as I was
people treated me differently. And those who didn’t, did not have the same effect on me. In my career
it was the same way. When I chose to embrace the music dream at the core of my being something
shifted in the people around me. They saw me as I saw myself and became supportive.

What is the most important factor behind your success/the success of your brand?
A collaborative spirit. I love working with others. I am drawn to people who have what I lack and find that they often lack what I have, so it presents us with a huge opportunity to benefit one another. I like bringing musical elements together that don’t normally fit and molding them into something new. I like
juxtaposing two melodies on top of one another. My friend, musician and producer Stephan Oberhoff is a great example of that collaboration. We have different backgrounds and have had some wonderful adventures. I am very eclectic in what I listen to, and so I write many kinds of music. When I owned a
house, there were 13 different colors on the interior walls. If you give me a box of crayons, I’m likely to use many of the colors. I love variety. A record label would probably tell me to choose one thing and stick to it. I don’t have a record label telling me what to do. So, I’m free to explore.

What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?Funny, but no particular situation stands out. I think it’s more of an internal decision to let go. I’m a perfectionist and very strong-willed and I know how I want things to go. But I’ve actually made things happen in the past by sheer will that weren’t the best for me or others in the long run. So, for me, it’s trusting that if I relax into God’s plan for me, meditate regularly, and let go of what I think outcomes should be, the best outcome for me and all around me will unfold. All I can say is that when I do it, I’m at peace and when I don’t, I am not. But it isn’t always easy at first. We want to control things.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Grammy® Award-Winning Singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester was a musical beacon of light to me during my scared, confused days in the closet. This was before gay marriage was legal, before we were written into movies and television shows in a positive way, and when Anita Bryant was crusading against us. Melissa’s strong, consoling voice guided me through it. With her I was not alone. I used to write songs and send them to her on cassette hoping she would sing one. I told people that if I could do for even one person what Melissa had done for me, I would consider myself a huge success. I have done that. In fact, as fate would have it, I have done so with Melissa! There is a video on YouTube where I go into the story in more detail, but she and I became friends and my husband started making some of her music videos. I wrote a song called “You Can’t Hide the Light” which came from my experience of being caregivers with my husband for my Mom and Stepdad who died four months apart in 2020. The song features a double melody. I asked Melissa if she would record it with me. She loved it and said yes! The recording has 55 layered vocal tracks. We made a beautiful music video with Pasadena’s Lineage Dance Company and then I won the 2021 UK Songwriting Contest/Music Aid International Award for “Best Original Song.” More than 6,500 people from 80 countries entered the contest that year. My YouTube channel has more than three million views and I have nearly 100,000 followers on Facebook from all over the world. My music is reaching people. I received a beautiful email from a woman whose daughter is non-verbal autistic. She became fixated on one of my music videos and watched it over and over. Then, she started singing along! Her mother shared that it was one of the happiest moments of her life. I am so pleased that my eclectic music has touched lives in such a way. I did that, and on my terms. What more is there?

Work/life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?
I think most of us took a long, hard look at that question during the COVID pandemic. It fixed a spotlight on what really matters in life. My husband and I got a little bit of a head-start on that process. Shortly after my job ended, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. It was extraordinary!
Then a friend gave us an opportunity to work on a theatrical production in Belgium. We took extra time to explore Paris and Amsterdam. I started to realize how much I had missed by working so much. Then, I received word that my mother and stepfather in Olympia, WA were both given less than a year to live. My Dad used to talk about God’s timing, and I still marvel that we were able to pack up and become caregivers for them during their transition. We got there just as COVID hit. We both considered it a sacred honor. My husband Paco really bonded with my Mom, and we had such quality time with them.
It gave me much to reflect on. I wrote a LOT of music. For forty years I had worked weekdays at my banking job and sang every single weekend at my church job at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood where I was a cantor. Consequently, I had very little free time to do anything for myself. I couldn’t get away for trips. I worked many 12 to 14-hour days on salary. I gave up so many Christmases with family because I was singing at church, and they were far away. In the end, I don’t think all that extra effort was appreciated at all by my employers. They often expected it. I thought the money and the title were worth it. I don’t think that now. I can see myself spending 12-14 hours on music, for sure. I think that is the key. Doing what you love and always thinking about what really matters: love, relationships, purpose, and fulfillment. A spiritual path and physical exercise are vital components of that for me, as
well. I lost 30 pounds when I started walking 3-5 miles per day.

Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you? What do you like about it?
On the radio I once heard a review of a book in which the author interviewed dozens of winners of the Nobel Prize. The thing that stood out to the author was that most of the honored visionaries got the inspiration for their big idea while doing something completely unrelated to their field. They might have been playing catch with their kids, riding a bike, swimming, or walking the dog. When we allow ourselves to play and enjoy life, we free the separate areas of our brain to interact in different ways. A friend once mentioned that she had heard somewhere, “The goal is not the end of the road. The goal is the road.” I remind myself of that often.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?
Well, I don’t know that I had much of a choice, though I did take a huge detour. In the end, it pursued me. Music is in every fiber of my being. I find it to be highly spiritual and an expression of our true, loving, expansive self. I’ve connected with people through music in profoundly powerful ways. I used to make pretty good money doing other things and haven’t totally figured that out yet with music. But I’m so happy.

What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want people to remember about you?
Grammy® Award-Winning Singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester was a musical beacon of light to me during my scared, confused days in the closet. This was before gay marriage was legal, before we were written into movies and television shows in a positive way, and when Anita Bryant was crusading against us. Melissa’s strong, consoling voice guided me through it. With her I was not alone. I used to write
songs and send them to her on cassette hoping she would sing one. I told people that if I could do for even one person what Melissa had done for me, I would consider myself a huge success. I have done that. In fact, as fate would have it, I have done so with Melissa! There is a video on YouTube where I go
into the story in more detail, but she and I became friends and my husband started making some of her music videos. I wrote a song called “You Can’t Hide the Light” and asked Melissa if she would record it with me. She loved it and said yes! We made a beautiful music video with Pasadena’s Lineage Dance
Company and then I won the 2021 UK Songwriting Contest/Music Aid International Award for “Best Original Song.” More than 6,500 people from 80 countries entered the contest that year. My YouTube channel has more than three million views and I have nearly 100,000 followers on Facebook from all
over the world. My music is reaching people. I received a beautiful email from a woman whose daughter is non-verbal autistic. She became fixated on one of my music videos and watched it over and over. Then, she started singing along! Her mother shared that it was one of the happiest moments of her life. I am so pleased that my eclectic music has touched lives in such a way. I did that and on my terms. What
more is there?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
What I love about LA is its stimulating diversity. You can get to the mountains, the ocean, the desert, farmland, forests, trails, rock formations, stunning views, astounding architecture, brilliant displays of culture from all over the world, fantastic entertainment, theme parks, culinary delights, sports venues, and much more within 90 minutes in any direction. As artists on a tight budget there is always plenty to do. We love hiking in Debs Park and Elysian Park, street food in the pinata district, the Music Center, the Greek and Pantages Theaters, and thrift stores.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Gratitude is an integral part of my life. I have a whole section of my website dedicated to expressing gratitude to the many people who have brought me to this moment in time and years ago I started a Gratitude Club on Facebook where we share five things we are grateful for each day, If I must single out one individual it would have to be my husband Paco, Not only is he partner to me in countless ways, he is also my videographer. I learn from him, laugh with him, grow with him, and create with him every day. God was in top form when bringing us together,

Website: https://hearjohnny.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearjohnny/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearjohnnyhere

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Johnny.Schaefer.Music

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hearjohnny

Other: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/3NJ44P2Kanzg8jFxOVD8Vp?si=BcnuvW-yQaiT6wZgdtEbPw iTunesApple Music https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/johnny-schaefer/728105890?ign-gact=3&ls=1 Amazon Music https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Johnny+Schaefer Pandora https://www.pandora.com/search/johnny%20schaefer/all Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/johnny-schaefer Deezer https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/5778584/radio?autoplay=true EPK https://hearjohnny.com/electronic-press-kit

Image Credits
“You Can’t Hide the Light” video shoot photos featuring Melissa Manchester by Jesse Cova (all the ones in which I have a red shirt on. I own all rights to those photos. All other photos are by my husband, Paco Silva and I own all the rights to them .