Paul Schalda

Paul Schalda is a poet, perhaps a bit of a tortured soul, a hopeless romantic, and most definitely a guy from Staten Island. His upbringing there puts the blue in his collar and sticks his feet to the ground. Growing up the middle child of three rowdy boys, Paul and his brothers learned how to sing hearing the doo-wop melodies of their father, Bill Schalda Sr., a member of Brooklyn vocal group The Montereys. They were raised in an environment to seek their own musical path. Paul’s journey included the ethos of the Punk DIY movement, the grit of 90s hip-hop, and the depth and storytelling charms of 70s Americana. The result of those vastly different influences makes Paul’s work sound like it’s of another era, but not beholden to a retro vibe. As a backup singer and guitarist, Paul spent some years out on the road playing guitar in The Extraordi-naires backing the late great Charles Bradley. As a member of the Sha La Das, Paul figured out how to simultaneously stand out AND blend in with his father and bothers and their wonderful harmonies. But it’s as a solo artist where Paul has been able to really display the soul of his lyrics and the urgency of his voice. His solo project Paul and the Tall Trees had three stellar releases on Big Crown Records, where he got to work with Tommy Brenneck (Charles Bradley, Budos Band) at the production helm with additional production contributions from Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo). Paul’s voice also caught the ear of Austin legend Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas which led to collaborations with him as well. Paul is now based in the DFW area and set to release music with Skylark Soul Co., starting with a short concert film/recording Paul Schalda, Live at Niles City Sound. The five songs performed at the iconic FW studio that helped launch the career of Leon Bridges span Paul’s 20 years of releasing music with two of the songs being made available digitally for the first tim