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Overcast Schoeffel turning heads, will play The Paramount
Three Valley Stream South High School graduates have started making waves on the Long Island music scene recently, taking first prize in a Battle of the Bands contest earlier this month, with their prize being a slot to play The Paramount in Huntington in the near future.
The band, Schoeffel, made up of 22-year-old Austin Schoeffel, and 19-year-olds Brandon Mirth and Michael Gallagher, formed six months ago. At the time, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Schoeffel, was working on a solo act and would occasionally play with Mirth, who plays guitar and bass guitar, and Gallagher, a drummer. From there a band was born.
Gallagher said he’s been playing drums for six years, and while Mirth first picked up a guitar six years ago, he just recently started playing bass guitar. His bandmates said he’s picked it up quickly.
The trio would practice at Schoeffel’s home or pay for rehearsal studio time when they first started, although as of late there hasn’t been many studio practices. “Now we’ve got to a point where we don’t have to practice everyday,” Schoeffel said. “We have our information down.”
The band has continued to write songs and now has about 20 original pieces, in addition to the many covers they play. Their first show was an acoustic set at a coffee shop in Wantagh in July to prepare for their first full show the next day at Mulcahy’s, also in Wantagh.
At their first full show, and the dozens that have followed, band members said there’s always been a loyal presence of friends and family, among others. “If we need to fill the place out we can rely on a bunch of people,” said Schoeffel, who has been playing music since he was 10. “Luckily our friends like the music.”
Gallagher runs the band’s Facebook page and posts all the upcoming shows online for people to see. Each of the band members said they enjoy playing their alternative rock and acoustic music for people who haven’t heard it before. “As much as it’s nice to bring like 70 friends to a show,” Schoeffel said, “it’s much better to go to a place where there’s 10 people we don’t know.”
By playing shows, Schoeffel explained, they make connections with other bands and people who book venues. “Pretty much the more we play, the more we have to play,” he said.
