Songs and Stories from the Soul
“Songs and Stories from the Soul” is where songwriters share the faith, heart, and real-life stories behind their songs—revealing the moments, meanings, and melodies that move us all.
Songs and Stories from the Soul
04: Dave Scher's Song "Alright" — Self Acceptance, Texas Soul, And A Songwriter’s Journey
We share Dave Scher’s song “All Right” and trace the path from solitude to self acceptance, blending Texas soul, craft choices, and the grind of a working musician. Dave opens up about patience, boundaries, and why live music still matters more than ever.
• writing from memory and finding truth in quiet
• “All Right” as a statement of peace and permission
• lyric choices that serve rhythm and feel
• picking joy over burnout and pruning gigs
• the weekly Eddie V’s trio as a creative lab
• balancing studio costs with headspace needs
• resilience in a shifting music business
• AI as a tool, not a substitute for live exchange
• hemiola and the hidden pulse of the verses
• what the song asks listeners to believe about themselves
Come out and have a steak at Eddie V’s
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Welcome to Songs and Stories from the Soul, where every melody carries a message, and songwriters share the faith, the heart, and the story that shape their song. Welcome to Songs and Stories from the Soul. I'm your host, Dr. Pillet, and today we are joined by one of Austin's most gifted musicians. And I say that with a lot of respect, a lot of love. I've seen him perform. I've listened to his records. He's a guitarist, he's a singer, and he's a bass player, he's a drummer, he's a keyboard player. Got me more to add to him. But most of it- but most importantly, he is a singer, songwriter, storyteller whose sound embodies, I think, uh, this is my opinion, really what I might call the heart of Texas soul. And I just gave you something to think about there. His name is Dave Sherry. Dave, how are you doing today?
Dave Scher:Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you for having me on the show.
Dr. Pelè:Awesome, awesome. You know what? As we always do, I'd love to listen to the song together with you. And then on the other side, I have a whole bunch of questions to ask you about the song All Right.
Dave Scher:All right.
Dr. Pelè:All right, let's check it out.
Dave Scher:Nobody around for mouth, I think I'll take a walk. Nobody stops my foot mark on the baby time to wear this. I don't mind so much baby road trip up it.
Dr. Pelè:Wow. So, you know, I I have to say, I've I've heard you do blues, funk, even some country. Literally, you play it all. And and in fact, I said something to you yesterday, Dave, about how I would compare you to Prince. And and you were you were like, well, nobody's ever said that. Well, you know why I would say that? I grew up in Minneapolis. Um I spent 30-some years uh in Minneapolis. I played with a bunch of the guys that Prince played with. I recorded with folks that he recorded. I was in a band with folks that he played with. So I know him well. I just never actually played with him, but I know him well and I know that thing, and you've got that thing. Um thank you. Wow.
Dave Scher:Yeah, very special. Appreciate that.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah. So let's let's unpack uh a little bit about you and a little bit about the song, and let's weave it all together. First of all, uh, where were you when you wrote this song? It it it just seems like such a if I could use the word heavy, heavy, really, really like letting go kind of a song. Where were you emotionally when you wrote this song?
Dave Scher:I'm trying to think. I'm I'm not sure where I was in in life or or in my head. I I sometimes I sometimes I can uh be in a completely content place in in life and think to myself, I'd like to write a heavy song. And I'll go there and I'll be able to pull from different times in my life that uh you know, because I mean sometimes I'll write a breakup song about a breakup that happened six years ago. And I'm and I'm very much over the breakup, you know, but but uh but it w I I just wasn't able to uh go there as far as songwriting at the time. And when I was able to go there, I had memories and and experiences, past experiences to pull from.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:You know, so I don't know where I was with this song. It might have it might have been, you know, I might have been uh like in the thick of it. But uh I'm not sure. I I do know that uh because I don't know exactly if there's an actual character or like you know, like a uh like a uh non-fictional time that that put me in this place. Uh so to speak. But uh I uh I I I can't remember if if it was something where where I was pulling from you know, this was coming out live, yeah, you know, in real time, or if I was pulling from memories. But yeah, uh I it is uh it's it's definitely it's still a familiar feeling. It it wasn't completely made up, you know.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, it's funny because even if you can't remember exactly where you were, the song was talking about where you want to go. For example, the one of the first opening lines, you go, nobody around for miles. Um, I think I'll take a walk. You know, I mean, you're painting such a vivid picture of solitude. You know, it's like you want to go somewhere, and and you're like, you know what? All right. Right. It's like you've got your mind made up. You know, tell us a little bit about the lyrics. Let's get into the into sort of that content. What did you mean by you think you'll just take a walk? Were you alone? Uh or was being alone part of how this song was born? Was there something to do with a breakup, uh leaving of somewhere to go somewhere else? What was that that all about?
Dave Scher:Uh, I think we all come to come to times in our lives where we uh sort of question who we are as far as what what makes us special, as far as you know, our communication skills, or do our is everybody we're uh surrounding ourselves with liking us all the time? Or you know, do we frustrate our peers with the way that we do things? And you know, if we do, we certainly don't mean it because it's just the way we are. And I'm I'm I'm this is uh after this song was written, the song is not a very new song, uh, and still to this day I'm I'm uh every day kind of uh figuring more and more out about who I am and what what how I communicate and how you know the things that make me uh the things that make me self-conscious. And uh I don't know, my communication skills are I've always thought they need work. I've always thought that my my way with words is is not great. And there are lots of friends of mine that claim to disagree with that. But uh I I mean I listen to a lot of these kind of Zoom interviews back. I listen back and I always think, why is it? Why is it taking me so long to answer? Why is it taking me so long to think of the word and I'm so bad at thinking of the right word, you know, and I want it to be the right word, so it takes me a minute and it frustrates me. And other aspects of that, the way I communicate can be long-winded. And uh I was at a I think I was at a I must have been when writing it this song, I must have been at a place where I was fed up with being sorry for uh how I am as a person to communicate with, and if I take my time, so be it. And uh I'll just I'm just gonna love me for who I am because other people do as well, and I'll just surround myself with those people. Wow You know? And uh the the taking a walk. Nobody around for miles. I think I'll take a walk. It's kind of a I guess that was a uh accepting and uh who I am, accepting who I am, and uh deciding to slowly move on with that, put one foot in front of the other and just be okay with that, with who I am and not be apologetic, you know.
Dr. Pelè:You know, when I when I listen to you, uh we even when I I look at you as you speak, I'm hearing an artist through and through. You know, so some people are you know just technical musicians, like they they just they can do whatever, you know, whatever they need to get done musically, they'll do it.
Dave Scher:Right.
Dr. Pelè:But some people like you are artists. Like it is it is your body, it is your heart, it's blood, it's sweat, it's truth. Um, I'm literally hearing you describe your your your deepest truth almost in a vulnerable way. Normal, normal musicians who aren't artists don't go there. You you really go there. You really go there.
Dave Scher:I'm starting to go there. This is not this is a new thing, you know.
Dr. Pelè:Oh, really? That's interesting. That's interesting.
Dave Scher:Because I I'm a I'm a technical player also, and I've been that before I was a songwriter, and I've had that that those traits of of uh being closed, you know, you know, not being such an open book, and I'm learning that you know that's what people like, whether they think you're too much or not, they like that about you. They like when you're when you share.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, they want to they want to hear who you are and stuff. In this in this chorus, you say, I'm alright with that, I know where I'm at. To me, it feels like like peace uh after the storm, um you know, or something, like trouble and bad grammar. But you know, it's conversational, it works. So what was that what was that phrase? Since it's such a central point of the song, all right. What would what does that phrase mean to you personally? That that that you know where you're at? It's like peace after the storm. What is all that?
Dave Scher:That's exactly it. I know where I'm at and peace. I'm pe I'm at peace with it, and and and I'm alright with all of these things that I am, all of these things, all of these things that I've done, or all of the ways that I've made people feel, whether it's good or bad, um, no regrets. I'm alright with that. Yeah, you know, everything happens for a reason, everything I do, everything we all do happens for a reason. Yeah you know it's just uh it's just uh an acceptance sort of thing of and and and being at peace with yeah yeah.
Dr. Pelè:I I wrote a song once uh called Let Go. Um and uh it's it's saying that kind of a message. I I'm now finally ready to just let go. I actually wrote another song later called Let Go Let God, which is like a different kind of yeah, a different kind of letting go. So I'm totally there with you. Now, one more question about the lyrics, it's kind of a fun thing. Yeah, you talk about a 79 Corvette, okay. Like I'm just I got I got these images in my mind. I'm looking around like, okay, what do you mean by that? What does that mean to you?
Dave Scher:That was just, I mean, I am a bit of a car buff. Uh, and uh that's not that's not my favorite year or anything. That's not my favorite year of uh I think I think the stingray was still going on and still 79. I could be wrong. I thought it was until 80 or 81, but um it's not my favorite year. It's just it's just at that point you have an idea and uh and and you want to convey the idea, maybe not the exact uh word year, but uh, but that happens to be the best thing to roll off the tongue. You know, in my opinion, it wouldn't have worked to to say uh you know 64 Roadster. Yeah, yeah or whatever.
Dr. Pelè:No, I I I I hear you. You know, we we've talked a lot about um this particular song, but I want to switch gears and talk about you a little bit in terms of uh what you do as a musician. Now you've played for some very uh top names. You've played for yourself, you've had a rotation uh in Austin, you've done lots of things. Give me give us a sense of kind of what you what you're doing musically nowadays, um you know, with your career.
Dave Scher:Well, I'm probably playing between five and seven nights a week, and a lot of times doubling up. It's becoming more and more popular to have a live band play an event at 2 p.m. And so I'm able to do something like that and and be available for something in at night at a in a club.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:And uh so I'm working all the time. I don't do a whole lot of practicing at home, yet my hands are always hot, they're always warmed up and ready because I'm I'm blessed. I'm very fortunate to be uh my phone is ringing all the time. And I can fill my calendar up with work if I want to, and I'm and the as of now, I'm I'm uh as of late, I'm I'm just now kinda learning how to say no and fill my calendar up with uh only things that make me happy. And that's a process because I've been I've made myself a pr a promise a couple years ago to do one thing, and that was to stop uh leading bands for weddings. And I did that. And at first I took a big old financial hit.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:Uh but my sanity was all there. I was happy again, or I was on my way to being happy again, and I kept playing weddings, but I would go play guitar with a band and show up, you know, ten minutes before sound check and leave two minutes after the conclusion of the event and have no other responsibility than to show up, play, be a good guy, and leave. Yeah, and it and that's and that did not take a hit on my sanity. It was the other stuff where you're in direct communication with um not the band.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, yeah.
Dave Scher:So I bought I made that promise to myself a while ago, and I've been doing really well on that. And other little things here and there to to whittle it down to only things that make me happy. Yeah. And I'm I'm I'm pretty much there. Every now and then I still to do some things that uh they're just they don't make me unhappy. They're just maybe not the easiest gig in the world, but you know, maybe it it's financially rewarding. Yeah. But but I I'm I'm busy all the time, and it's never really with my with something that's under my own name. The only consistent thing I've got going on right now is really kind of nice. I like it. It's Eddie V's, it's a Sunday. So it's a nice restaurant. It's a not terribly popular week, day of the week. Uh I sit at a real acoustic six foot one grand piano.
Dr. Pelè:Wow.
Dave Scher:With a trio. There's a house drum kit and a bass player. I sit at the piano bench with a guitar and play piano and sing. I have all this these resources at my literal fingertips. And you know, I stretch out and try new things. I try different cover songs, get my phone out and look up the lyrics to something I've never tried before, and it's not a big deal because it's a restaurant and people didn't per purchase tickets to see me.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:So it's a nice little way of shedding and and trying new things and getting ready for whatever ticketed event I have. It's like once a month or sometimes twice. But other than that, I am a guitar player and a bass player, um, sometimes keys, every now and then drums for all sorts of artists or all sorts of cover bands. And I'm just I I'm a little bit of a workaholic. I also um have a studio at my house and I I send tracks to people who want maybe a solo on on their track that don't live in Austin or anything. And I'd like to do that more than honestly. But I don't I haven't I've been trying to write more and I'd like to write more than I have been, but I've been doing better than I have in the past, and and I've been working on new music. But my solo career, my brand, my as an artist, uh I have not stopped working on that, but I have been working slowly. You know, it's it has not really been bringing me any revenue. It's been costing me money. Because I've been going to the studio. I don't know, I don't I mean, sometimes I don't want to record at my house. Sometimes I want to go to s out of my house.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:And if it's gonna be my music that I'm going to record, maybe being in a certain headspace is so much more important than it than I need to be for someone else's music. Yeah. So I think it's worth it to get into another studio. And I've been doing that, and it's you know, you know, exp recording is expensive. Yeah. Uh if you're not recording at home. And it's just my career is is something I've I've just little by little investing in, but I don't do it every day like um like a lot of the people I I play me I play guitar or bass for you. Yeah. A lot of them are at it every day, and that's not me yet, you know?
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, well, if you ever uh want to find a different studio to to jam at, just come on over. Come to Casapella. My studio upstairs is gonna be just fine.
Dave Scher:Oh, yeah. I know you got a good setup. I gotta keep my.
Dr. Pelè:You know, one thing I wanted to say is that you know, you talk about doing the things that make you happy. And and as I listen to you, I feel some of the pain of a true artist. You know, we want to focus on our art, we want to create, write our songs, but then there's this huge big thing out there called the music business.
Dave Scher:And it's like I don't like it at all.
Dr. Pelè:Like, like, can somebody else please please do this stuff for us? And that would be great. You call yourself your my manager, call yourself whatever whatever you want to call yourself, just do it. How have you I've seen you on Facebook? Um were you on tour with uh I think Eric Johnson?
Dave Scher:Yes.
Dr. Pelè:For a long time, and that was when you were hardest to reach, by the way. Because you're you're hard to you're hard to reach, but at that point, it's like I had to wait weeks and months just to get it.
Dave Scher:I know, right?
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, but but you know how has how has the changing music business affected the way you feel about music? Obviously, you live for music. You you you literally wake up and you do music all the time. You love this thing with a passion. I mean, the business kills it for a lot of people. How how what's your perspective on that topic?
Dave Scher:It is still slowly killing me. But but I don't think, and this I don't know, this might sound like a sad or untrue thing to say about myself, but I don't think I'm really good at anything else. Or shall I say, I I don't think I could be happy doing anything else. I've wanted to do this since I was I mean, I pick up the guitar at 10 and if it wasn't right then and there, it must I might have been twelve. At the latest is when I at the latest when I figured out. And I never knew something so sure as a as a as a child. I figured out then and there what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Dr. Pelè:Wow.
Dave Scher:It's still evident. I don't think for one second about this career of mine, like, oh, what was I thinking as a 12-year-old? No, that I've I've I've always felt this way. And I don't think I could maybe I could be wrong, you never know, but I don't think I could be happy doing anything else. So it has helped me uh it has helped me take on each challenge of the ever-changing music business, the way that uh people who want to have a band for their event, how they are, how they uh are to deal with, and how you know, maybe you are the one maybe you are the professional and and you wish that you the that you could offer some more consulting for them, but they're not really interested because they they're they are um convinced they know more about what they want than than you do. Uh challenges like that where a lot of people who are like, you know, they play music and and they do love it, but they could they could be happy being an auto mechanic or getting or getting into contracting or HVAC or you know there's always this little way out of well then I don't really have to deal with this. And I've always thought I have to deal with this one way or another, and it's made me be optimistic and it's made me be patient. It has tried my patience. Um and uh but it but I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about myself and and and how I not just how I am as a person, but but what my capabilities are as a as a patient person and as a someone who learns new things and someone who learns how to communicate, to be to always be on someone's good side, you know, and not feel like you're selling yourself short. Yeah, yeah. So because this is all I want to do, I've made myself um be very accepting of the thing I cannot change, which is the ever-changing music business from all aspects, you know. It's it's frustrating, but at times. But it's also an opportunity uh an opportunity to learn, and I think a lot of artists could uh could view it that way, could could benefit from viewing it that way, where it's always an opportunity to learn, even if it's not something you're liking at all, you know.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, you you've you've uh obviously made peace with the music industry. Um you've done all aspects of of music, you've done teaching, uh, you've done uh the performing, you've done songwriting, uh, you've done marketing of yourself. As I said, I've seen you in different venues, your website. But but getting back to sort of the sense of songwriting and this particular song, if someone out there is listening to you, getting to know you a little bit as a person, obviously they can see your heart, very, very transparent. Um what do you think a song like Alright and the letting go process, the being at peace process that the song talks about? What do you think what do you think you could leave in someone's heart? What do you hope this song does for the listeners?
Dave Scher:The same thing that uh it did for me, the same thing that I the same way that I felt when I was putting this song together, uh to be not just content with yourself, but thrilled with yourself. Because um you say it in many of your songs, and it's it's it's the most powerful thing is love, and you need to employ that on yourself. Yeah, it is absolutely imperative that we do that, that we love ourselves. Yes, it's imperative that we spread love. It has to happen. We have to spread love, but we do have to love ourselves. We do, and and uh sometimes we don't, and we're just going through something. And at some point you just try things and something's gotta give, and eventually you you're it has to come to the conclusion of you know, that's okay. I am who I am, I love who I am. Yeah, you know, and that's what I hope someone can take from that message.
Dr. Pelè:You know, and I hope that they take it not just from that message, but from your body of work, your presence. And by the way, anyone listening, you probably noticed he just said that my songs do a certain thing. Well, that's because he's played on three of them.
Dave Scher:Um I'm not biased though, I promise.
Dr. Pelè:He so so you you actually know that I'm about these kinds of heartfelt stories and and love and and connection, and I really believe that that's important. So obviously, I'm a Fan of your kind of music and and all that stuff. You know, in closing, I just want to go back a little bit to thank you, first of all, for sharing your heart, uh, your song, of course, your story. Um, you know, your your your journey reminds me anyway that peace isn't about everything being perfect. Um it's about knowing where we're at uh and being all right with that. And that's what this song says. I'm gonna give you the last word. Um how how how do you feel about just the last word regarding this amazing song? Um, and thank you for being here to share it. Go for it.
Dave Scher:The last word for this song?
Dr. Pelè:Yes. Or for anything else you want to say, by the way. You got the last word.
Dave Scher:Well, uh, I don't know how interesting it'll be, but uh I am uh I've I still am a type of person who is believes that they're not great with words. I think I think my lyrics aren't too bad, they're not too shabby, but they don't come naturally, and it takes me a while to think of them and to make them feel right, rolling off the tongue. I don't have that same problem with um instrumentation. I don't have that same problem with arranging harmony, rhythm, melody into something on the fly, the way that some incredible songwriters can just spit poetry like that. Yeah. Um so there's a little bit of a nod to that in in all right. Um and uh there's a there's a musical term um known as uh himiola, which is uh it's it's cut it's basically like two rhythms going on simultaneously, and at some point they meet back up on the same one, on the same downbeat. And I'm doing that, I employ that in each verse of the song. You know, the and the the whole song is and I sing so uh you know if I if I clapped what I'm singing in the verse is this just sounds like the tempo to a completely different song. Yeah right? Sounds like a fast song, and I put that in and I that's my little reminder, you know. Hey, this is a song I wrote, but you know, I'm a nerd, uh and I like these things.
Dr. Pelè:You know, speaking of being a nerd, I I I just have to I just have to throw this in because you mentioned how some people spit out songs fast, lyrics, and you spit out music fast. And uh are you into AI these days? Have you kind of checked out any of that? Like swoon too.
Dave Scher:I have um I have been frightened of it. And the only thing I've used AI for so far is it's it's very it's a very minute thing. It's just been putting together uh playlists for background music when I'm supposed to provide background music in between sets at a private event or something like that. That's about it. But I I I know that I could use it for a writing tool, I know I could use it for a lot of administrative stuff, like a biography or even stuff just for me to not share, like a to-do list, uh a goal list kind of thing, like uh what do they call it, a virtual assistant?
Dr. Pelè:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I I use it for all of those things. And the the thing about music is that I I tell you, man, nowadays you click a button, you get a song. I mean, you could you put in put in an idea in and you can get a song back. It kind of it waters down the joy of creativity for me. Okay, but it but it's definitely a a possibility, yeah.
Dave Scher:And you know, I would I do want to say this is a it's not really about all right, but in in music and and being a musician and being a musician in this day and age, along with a tool like AI.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:A lot of musicians my age or older uh will uh uh turn their nose up at AI. And I and in some respects I do as well.
Dr. Pelè:But you didn't. Well, actually, I was gonna comment on that. You're not one of those I hate AI, you know.
Dave Scher:I'm a little frightened of it, but I don't hate it. I don't hate it. I will say that uh some things aren't uh as uh fruitful as they used to be, like um studio session work, you know, being a recording engineer and and having this isn't this isn't necessarily AI, but I mean technology in the recording field has advanced so much that yeah, it's not always worth spending the money to have a uh skilled engineer run everything you're doing through multi-thousand dollar microphones, through incredible transparent preamps, and then converting it to ones and zeros in the most musical and and crystal clear way. When there's so many recording at home things, uh tools available that are for the fraction of the price, and you know, anyone can kind of be an engineer in a way. Yep. Uh but for anyone who is kind of like frightened of AI like I am, or you know, was, um I really don't see how it could ever replace live performance.
Dr. Pelè:It can't. That's that's the one, that's the end right there. Yeah, that's that's it.
Dave Scher:And I think we have we we win at the moment. We win, yeah, yeah. And I think everybody who loves AI to the nth degree and also loves going out to see a band, they are never going to be satisfied with any kind of inanimate live music performance. Yeah, they're never gonna be satisfied or be able to connect with it. And I think they're ever I think everyone's gonna always be able to recognize that they can't do that.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah.
Dave Scher:I think being a live performer will always be available.
Dr. Pelè:Yeah, and you you say it with such humility, Dave. I I have to tell you, I'm gonna actually put some links to some other videos of you live. I'm telling you, dude, like the your fluidity on your instruments is insane. Oh, and and and for people, and and and the voice, the vocals, all the things that you're doing, you can't do that with a computer. I mean, come on. It's like you know, it doesn't work. But um, you know, to everyone listening right now, I want to encourage you, go find Dave Cherry's music. Now, Dave, did you say this song, all right, is is already out there. So this particular one is already out there, they can find it.
Dave Scher:It's not, but it it will be uh this kind of you know 26.
Dr. Pelè:Okay, it will be it will be soon. So but go find Dave Cherry's music, check out his latest stuff, check out his live performances, and go to that. Where's the gig that you are performing right now, the regular one?
Dave Scher:Uh come out and have a steak at Eddie V's. At Eddie V's or some oysters.
Dr. Pelè:All right. I just want to encourage you to go check out Dave. This is a man of heart, uh, humility, and he's looking for happiness in the things he he's doing, which is something that I really resonate with. Um, this has been Songs and Stories from the Soul. Thank you, Dave. I appreciate you being here.
Dave Scher:Thank you.
Dr. Pelè:All right, we'll talk again soon.
Dave Scher:Sounds good.
