Meet Stephen Schallert

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephen Schallert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Stephen, how do you stay authentic in an industry that leans so heavily on repetition and proven norms?

As a band, it’s very important for us to stay authentic to our core creative values. Meaning that when it comes to the music we write, and the way we present ourselves on stage… the essence of how we operate as a group of creative entities… it doesn’t change because other people are in the room or not. We write music that we are fans of first. We perform in a way that looks how we want to see ourselves. If anyone outside the four of us also dig it, that’s an insane and amazing bonus. At the end of the day, the completion of our creativity and story is the thing that makes us most successful because we are leaving our creative stamp on the universe for all time.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

RC Cars On Mars is a progressive rock band that brings elements of post rock, ethereal & meditative music, lush vocals, and philosophical discussion together to tell stories. We love to give people who listen to us the space and opportunity to form their own feelings around the songs, and connect in a way that impacts them the way they see fit. So we don’t write lyrics that hit it on the nose in an obvious way. In addition, we also have some deeper things going on in the music and message if you are someone who wants to have fun diving into the rabbit hole with us. We are currently working on our sophomore album and released our first single, MEGA, on 1/20/2025. Our first album, Sojourner, came out in March of 2024, so we are a relatively young band. Yet because everyone in the group is a seasoned musician, it has allowed for some amazing and free flowing creative moments. We’re loving what we’re making, and enjoy sharing it with those who are into it as well. The thing that excites me the most about what we are doing is that we are all really big fans of each other and what we each bring to the table in the songs and vision. It is a really special thing to listen back to the music and feel blown away to be a part of something like this.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Being a musician is very challenging, and takes a lot of work. You have to learn and perfect your craft on so many levels and it takes a long time to get there. It is not an overnight process, and you have to have the determination to be persistent in your quest to create. So if you are just starting out and feel like you’re not landing on your fully developed creative self, you just have to keep at it. And that kind of leads into education because music is also a really expensive hobby. The gear, the rehearsal space rent, studio time, you name it. So I personally took the time to learn audio engineering in order to get my ideas out faster and save some cash at least in the pre-production stages. It helps with the creative process, so again, if you’re just starting out, go download some software and take the time to learn it.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Life is full of challenges, so I can’t say there’s any one thing in particular. Maybe making sure I stay balanced. I have family, friends, and work that has to get done every day over and above the music. My life doesn’t function unless everything stays balanced. I can’t live without my family or friends. If I don’t work, I have no money to pay bills and fund my musical goals. I can’t stay out of the studio too long or I go nuts because being creative brings me a sense of grounding and peace. So yeah, I guess staying balanced is the challenge because sometimes you get pulled harder in one direction or another, and you need to know when to pull back in order to give back the time you borrowed from other areas of your life. I hope that makes sense.

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