Conversations with Willie Schandel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Willie Schandel.

Hi Willie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I took music lessons around 15 years old learning guitar and writing music, played in a band camp called Camp Jam, and then I started playing gigs at 18 years old around the Highlands Ranch area for the past 2 years playing local open mics and moved to Littleton played around that area for 11 years.

Then by the age of 25, my friend Phil and I wrote and recorded my first single and released it in May 2020 and that’s what started my career so far. It gave me the inspiration and hope for the future, to get myself out there and the lesson I learned in life that is you can be true to yourself and put your mind to anything you want to do. Music is definitely my passion and my drive and that’s what gave me the career I love and enjoy to this day.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was really a challenge because during the winter of 2020 when the pandemic happened, it was really hard to find gigs and nobody was interested in hiring musicians or offering gigs. Everything was closed down. There is no way that I could play live. I was battling anxiety and depression for those past two years, but therapy and writing music it is what really kept me going I don’t know where I’d be without it to be honest.

I decided during that time to play online doing Facebook live events and even my favorite spots like the Alley started doing open mic online so I did those for a while. Also, I ended up working for a while to save up money, and then by the summer I finally got gig offers… it took a lot of time and hard work to get through the hard times but it was rewarding in the end.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The biggest reason why I do what I do is because it gives me a great way of expressing myself and showing my biggest talent. Music is really a huge part of my life and a huge part of myself, and most of all it gives me a place where I can be as rebellious as I can. I can do whatever I want to do on stage and live freely. Whenever I’m on stage I feel like I’m on top of the world.

I feel like I’m in heaven mostly. Also, music is a place where I can escape reality whenever I’m having a bad day or whenever I’m having a hard time in my life I just go and write a song about it and all that sadness goes away. I’m looking forward to the future and the years to come I’m gonna keep on playing music till the day I die it’s my life and my purpose.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Littleton is a city where all music is welcomed. It has a lot of history and it’s a spot where you go and spread your wings and fly. The people are loving and very supportive. It’s like you can make friends easily down there. It’s really the spot where you can be different and fit right in.

There are times when some days are not as good as others and the traffic is a pain and construction is my least favorite. But overall wonderful city and a great place to hang out and play music. So much better than Denver.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wildwilliemusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wps2013/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/wildwilliemusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@wps2013
• SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/2gzP3TsHCyV73ixG6