Like so many artists, Richard Schroder has a restless type of energy. As he actively seeks out success while building his musical career, he’s also satisfying his creative hunger by writing the songs that fill his heart. Do you aim straight for the big time? Or do you focus on what you love and hope success follows?

“I guess I am trying to do a little bit of both,” he says. “I’ve always been trying to bridge that gap between writing the music I feel and working hard to make sure as many people as possible hear it. I love writing songs. I love making good music. But at the end of the day, I think it’s just as important to get my work out there and try to find people to listen to it. That’s my challenge.”

On Schroder’s new album, Storyteller, he’s met that challenge head-on. It’s his best work yet, and that’s coming from a guy who’s already made a handful of excellent records. From top to bottom, the material straddles that line between satisfying his creative self and pleasing the crowd.

“You hear artists often say that a certain album is a reflection of a moment in time,” he says. “It reflects that specific time in their life, what they were thinking, how they were feeling, and Storyteller is no exception. We were coming out of the pandemic when I was writing these songs, and there was this feeling of freedom, of liberation. I felt like life was opening up and there was a lot to be excited about. Those kinds of emotions filter their way into the songwriting.”