A Tribute to Bobby Schayer- What They Said...

"Bobby Schayer...ah, what a character. Never was a person better suited for taking people on tours of Hollywood, for he knows much about (seemingly) every building in town...who ate there, who died there, who puked there...etc... And a great drummer, too. I was very bummed when Pete left the band, but the pain was somewhat eased when I first heard his playing on the Generator recordings. I remember thinking, "SMOKIN'! This guy kicks some serious ass!" And he did! His sense of humor brightened every dingy backstage area, and I'm sure he will be missed by his band mates, particularly on the road.

I don't want this to sound like a eulogy, for he is certainly alive and well...albeit with a sore shoulder. Well, on the the next phase...both of Bobby's life, and of Bad Religion's life. I wish Bobby could still be in the band now that they're back on Epitaph, since I had virtually no dealings with them while they were making records for that "other" label. But fuck them anyway. BR was meant to be on Epitaph! Hell, that's why I came to work here in the first place, 11 years ago!"

Good luck, Bobby!

Jeff Abarta... (Has Worked @ Epitaph for 11 years!)

"I remember first meeting Bobby after I had left Bad Religion and he asked me to

come by his pad to help him figure out what i was playing on the song

Anesthesia . That was probably the last time I showed him anything on drums and instead I was the one who turned into a sponge, and in the next five hours he patiently broke down these Latin beats and made me believe that I could actually play these slick, swinging rhythms.

I think coming after me that Bobby added more depth and swing to Bad Religion

and I was sadened to hear of his departure from the band. There where a few

times after I left the band that I tentitively showed up to check out a show.

One doesn't realize how much they miss the magic of playing live with a

formidable band until they leave.

However, Bobby made me feel at home whenever I would show up for a show and

would practically force me to come up on stage and play a song. That is what

kind of person he was:selfless and generous. Give it up for Bobby Schayer,

he was and is one of a kind!"

Pete Finestone... (Ex-Drummer from of BR, from 1981 to 1992, and friend of mine, see links for my page about him)

"I first met Bobby in 1994, on tour with Bad Religion for the first time. On October 23 they played their last show of the European Tour in Glasgow. During soundcheck I climbed onstage and sang Atomic Garden because Graffin wasn't there. What a total blast that was, the whole band was playing at full volume for me and I was singing to an audience of one: my brother. When I finished singing the song Bobby was the only one who thanked me and told me I had sang very well etc. In later years I would realize this was often the case: of all Bad Religion members, Bobby Schayer was usually the most attentive to the fans. That day in Glasgow before the show he spoke to my brother and I for a good while. The funny thing is when he found out that we speak Spanish he kept asking us to talk to him in Spanish, but he didn't understand a word! Whenever we said something in English, he would insist that we tell him in Spanish, explaining that his grandmother was Mexican or something, and when we told him in Spanish, he just smiled and said "Bueno", which means "O.k. / fine". To this day I don't know whether he understood anything at all, but I very much doubt it. He is one of a kind, Bobby.

Four years went by before we met again, in March of 1998 in New York. Bad Religion was playing a show for HBO to film. It was a small venue, the show was invite only. I went to the show with Dave Hornish and Jack Rabid. Jack, who has known the band members since the 80s, introduced me to Bobby, and to my surprise, he remembered me perfectly well. He even remembered the song I had sang with them during soundcheck. I know now that Bobby has what could be safely called a photographic memory. Both him and Jack have an absolutely extraordinary capacity to store data in their brains.

That year I saw Bad Religion four other times: in Hamburg (Germany), in Donosti (Basque Country), in Granada (Spain) and in Badalona (Catalonia). Bobby was always there, just being the quiet and humble guy he is but always talking to the fans, making them feel comfortable, amusing them... He was the kindest and most generous man you could hope to find in a rock and roll band. And man did he enjoy his job! In Hamburg and in Granada I was privileged enough to see the show from the stage and believe me when I say that on both shows I spent like 90% of the time just watching Bobby play the drums. He enjoyed his drumming so much and was so into the music, he transmitted the excitement of the live songs like nobody else in the band.

That night after the show in Granada I accompanied the band to their hotel in the tour bus, and I remember Bobby and I discussed Spanish girls (we agreed that they are the prettiest in the world after the Argentinians), Bruce Springsteen and Green Day. Then we headed into town for a few drinks (together with Greg Hetson and Ronnie Kimball) and ended up staying in the pubs until dawn, when the police actually showed up to shut down the place. I slept on the floor of Bobby's room in that luxurious hotel. Even the floor was more comfortable than my bed at home! He slept for two hours, woke up to catch a plane to Seattle and told me I could stay and sleep for as long as I wanted.

Besides his sheer generosity, one other thing that can be said about Bobby is that he never took his "job" for granted. He enjoyed every second of it as he was always very aware that it could be over any day, as though he was privvy to the misfortune that awaited him.

When we met for the last time, in August 2000 in Murcia (Spain), he was kind to me as ever, introducing me to musicians from other bands (they were playing a festival) and offering food and drink.

I hope we'll meet again some day, somewhere quieter than a punk show. After he quit drumming he spent several months in Jack Rabid's appartment in New York and the last I heard he was visiting his parents somewhere west. Wherever you are, good luck, goodbye, Bobby Jean. "

Roger Vulture... (Webmaster of "The Bad Religion Page" -the BEST BR Page around! See Links)