Claude Schnell (born May 17, 1955) is an American keyboardist who has been a member of the bands Magic,

Rough Cutt Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but vari ...

, Dio, and

Last in Line Last in Line is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2012 by former members of the original lineup of Dio. The band's name comes from the 1984 Dio album '' The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010 ...

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, and raised in France, when he was six years old his family moved back to New York, and Schnell immersed himself in the traditional

classical piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

curriculum of private lessons, practice and recitals. As he was growing up, with the impact of artists like

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

playing in the Village,

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

at the Fillmore and Zeppelin at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, Schnell discovered rock and roll. He maintained the discipline of his Classical studies, he also began playing in a wide assortment of bands. Schnell left New York City to spend several years in Buffalo where more long-term musical friendships were forged, most notably with bass players

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

and Joe Cristofanilli, and drummer Pete O'Donnell. Upon arriving in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, it was not long before Schnell's virtuoso talents were in high demand. He formed two promising bands, Magic and

. By 1983, Schnell's musical diligence and precision had earned him a reputation as one of L.A.'s most serious and well-respected players. Schnell joined Dio in May 1983. Schnell first played with Dio on the ''

Holy Diver ''Holy Diver'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio had just finished his first tenure in Black Sabbath, whose drummer, Vinny Appice, he took with him to put together his ...

'' tour, though he did not play on the album itself. After almost seven years in that band, Schnell chose to redefine his artistic focus, and embark upon his own musical odyssey.

Discography

Dio

* ''

The Last in Line ''The Last In Line'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band's highest-charting album in both ...

'' (1984) * ''

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

(1985) * ''

Intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte (F ...

'' (1986) * ''

Dream Evil Dream Evil is a Swedish heavy metal band, assembled by producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999. History Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone ...

'' (1987)

Others

* 1983 -

– Hollywood Hottest Unsigned Rock Bands (compilation) * 1985 - Y&T – '' Down for the Count'' * 1985 - Mark Edwards – ''Code of Honor'' * 1989 -

Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...

– '' Soldier of Fortune'' * 1989 -

Doro Doro may refer to: * Doro (musician), rock singer, former vocalist of the German heavy metal band Warlock ** ''Doro'' (album), a 1990 album by Doro * AKA (rapper) (born 1988), South African hip hop recording artist * Dorothy Bush Koch, often call ...

– ''

Force Majeure In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such ...

'' * 1993 -

Impellitteri Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri for ...

– '' Victim of the System'' * 1993 -

Gary Hoey Gary Hoey (born August 23, 1960) is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums and had five Top 20 ''Billboard'' hits. Early life and early career Hoey was born in Lowell, Ma ...

– '' Animal Instinct'' * 2003 -

Neil Turbin Neil Turbin (born December 24, 1963) is an American singer known for being the first full-time vocalist for thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. He is the current lead vocalist and songwriter of Heavy metal music, heavy metal ban ...

– ''

Threatcon Delta ''Threatcon Delta'' is the debut studio album by United States, American Heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalist Neil Turbin. The album was released in 2003 on Metal Mayhem Records, and contains twelve original tracks and two remakes. 25 different ...

Notes

External links

*
Claude Schnell
Rough Cutt members Dio (band) members Living people American rock keyboardists American heavy metal keyboardists American expatriates in France 1955 births Impellitteri members 20th-century American keyboardists {{keyboardist-stub