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 glam metal band from Los Angeles that 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 var ...

, Dio, and

Last in Line Last in Line is a British rock band formed in 2012 by former members of Dio (band), Dio's original lineup. Their name comes from the 1984 Dio album, ''The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010, drummer Vinny A ...

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, 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 A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

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 singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

playing in the Village,

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English Rock music, rock band formed by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first Supergroup (music), supergroups of the late 1960s and enjoyed success in the early 1970s ...

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, 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 Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

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 known for playing 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 style, includ ...

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. The album was acclaimed by the music press and is the band's most successful album. History Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed ...

'' 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 bo ...

'' (1984) * ''

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

'' (1985) * ''

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

'' (1986) * ''

Dream Evil Dream Evil is a Swedish heavy metal band, assembled by producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999. They have released seven studio albums. History Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long ...

'' (1987)

Others

* 1983 -

– LA's 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 the "attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The relat ...

– '' 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 * Dorothea Wierer, Italian biathlete * Doro (company), a Swedish telecommunications company * Doro, ...

– ''

Force Majeure In contract law, force majeure ( ; ) 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 as a war, strike, riot, ...

'' * 1993 -

Impellitteri Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer 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. Early life and early career Hoey was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. At fourteen, ...

– '' 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. He is the current lead vocalist and songwriter of heavy metal band DeathRiders

– '' Threatcon Delta''

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