Paul Schalda is stepping out on his own.
A former member of the late soul shouter Charles Bradley’s band, the Staten Island-born and now North Texas-based singer-songwriter is reintroducing himself with his debut solo album, Lately, due out Nov. 7 on Skylark Soul Co. He’s dropped a few advance singles, all of which only sharpened our anticipation.
Schalda, who previously performed as Paul & the Tall Trees, has released a debut single from the project, the Adrian Quesada-produced “Anything for Your Love,” which evokes the halcyon days of 1970s yacht rock, reconfigured for 21st century sensibilities.
“There is another version we recorded originally that’s more stripped down with no drum kit, just hand drums, which was something, sonically, more akin to what you would expect from Adrian’s work,” said Jeff “Skin” Wade in a statement. Wade co-produced Lately with Robert Ellis. “We started messing around with a full drum kit, a steady groove sound, and it just wasn’t connecting. I thought we were spinning our wheels and then Rich Terrana changed his drum approach, and it fell into place and became perfect.”
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The entire 10-track solo debut, which features gorgeous vocal contributions from Becki Howard (most thrillingly on the title cut), was laid down at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth.
“The goal was to mix the energy of my East Coast family with my new Texas family,” Schalda said in a statement. “[Lately] is an ode to the human experience … of leaving all my roots behind and navigating new terrain.”
Wade, for his part, has found it easy to support Schalda’s shift to this new chapter of self-expression.
“Paul offers you a chance to connect to something that is beautiful with each and every song,” Wade said in a statement. “He does not write songs just to write songs. He writes songs because he wants to convey a certain idea combined with a beautiful melody. There’s no artifice to what he does.”
Although no local dates have yet been confirmed, Schalda will most likely perform in support of Lately’s release.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
Source: https://kxt.org/2025/08/paul-schalda-readies-his-solo-debut-lately-for-fall-release/
