“I’ve lived in Park Slope and Williamsburg for decades — and my father is from Flatbush. I’ve also recorded music in Brooklyn extensively,” Schreifels told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Quicksand, Schreifels’ most notable musical endeavor, was founded in 1990, and its band personnel has their roots in the New York Hardcore scene.

The group quickly rose from performing at club venues to touring North America and Europe with national acts like Helmet, Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine, Anthrax and White Zombie. 

Their exposure led to the band signing a record deal with major label Polydor Records in 1992, subsequently becoming the first post-hardcore band to do so.

Quicksand is still active and performing at venues to this day. In fact, the group is slated to be back in Brooklyn in May. performing at the Brooklyn Paramount.  

Schreifels is also the creative force behind yet another New York City-based project — Rival Schools — which he described as “lyrically hopeful and optimistic.”  

“It’s also very melodic vocally — but heavy at the same time,” he noted.   

“I’ve always loved music as far back as I can remember,” Schreifels recalled. “When I was a kid, I would stay up late to watch Saturday Night Live to see who the musical guests were; and I was also a big fan of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and an avid reader of Rolling Stone magazine as well. In fact, that publication got me into bands like the Velvet Underground and R.E.M. in their early years.” 

Schreifels pointed out that MTV in the 1980s was a big influence as well, as was the radio — specifically WLIR, which played bands like U2, The Smiths and Black Flag when they first came out, he said.   

Schreifels performed in many a band when he first entered the hardcore punk scene in the mid-1980s. within a year, he had played the famous CBGB (in 1986) with Gorilla Biscuits — a feeling he described as “simply incredible.”

“I felt like I had already made it, and I was only around 16 years old,” he said.  

“The scene back then was revolutionary, and it opened up a path for me to see the world and travel,” Schreifels explained. “And through music, I was able to do all the things that I had wanted to do — and I’ve been riding that wave ever since.” 

But Schreifels is not one to rest on his laurels and is a strong believer in evolving as a musician — going to places that he feels “wobbly” in.

“Through music, I like to explore and show parts of myself that would go against type, and my own expectations,” he noted, citing David Bowie as an example.

“Bowie stretches the boundaries, and always tries to do something different,” Schreifels said.   

Schreifels is somewhat of a renaissance man when it comes to music and musical instruments.

“I sing, play guitar, and also play bass and piano. I dabble in drums as well, but I’m more of an ‘idea man’ when it comes to that.”

However, singing is, by far, the hardest thing to do, Schreifels pointed out.

“A voice is something you are born with,” he said. “With a guitar, you can hide behind distortion and chords; but when you are the singer, there are so many dimensions to it — words, a connection to those words, melody, and timing. And some people just have a good sounding voice, and some do not. There is a physicality about it.” 

Schreifels, 54, said he believes he has a long road ahead of him musically.

“I’ll be doing what I’m doing until the day I die. Of course, I would like to keep doing it where I am making a living at it, but if I wasn’t making a living at it, I would still be doing it anyway.”

When asked what advice he would you give a young aspiring musician – and a more seasoned one – looking to become “successful” in the music industry, Schreifels noted that whether young or old, seasoned or green, “the best thing to do is to drop the whole idea of ‘making it’ – it’s a crazy idea,” he said. 

“Get into what it is you are doing – enjoy the whole process, the people you are with, the challenges, all of it – otherwise you will become very disillusioned.”