As ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons sat before a crowd of government dignitaries last year in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, he conceded it was a “rather unusual, unexpected, but splendid invitation.”
Gibbons, in a sequined blazer and his trademark sunglasses, was the honored guest to unveil a bust of Václav Havel, a former president of Czechoslovakia. At the site of the old House chamber, Gibbons sang a few lines of “Baby Please Don’t Go” with a twist: “Baby, please don’t leave the Czech Republic.”
The performance had on it the unmistakable fingerprints of Dave Schnittger, a senior aide to House Speaker John Boehner who, purely out of personal passion, has brought a dozen musical artists, some legendary, to the Capitol.
Elliot Berke, a longtime friend and accomplice of Schnittger’s, collaborated with Schnittger to organize the Gibbons performance. He conceded that the connection between Gibbons and Havel, who liked American rock music, might have been thin. But, Berke said, “If people were puzzled by it, at least it was entertaining.”
This month Schnittger, Boehner’s longest-serving aide, will leave the Hill for a job with the prominent lobbying shop Squire Patton Boggs.
“For two decades, Dave has helped to build and serve as the beating heart of an incredibly successful political, policy, and leadership operation on Capitol Hill and at home in Ohio,” Boehner in a statement to Politico when the move was announced.
But Schnittger often meshed his political work with a lifelong passion for music.
In 1992, as Schnittger worked on Boehner’s first re-election campaign, Schnittger and his brothers recorded an album on a four-track recorder. Their band name: Sounds like Schnitt.
“I’d spend the whole day driving around the Eighth District of Ohio in a pickup truck, putting up green Boehner signs all over the district,” Schnittger recalled. “Then, after dinner, my brothers and I would go down in the basement and work on our music.”
Schnittger did not think to shape the musical acts under the Capitol Dome until Nov. 2011, in Boehner’s first year as speaker, when Norah Jones performed at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts.
“I really admired the fact that she’d done it, and it got the wheels turning in my head,” Schnittger said.
When he saw an appearance on Sean Hannity by Jack Blades, best known as lead singer and bassist for the 1980s rock group Night Ranger, Schnittger Googled the band’s management and reached out, hoping to plant the seed for a performance later. Blades and Schnittger connected in person when Schnittger attended a Night Ranger show in Maryland the following year.
Blades recalled: “I said to him, ‘Man, you know what would be a blast? I’ve never been to a convention before. I think that’d be really wild.’ And he said, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’”
In August 2012, Blades took to the stage in Tampa at the Republican National Convention, belting out “Back In The Game” on the same night as vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s speech.
The following year, Blades visited the Capitol on the 30th anniversary of the release of Night Ranger’s album “Midnight Madness.” Schnittger arranged for a flag to be flown in honor of the anniversary and gave Blades the grand tour, including the speaker’s office and the dome.
“He’s got the ultimate rock-and-roll all-access pass to the U.S. government,” Blades said.
And the rock-and-roll set has appreciated an insider’s view of the legislative branch. Alex Van Halen, Joel Hoekstra, Ne-Yo, Glen Campbell, Booker T. Jones, Michael Kiwanuka, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, Billy Joel, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith are among those with whom Schnittger has spent time on Capitol Hill.
“It’s a pretty eclectic group,” Schnittger said. “Much like the stuff in my iPod.”
Incidentally, Schnittger’s musical tastes rarely line up with those of his boss. Boehner is “more of a pop-rock guy,” according to Schnittger — more likely to listen to Carole King than Queen.
But that doesn’t mean Boehner’s not a music fan, too. After King performed at the Grammys last year, Boehner wrote her a personal note.
“A few weeks later, I got an email out of the blue one morning as I was parking my car: Carole King was in the Capitol, wondering if she could swing by to thank the Speaker for his very touching letter,” Schnittger said.
Last year, when Boehner crossed paths with Jimmy Buffett in Texas, Boehner texted Schnittger excitedly with a report.
“He’s still talking about it,” Schnittger said.
And, in 2013, when Roger Daltrey of The Who performed in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall to celebrate a bust of Winston Churchill, Boehner’s eyes visibly welled.
That performance, Schnittger says now, was his “favorite moment.” As was often the case, he and Berke made it happen.
Last year, at Boehner’s office’s annual retreat, Schnittger was dubbed both the “Dean of Boehnerland,” as its longest-serving staffer, and “Special Liaison to the Music Industry.” Schnittger said he was “very proud of both designations.”
As Schnittger prepared to leave the Hill this week, he spoke on the phone with his first big get — Jack Blades, of Night Ranger.
The two men, now friends, have kept in touch since their first meeting. When Blades learned a friend had an inoperable brain tumor, he called Schnittger for advice on getting in touch with the FDA, Blades said.
Often, their conversations center on what connected them in the first place: music and politics. Schnittger asks Blades for updates on the music industry. Blades will call Schnittger to discuss a particularly entertaining recent political event.
“And Dave will laugh and say, ‘Welcome to my world,’” Blades said.
“He’s one of those straight-up guys,” Blades added. “He’s a real American, man.”
