Bob Schneider

Husky-throated Austin, Texas, singer Bob Schneider is a musical jack-of-all-trades. In the '90s, Schneider fronted a funk-rap combo (Joe Rockhead), followed by a blues-based jam band on tour with Dave Matthews (the Ugly Americans), culminating with a hard-edged alt-rock act (The Scabs). Since the turn of the millennium, Schneider's been solo, releasing three albums where he indulged a similar stylistic wanderlust. His new album, I'm Good Now, features a kitchen sink of approaches, including easygoing adult contemporary "worthy" of John Mayer ("The Way Life Is Supposed to Be"), blue-eyed hipster rap ("Getting Better"), funk-rock ("Capn Kirk"), alt-country ("I'm Good Now") and hard rock ("C'mon Baby"). His voice is versatile enough to cover the territory, and his downbeat wit -- whether welcoming his death with the title track's epitaph, or sitting down with the Holy Father and a six-pack of Coors ("God Is My Friend") -- makes the journey worth leaving the house for.