Stick with Me: Ean Schultz

I sat down with my Chai Latte in Donkey Coffe and Espresso---a local coffee shop at Ohio University---to meet Ean Schultz who caught my eye with something that the inner child in me screamed out for:Stickers!!Though these stickers were not smelly or the golden stars that were given at school, they still had a story. They were more meticulous in design and therefore had an even greater attraction. They meant something but I could not make it out. They were chaotically put on the computer. I liked that. I needed to know what they meant. So, I talked to Ean Schultz the owner whose stickers adorned his computer.

Zoie Lambert

So when and why did you start putting stickers on your computer?

Ean Schultz

I guess I just felt it was boring without them.

Ean Schultz

[I was] sick of looking at just Grey

Zoie Lambert

Were you trying to follow the trend that was putting stickers on like the hydro flask and computer?

Ean Schultz

Not particularly. I just had a lot of stickers. I didn't really know what to want to stop putting them online and things so..

Zoie Lambert

Would you put them like on your fridge or something?

Ean Schultz

I have a lot of instruments at home so I would just like to put them on there and then it was really hard to sell instruments with a ton of stickers on the instruments.

Zoie Lambert

What was the first ticket sticker you put on your computer?

Ean Schultz

The green van one

Zoie Lambert

Yeah, okay, can you tell me about the significance of that...why like the 80s kind theme

Ean Schultz

I have just always been in love with like the Volkswagen kind of bus and my mom got it for me during orientation here, so it was just kind of like my little reminder that she is still caring for me from home.

Zoie Lambert

That's so sweet. What was the last one you put on there?

Ean Schultz

Last one. The Post Animal one.

Zoie Lambert

What kind of music do you like since you like? You have a lot of rock bands on your computer.

Ean Schultz

It's hard to show me something I don't like anymore. Really? Yeah. I've seen a lot of jazz lately, though. Yeah, it kind of all stems from rock. That's kind of where I started listening to good music. But I've kind of tried to expand from...just gets boring listening to the same stuff over and over again.

Zoie Lambert

What kind of jazz music do you like? Would you put any of those kinds of bands on your computer?

Ean Schultz

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of John Coltrane. I found this album called Ethiopiques. It's some composer Mulata Astatke named and it's just incredible. It's like, the most obscure album I've ever found. And it's like some of the best music.

Zoie Lambert

Yeah, I didn't know all the bands you put on your computer...like I'm not a rock person nor jazz person...probably like more contemporary. So like, where do you find like these sort of bands especially the one with the skull?

Ean Schultz

Oh, yeah. Palette Knife. Yeah. It's hard to say where I find a lot of them. Spotify helps...Palette Knife is a band from Columbus, Ohio. A couple of those guys, you know, I've played a couple shows down here.

Zoie Lambert

What instruments do you play?

Ean Schultz

I try to fiddle around with a little bit of everything, mainly guitar and drums. I picked up bass like three or four years ago. I used to play saxophone but I had to sell my saxophone, which was really sad because I can't play it at all. And they're expensive to buy. Yeah. And I've been teaching myself piano for the past year. I think that's it.

Zoie Lambert

And your music production major. So like, what do you do in music production? Does it involve all those instruments?

Ean Schultz

Personally, playing an instrument really gives you no edge and music production other than like, if someone wants you to help them on their track, which is kind of rare, but I mostly am in music production to kind of learn how to record my own stuff, which is where we're playing instruments comes in handy.

Zoie Lambert

So like, What kind of music do you want to produce?

Ean Schultz

Anything that sounds good. I think part of why I want to get such a broad taste of music is just to be able to just be able to create something new unique.

Zoie Lambert

Very nice. Are you done sticking things on your computer?

Ean Schultz

Never. Never. Yeah, if you look closely, some of the stickers on there overlap. Yeah, just whenever I get a new one, I try to slap it on [to express] my changing interest.

Zoie Lambert

So like when you get a new computer, what will happen with those stickers?

Ean Schultz

Sadly, I think they'll be gone forever. I'll try to replace some of them but I don't know. Maybe I'll frame the back of my laptop on the wall.

Zoie Lambert

So like, do you see getting a new computer as losing something or like a fresh start.

Ean Schultz

I would say it's a fresh start. I always feel like at the point right making it a new computer because there's a lot wrong with the one I have. Yeah. So at that point, I probably just be annoyed with the computer I have been ready to get a fresh start.

Zoie Lambert

Okay, the Mung bean reference without [The] Office reference.

Ean Schultz

It is not that. It's another band from Columbus. Yeah, they're really good. They're supposed to be putting out something, I think next month actually on Spotify, which is really exciting because I talked to them and all that they have on Spotify right now is like stuff they're not really proud of. But what I've heard them play is incredible. So I'm just excited to put something on Spotify.

Zoie Lambert

Do you have something on Spotify?

Ean Schultz

I have some of the projects I've been in have things on Spotify, but nothing I really like bragging about.

Zoie Lambert

So how did you get started with all these different types of bands?

Ean Schultz

Um, mostly just for the passion of it. If I couldn't play, I don't know what I would do.

Zoie Lambert

It's just like, yeah, I guess like breathing.

Ean Schultz

Yeah, it's like breathing to me. So if I I have a project to play with...performing live is just like half the battle. So if I can record stuff on my own that's one thing but playing live is just so much fun. I gotta have somebody to play that.

Zoie Lambert

Yeah,the exhilaration. I understand. The beer breweries on your computer like what do they signify? Like? What kind of drinks do you like?

Ean Schultz

A little bit of everything. Now I'm actually not drinking at all anymore. But a lot of those breweries my sister has stock in a lot of them. Because she likes to support local breweries. She likes alcohol. I'll say that. It’s my small way of supporting her I guess just because she has stake in so many of them.

Zoie Lambert

So like you don't intentionally cover up anything when you stick something on your computer?

Ean Schultz

No, I just don't even know the process that goes through my head when covering up a sticker...it's just spontaneous. Yeah, it's just spontaneous when I get to slap it on wherever I feel we're good.

Zoie Lambert

Where do you get most of your stickers from? Like Donkey? Did you get that here?

Ean Schultz

I love Donkey [Coffee & Espresso] so much. This is just this year been such a creative space for me. I guess I just feel very motivated and inspired here. So that was just my homage to them. Yeah, but any of the other ones are just pure luck. I get a lot of the band one's like the local band ones from talking to them. The brewery ones I actually worked at. It's Big Mama. And it has like the brewery side on it. Yeah, so I just get a lot of them from there. But like I said, I just kind of find a place on my computer where they look good.

Zoie Lambert

Okay, so if you had to make a sticker for your own kind of brand what would it look like or entail?

Ean Schultz

I think it would probably have a lot of colors. Minimalist in shape. I don't know. Oh, yeah, I just feel like it's got to be very vibrant popping off the laptop...First one people would look at/

Zoie Lambert

Yes, yeah. So do many people notice your laptop [stickers]?

Ean Schultz

I don't think so. I don't know though you are the only person who has come up to me about them.

Motivation

Ean Schultz

Yeah, I'm just really weird about being on like...a love-hate relationship.

Zoie Lambert

Is it like a form of motivation?

Ean Schultz

If I looked at my laptop and didn't see it just kind of saw it sitting there, it would just feel like that just were just bland, boring. But if I can see it on my desk, sitting there with all that stuff, that I guess it just draws me into it a little bit more.

Zoie Lambert

What's the most controversial thing on your laptop stickers? Is it like, the Donkey or the Black Lives Matter sticker?

Ean Schultz

Yeah. As far as controversial goes, I would say probably the Black Lives Matter just because the town that I am from is very generally conservative, I guess you could say so. If I go home and somebody sees that that would probably be the first one that somebody said anything about.

Zoie Lambert

How did you get that sticker?

Ean Schultz

I actually got it here too. Yeah, they were just giving them away here. I was here with my girlfriend and she brought one back for her laptop and I ask “Where they were?” and they were sitting over there on the table like by the straws and stuff.

Zoie Lambert

What are three words that your computer reflect about you?

Ean Schultz

Chaotic, constantly changing, I guess, you know, just and beat up. It's got some scars hidden beneath those stickers. I'm very bad about taking care of this stuff.

Zoie Lambert

Tell me the story about the Mr. Miyagi sticker.

Ean Schultz

I got that one because my friends and I drove to Colorado on a whim over the summer. And we met this guy at one of the stores and he was just like sitting in there making stickers in his free time to pass a ship. And he just handed us a bunch of free stickers and that was one He was really proud of. We laughed for like five minutes straight after. Okay, so that's just my memory of that whole trip.

Zoie Lambert

What kind of outdoor activities do you like to do?

Ean Schultz

Anything that gets me outdoors, I spent a lot of time and like, I'd say middle school, probably high schools wouldn't stop. Yeah, just sitting inside. Yeah and it it was dreary. Yeah. So anything that gets me out of the house anymore is amazing. I started mountain climbing about a year ago I'm going to try and go to Australia this Summer. I'm going to something called the seven summit. So it's like the highest peak on each of the continents. And Australia is the lowest so I'm going to start there. Okay, so that's Yeah, that's probably what's beginning you know, slightly just climbing.

Ean Schultz

I used to be really afraid of heights. So doing stuff like that. It's just kind of, I guess the way a base a pair. There's a water tower. We're in my hometown and that's true for tall for no reason. And it's just really easy to get to. So my friends and I would always try to try and get over our fear of heights.

Zoie Lambert

You will climb the water tower.. Is that legal?

Ean Schultz

Probably. I mean, there was a fence, but there was also a hole in the fence. So… [My home] trust me, you could pass through it in like five minutes walking. It's so small. There's nothing there. That's why we had to climb a water tower.

Zoie Lambert

Oh, wow. If your town has to have a sticker what would it look like?

Ean Schultz

Oh, man, corn. It would just look like a piece of corn. Yeah, my high school is surrounded on all four sides by fields. You would not know it was there unless you were like right in the parking lot.

I learned everything about Ean Schultz just through a few images. "A picture is worth a thousand words" so think about how you express yourself. If you have more stories like this one feel free to contact me and subscribe.

References:

http://athensohio.com/blog-posts/6-hot-athens-drinks-to-warm-you-up/