From Pittsburgh basements to the KXSC stage, Betsy Schmeler transitions into the USC music world

On Saturday, Thornton sophomore Betsy Schmeler released her debut EP “My Betsy.” The album is a bittersweet indie rock ode to growing up and leaving her hometown of Pittsburgh for Los Angeles.

Though people might not think of the Steel City as a music industry hub, it has a vibrant DIY music scene. The casual community-oriented environment was the perfect place to get her start. The DIY scene refers to a music sub-culture where local bands work together to put on shows outside of mainstream venues.

“I think just being exposed to creative people all the time was influential,” said Schmeler. “In Pittsburgh, there are definitely multiple [shows] every weekend, and it’s small enough that everybody knows each other.”

Schmeler has had a love for music ever since she could remember. As a child, she dressed up as Gene Simmons every year for Halloween and begged her parents for guitar lessons.

She started playing in bands in her early teens and was eager to break into the music scene. When Schmeler was 15, she saw her family friend Benito Countouris playing in the band Wild Blue Yonder at a Bernie Sanders rally.

Countouris recalled the event. “I saw [Schmeler] in the crowd and I pointed at her, and because I knew she played guitar, I was like, ‘next time you’re going to be up here,’” Countouris said.

The following week Betsy was playing in the band. For the rest of her high school career she spent her weekends playing basement shows, performing at open mics with the band and learning the ropes of the DIY scene. Pittsburgh DIY subculture gave rapper Mac Miller and indie darlings like Merce Lemon and Short Fictions their starts.

“Planning something within 24 hours was common, and if 10 people showed up in the basement, that was cool,” said Schmeler.

Countouris and Schmeler clicked as collaborators and started writing music together on the side. When the pandemic hit, the two broke away from the band and started playing and releasing music as a duo.

Schmeler knew she wanted to pursue music beyond Pittsburgh, even though that meant leaving her beloved DIY scene. She came to USC’s Thornton School of Music to study music industry and discover a new sound.

“Being in college and separated from the Pittsburgh music scene has allowed me to actually figure out what I want to sound like and what I want to do,” says Schmeler.

As a spring admit, she spent her first semester trying to find her footing in the USC music world. Thornton gave Schmeler access to a brand new community of collaborators and friends.

“It’s really cool cause we’re all friends now at the beginning of the day, and then at the end of the day, we have this opportunity to make music together,” Schmeler said. “We would do a lot of sitting in the living room writing songs together, and that was fun.”

She used songwriting as a way to document her new experiences and feelings during this big transition in her life of going to college and experiencing a different music scene. Dorm room songwriting sessions became band practices, and her new music identity “My Betsy” was born.

In October, Schmeler had her debut performance, where she was backed up by a band of her friends at a house show sponsored by KXSC, USC’s student-run radio station. Over 200 people clamored in an overflowing backyard on South Hoover street, dancing to the band’s never before heard original songs.

“I’m grateful that Betsy showed me some of this music as it was in production. And getting to see her process really made me appreciate her art even more,” said Ava Kalenze, the Live Session Director at KXSC, who helped Schmeler book this performance. “My Betsy” will play a solo set on KXSC Radio’s weekly live session this Friday.

Whether in Pittsburgh or Los Angeles, Schmeler is grateful for the community she has found in music. “We’re all friends, we’re uplifting each other.”