Robert Schwartzman Talks Life Post-Rooney and Those Lost Joe Jonas Songs

Maybe you know him as the frontman for rock band Rooney, or as Anne Hathaway’s love interest in The Princess Diaries, but these days—in between playing gigs, scoring a film, and saving abandoned dogs—Robert Schwartzman is connecting artists and fans through a love of music, one voice at a time. We caught up with Schwartzman, 30, over a shared croissant and a few cappuccinos.

What prompted your latest music project, Starsystem?
I started Rooney in high school. These were guys I went to high school with and guys I knew from L.A. We were a young rock band not signed or “put together”—no one’s dad was our manager. We got together because we loved going to shows and playing music.

When you form a band, you form a real relationship that’s like a marriage. It’s an emotional connection, especially when you’re young ... because you don’t know what’s out there.

As I got older, I started looking at everything around me, and wondering whether it was really for me, and what I really wanted out of it. I needed to reset the clock and understand myself better. Rooney was like marrying a high school sweetheart. And then you’re like, ‘I think we need some time to see other people,’ and those other people are new musicians. Starsystem is like a new marriage with new musicians.

Does it bother you if fans still focus on Rooney?
I appreciate the time someone’s taking to ask about [anything I've worked on]. ... It doesn’t bother me that people ask about my old stuff. Sometimes when something connects with people a certain way and resonates with them emotionally, there’s an emotional connection to that work—and anything else you do is always compared and related to the past.

I have a moment of "like my new stuff; talk about Starsystem" because I want people to check it out and dig it. When I take a second and put it into perspective, [I know] people are going to want to know about Rooney stuff—it was my life for 13 years ... I love those songs.

That’s the thing about music: It’s forever. Hopefully you captured a moment musically that has a timeless quality people will find relevant to their lives at any point. That’s the whole idea about what I love about art and music.

What was influencing you while writing the songs for Starsystem? It has a '70s vibe.
I just write whatever I’m feeling or what sounds cool. I’ve done music the way I’ve always done music; I’m just using different instruments. Right now, I’m using more synthesizers, but it’s still coming from the same person ... I write different types of songs at the same time.

I don’t want to put it all out there in one project. That’s why I started doing solo stuff because I get to dream it up and make it, and it really represents what I’m feeling. ... I see myself as taking a step into a new role, a new career, which I’ve never given myself the time to do. Rooney’s been so repetitive and constant for so long; it’s like working the same job for 13 years. [For me] it’s a much-needed creative space.

Recently, in an essay for New York Magazine, Joe Jonas revealed that one of his biggest career disappointments was a solo album he recorded with you that never saw the light of day. What happened there? And where are those lost songs?
Joe Jonas and I got together to work on his solo record. I have a studio in L.A. and I love the cowriting experience. I wanted to bring something I liked to the table and produce it the way I wanted to, so we went for it, and his team really liked it—and everyone else we played it for loved the sound. ... It was a retro '80s pop vibe with synthesizers and some electric guitar. It was the kind of music you turn the lights out and dance to.

During the process, he had to keep going out on tour and it was hard to pin him down for more recording. In the music business, when you sit on material too long, the songs collect dust for the powers that be. It’s frustrating because the songs were really good. I think the people he was working with at the time influenced him in one direction, and he wasn’t able to embrace the music he was really doing. When you are signed to a label, they have expectations of you as an artist ... to put out a sound they’re familiar with. Joe wanted to work with people whose music he admired. I love those songs and would love for people to hear them. I would encourage Joe to put them out ... right now they’re just sitting in my studio.

What was it like growing up with so many famous family members in the film industry?
Growing up with filmmakers around us was part of what it was. I used to visit my mom [actress , Talia Shire] and dad [producer , Jack Schwartzman] on movie sets. I made these really intricate home movies as a kid ... so I’ve always been interested in film. When I was 15, my cousin [Sophia Coppola] directed TheVirgin Suicides and asked me to come in and read for a part. Garry Marshall liked me in the film. That’s how I ended up getting cast in The Princess Diaries. It was at the same time Rooney first started.

So you recently created an app, TwentyTwo. What is it all about?
I love music, I love musicians, and I really wanted to create something to help fans and musicians engage so they could strengthen their connections. Over the years when Rooney would tour, I really feel like we built a really good following because we engaged. I remember staying after shows every night just hanging out at the merch table, or outside the club talking with people until the last person left and they shut the lights down.

The intention with TwentyTwo [free , iTunes App Store] was that you can’t always wait after your show every night of your life, or physically be there with your fans. Twitter and Facebook are connection platforms for artists and fans, but we are trying to do it in a more meaningful and personal way. [With TwentyTwo, fans can leave artists 22-second audio messages (and vice versa) and then share those messages via social media.]

Artists who have the budget can hire social media companies to manage their accounts. Most personalities don’t use their own social media ... they don’t have the time or know-how to be that engaging. They have someone update for them. But the tricky thing is, you lose the connection because you’re not really communicating. People like to get a real response back. [Schwartzman often puts a call out for fans to request a song and he’ll play it.] TwentyTwo is a tool for artists to strengthen their fan base. ... We’re continuing to build out new features and functions as we go and growing the artists in the community.

I happened to catch you on an episode of The Dog Whisperer. How did that come to be?
I find dogs all the time ... roaming around the neighborhood. My mom and I have this weird thing of always driving and seeing a dog run across the street and going to get it and then having to find a home for it.

The dog I found [on the show] was a really tough case because she was older and had had a lot of puppies and wasn’t socialized. I really wanted it to work but I wasn’t in the position to take her on. It’s an art trying to train that kind of dog and maintaining the behavior. Once [Cesar Millan] said the aggression would never go away, I knew it would be really tough. She bonded with the trainer on the show and now she’s living on her ranch, hanging out with all these other dogs in peace, and going on these epic walks. So it was a good thing. [Since the show aired, Schwartzman rescued and found homes for three other dogs—and one now belongs to him! ]

Are you working on any other projects we should know about?
I recently scored a film called Palo Altowith Dev Hynes. It’s directed by my cousin Gia Coppola and comes out in May. I’ve also been working on other songs that don’t sound like Starsystem songs. I might make another solo record that’s more like true singer-songwriter music.

In the meantime, you can connect with Schwartzman via TwentyTwo, and if you're lucky, he just might play a new Starsystem song for you.