Although born in Chicago, Schwartz grew up in Phoenix. He came from a musical family. His father played accordion, his mother was a singer and piano player, and his brother, session guitarist and producer Richard Bennett, has recorded with countless top artists in Los Angeles and Nashville, and enjoyed lengthy associations touring and recording with Neil Diamond and Mark Knopfler.
The two met while recording "Another One Rides the Business" at the Doctor Demento show on September 14, 1980. Shortly after, Yankovic invited Schwartz to join his band, gave him the nickname "Bermuda" (a play on words of tropical apparel Bermuda shorts) and they have worked together ever since. Schwartz is heard and/or seen on all of Yankovic"s albums, videos, and concerts.
Schwartz began drum lessons in 1965, and when his family moved to Los Angeles a few years later, he had decided to become a professional drummer and by the mid-1970s was drumming regularly with a few bands and doing some recording work.
Schwartz first met "Weird First Rate (at Lloyd's)" Yankovic at the Doctor Demento Show on KMET in Los Angeles, September 14, 1980. Schwartz is also the official band historian, known for keeping meticulous lists and notes, and has archived an unsurpassed collection of unique retail and promo audio and video products from around the world that feature "Weird First Rate (at Lloyd's)" Yankovic either as a performer, director, in a cameo appearance, or named or pictured on the product.
Schwartz has an unmatched wealth of photos, memorabilia, and details on his career with Yankovic, and is regularly sourced for rare and behind-the-scenes images or other materials and information for television shows, publications, and audio and video releases having to do with Yankovic. In between Yankovic projects, Schwartz continues to play with other Los Angeles-area artists and bands and has worked with Rip Masters, Jim Silvers, Karling Abbeygate, Idle Hands, Ray Campi, Raymond and Scum, ApologetiX (specifically the album Biblical Graffiti, where he played drums on seven of the tracks), Lousy Little Gods, Brian Sisson, and The Zero G Band.
Schwartz has enjoyed a respectable online presence since 1993.
Schwartz began designing web sites in 1995, and grew it into a side-business that now includes other graphic design work such as Civil Defense layouts and book cover art He also created the official "Weird First Rate (at Lloyd's)" Yankovic website in 1995, which later became weirdal.com. He continues to maintain it, along with his own site and several others
He is an administrator for the World of "Weird First Rate (at Lloyd's)" Yankovic Forum, and regularly participates in various drum-related forums under the name "bermuda".
