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Interview with Skidders

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Today, we sat down with Skidders to talk inspiration to write music, advice for future musicians and much more! Be sure to check out Skidders music below on Spotify after the interview!

Interview:

What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?

All kinds of things. Bear in mind 95% of my music is instrumental and is very eclectic. So I might do a heavy rock instrumental, acoustic love song or cool jazz music.

 

I have 3 albums and there is only one song with vocals on each album. The first album, I sang with my wife who has a great voice. My second album I sang solo. But bear in mind, these songs were tongue-in-cheek. On my 3rd album, the one vocalised song was a love song. So I recruited a superb vocalist, Andrew James, to sing for me. I could not sing anything serious!

 

I had the usual influences of being very narrow minded in earlier years, to be much more catholic in musical taste as time has gone on. So, to date, I have written, recorded and performed all kinds of genres. For most part, I am really a reverse-engineer composer rather than taking a concept and following it through. The exception is a some of the music I have written to dedicate to people. So normally, I will think that I want to do a particular type of song – at the moment for my next song, an Americana rock song. I’ll then compose it roughly in my head before detailing and finally recording. The inspiration for that would come from years of listening to music and trying to polarise into something in my ilk and and I will try to add additional nuances I have not heard before.

 

The song on my latest album is a 180 degree swing example,. ”Achill Island” was to dedicate to some friends from the Irish island of the same name. So inspirationally, it was going to be acoustic, Celtic and with a masterly vibe. It is one song that turned out exactly as I had put together in my head!

 

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

My first inspiration was The Shadows. Hank Marvin, their lead guitarist, played a red Stratocaster and I fell in love with the look and sound. Years later, around 2010, I saw him perform in a small theatre and was one of the best and most emotional concerts I have been to.

 

Following them, the Beatles – the best pop group that ever was for sure. In later years, I loved CCR, Led Zeppelin, TYA, Black Sabbath, Hendrix, Santana, Rory Gallagher and so on. These days, I love KT Tunstall, Ella Fitzgerald, John Mayer and throughout, Clapton.

 

Is there someone you looked up as a hero?

100% my father! He was brilliant and had the right balance of encouraging me but not pushing me too much throughout life. But musically,  John Fogerty, then Alvin Lee of Ten Years After. I was stunned by the speed of his playing, although as I have progressed, although I wouldn’t keep up with him, I could have played alongside him, god rest his soul.

 

If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?

 

I have engineering qualifications to degree level, but we’ll keep that quiet.

What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?

Good question! Be true to your music; work very hard; don’t burn bridges; don’t give up and try and love all those around you, hard as it may be at times. Good luck!

 

Music:

Vic

Editor / Writer / Producer For Drop the Spotlight