Now based in Amsterdam, the former San Diego, CA singer-songwriter Gayle Skidmore recently returned from a US tour to support the release of her new album, The Golden West. Following the tour, she took some time out to talk about her songwriting and experiences. You have been a really prolific songwriter since childhood. Where do you draw your chief inspiration from and has that changed over time? When I was very little, around three years old, I would sing little songs to myself. It’s something I have always done, and I have funny little recordings of my early songs that my sisters made. I’ve always drawn inspiration from my observations and experiences, and so that has varied depending on
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Music is a great passion of mine. In my teenage years I was an avid record collector and concert goer. Stints as a booking agent, running folk clubs, promoting gigs and even a crack at artiste management followed. While it never became my main occupation, music was always on my personal radar.
During the past 10 years I have written for the leading US music website Consequence of Sound and breakthrough act site, BestNewBands. I am a judge for Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition and have reviewed the festival for both the above sites.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. You’ll find many of them on this site alongside some legends of times past and I hope they will bring you as much joy as they give me.
Tony Hardy