We had the good fortune of connecting with Skyler Saufley and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Skyler, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
Being in the music business, most people will tell you to play what’s popular. I feel that it’s important to stay true to yourself and play what YOU feel and to always be yourself. There’s an audience for everything and people will always recognize authenticity.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Being a blues musician, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. I’ve always just tried to play what I want to hear and to be genuine about it. It also doesn’t hurt to do a few goofy tricks on stage. I’d like to think I’m following in the footsteps of my hero, T-Bone Walker, when I climb up on a bar stool or a table or something and play the guitar over my head.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
You can’t visit Atlanta without stopping at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and Blind Willie’s Blues Club! Blind Willie’s will always be the home of The Blues in Atlanta, Ga! Little Five Points has a couple of good record stores too!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could go on and on with this one but I owe everything to guys like Jimmy Reed and T-Bone Walker for inspiring me to pick up the guitar in the first place and to my Blind Willie’s family in Atlanta for their unwavering support and encouragement. I also owe a great deal of gratitude to my family and to my good friend Raleigh Brothers for teaching me everything I know about the music business.
Website: www.skylersaufley.com
Instagram: @skylersaufleymusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkylerSaufleyMusic/
Image Credits
Jim Clark