Check out the full interview here: https://youtu.be/7OgufE7mEJ4
Lily: Hello everybody! My name is Lily from KCR College Radio, and I’m here with the amazing Gayle Skidmore! She’s a San Diego-based singer-songwriter who just returned home after spending several years in The Netherlands, and she has a hometown show coming up at The Casbah on April 15th. Gayle, thank you so much for taking the time to be here! To start off, go ahead and tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.
Gayle was abroad in The Netherlands for eight years and just moved back to San Diego the last couple of years. She grew up in San Diego, attended college in Los Angeles, and is “happy to be home.”
Lily: It’s so nice to meet you. For listeners who may be discovering you for the first time, how would you describe your sound in this current era?
Gayle: Baroque indie-folk pop.
Gayle incorporates lots of layers into her songs to create a unique atmosphere in every song. She’s been producing her own music recently, adding as many layers as she needs to feel satisfied with her work.
Lily: You recently moved back to San Diego after eight years abroad; how has coming home shaped you creatively?
Gayle: It’s been really nice to be back. There’s a really strong community of singer songwriter and independent artists here so that has definitely been inspiring to me.
Gayle shared that it is refreshing to be around the musical community in San Diego after spending the last couple of years in The Netherlands on lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lily: Your newest single, The Road to Nowhere, was inspired by your trip to Salla, Finland. Can you tell me a little bit about that experience and what it meant to you?
Gayle: Salla, where my family lives, their tagline is actually Salla – in the middle of nowhere.
A stressful period of time led to Gayle getting lesions in her throat that made it hard to sing, so she turned to learning about her ancestry to stay busy in quarantine. She was intrigued to find living cousins in Lapland, Finland, and sought out this distant family. After a lovely four days staying with these cousins and learning that her roots are actually Sami, the indigenous people of Europe, Gayle has found a real family in these cousins that kept her grounded during the confusing COVID-19 era. The Road to Nowhere is about escaping reality for a while, just like Gayle was able to do when she found her Finnish family.
Lily: You’ve been songwriting since such a young age and have written over 2,500 songs, which is incredible. What keeps you inspired to continue creating at that level?
Gayle: It’s not really something I always choose.. A lot of times I just hear stuff in my head and it’s a way I have always processed.
Gayle was an avid journal writer growing up and wrote about her life through songs. Sometimes she will sit down and write something, but normally she just naturally hears a song in her head and then follows that inspiration. She reports that she started writing songs as early as three years old.
Lily: Your songs are very personal and poetic. How do you decide when an experience feels ready to share with your audience?
Gayle: You have to think a lot about your audience as well… you kind of know when you know.
When Gayle writes her songs, she is writing them about her true emotions and experiences; however, she still believes that it is an artists responsibility to take into account how their music will be perceived. She doesn’t necessarily shape her work for her audiences, but she does think about how listeners could relate to her songs and whether her art would have value to fans.
Lily: Your most streamed song on Spotify is Dance Alone, with over 60,000 plays. What inspired that song, and what does it mean to you now?
Gayle: It’s kind of just about celebrating your own independence- that’s something that’s always been important to me.
Gayle values having a strong sense of self immensely, especially since having a baby a couple of years ago. People in her life didn’t believe she would be able to continue her career as a musician after becoming a mother, and she is proud of having proved them wrong. This song serves as a reminder that Gayle has the power to determine her own future and create a fulfilling life as an artist and mother.
Lily: Alongside songwriting, you have also had tons of experience with a wide variety of musical instruments. What are the instruments that you gravitate towards when you are coming up with musical arrangements in your songs?
Gayle: My piano is my main instrument, so a lot of times I start there, but it depends on my mood, I guess, and what instrument is closest to me in proximity.
All of Gayle’s songs feature multiple instruments and layers, coming together seamlessly to create the vision for her art. Though piano is where many of her songs start, it is not where they always end.
Lily: Do you have a favorite or niche instrument that you play?
Gayle: My best friend gave me a banjolele.
Though she will always have a soft spot for the piano, an instrument she picked up at four years old, she also enjoys playing the banjolele. This hybrid ukulele with a banjo body creates a beautiful sound that compliments Gayle’s music style.
Lily: One really cool thing I found out about was that you had a song featured in an HBO show called “Looking.” What did that feel like having your song in a production like that?
Gayle: Surreal. I’ve had a couple of placements but that was definitely one of the bigger ones.
“Looking” is an HBO show starring Jonathan Groff and the soundtrack features Gayle’s song Paper Box. Since then, Gayle has also had her music featured in a movie and other film projects, which she shared is always surreal and rewarding.
Lily: Now shifting into live performances, what’s your favorite venue you’ve played so far?
Gayle: I really love going to Sedalia, Colorado. There is a castle there, haha.
Gayle’s shows in Sedalia are always very special. She gets to play in fantastic castles with breathtaking views, and was even brought owls as an homage to the owl painted on her banjo. She feels so lucky to play at these beautiful venues each time.
Lily: Do you have a show that was your favorite or most special performance experience?
Gayle: One of my favorites was in Munich, Germany…I think it might have been the first country I played in where I didn’t speak the language. I was like “this could be real awkward,” haha. But I got four encores and made some lasting friendships and it was super wonderful.
A show in a country that you don’t speak the language for can be stressful and tricky, but Gayle had a lovely and remarkable experience in Munich.
Lily: For someone who hasn’t seen you live before, how would you describe the atmosphere of your shows?
Gayle: Well I like to keep it real fun. I started baking cookies for my shows.
One time, Gayle heard before a show that the sound producer for the venue tended to be grumpy with performers. Knowing her set and how many instruments she was going to be bringing on stage, Gayle decided to bake cookies for him and leave extras at the merch table. This is now a tradition for her concerts; as she says, “I want to have a good show- I bake cookies.”
Lily: Do you have any pre-show rituals that help you get into the right mindset before performing?
Gayle: “I do try to listen to something that will put me in a good energy.”
Gayle tends to relax and raise her spirits by listening to uplifting music and audiobooks. She joked that she used to listen to Watership Down, a story that features very heavy themes such as animal violence, and that affected the energy she brought to the stage. She shared, “some of my songs get pretty dark, so I like to not be in too dark of a mood already.”
Lily: If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?
Gayle: I would love to collaborate with Stromae… he’s wonderful and he’s so creative and yeah, his videos blow my mind.
Stromae is a Belgian singer and rapper who is known for his creative and striking music videos. Though Gayle does not know if their genres would be compatible, I would still love to see this collaboration.
Lily: What’s a guilty pleasure song you love that people might not expect?
Gayle: I usually listen to a lot of dirty old frenchmen singers, haha…and Pink Pony Club, but only because of the Chit show.
One of Gayle’s favorite French artists is Arthur H. Other musicians similar to her own genre have “a really good energy for [her].”
Lily: Wrapping up, is there anything else you’d like listeners to know about, whether that be any upcoming projects or performances?
Gayle: I’m releasing a video with this song. So, we’re going to be showing that at the Casbah!
Gayle and her team recorded a music video at Bombay Beach that will be played at the San Diego concert on April 15th. This show is going to be very special, and Gayle is planning on bringing cookies as per usual, so get your tickets now!
Lily: Thank you so much for your time today, Gayle! Be sure to check out her hometown show at The Casbah on April 15th. I’m Lily with KCR College Radio, thanks for listening!