Biography
www.myspace.com/skynelson
The only thing we can change is ourselves. Yet this can change the world.
Sky offers music that is instantly likable, yet, like the wine in his home of Sonoma County, gets better with time.
Aptly named by his dad while looking out the window from the Point Reyes Youth Hostel on the beach where he was born, Sky has walked a unique path. Instead of looking for instant notoriety, Sky spent his first 30 years learning about the inner world and trying to come to terms with the suffering of life. Between his work as a physicist and the practice of his music, he strove to find broader meaning in life’s course.
In a dream one night, he was asked “are you a Moses or a musician?â€; Sky answered instinctively “I'm a musician.†From that night forward Sky dedicated himself to his muse and has never looked back. In becoming focused on his own life-passion, and becoming willing to let the people in his life be themselves, his own life has transformed in such a way as to create undeniable inspiration for a message in his music.
Sky is a three-time winner of West Coast Songwriters "Best Performance†and two-times for "Best Song†(Space for Uncertainty, Tied-up Tied-down).
Sky has played piano since the age of 3, and has performed around the San Francisco Bay Area with various groups. He has studied at Berklee College of Music, UC Berkeley, and with numerous private teachers. He is at a turning point in his career with the ripening of his original work.
“(Sky) sets his own course. He’s much more of a pioneer than the faux rebels littering the cultural landscape, and the bravery in which his music is inspired makes him a light to all souls in a dark world.†C.H.
“Sky Nelson’s (EP) offers us anthem after anthem of hope and power and How To Care. And he does it with deceptively simple arrangements and his clear, pleasing voice. Oh, and some potent lyrics… In “Space for Uncertainty,†he says what some of us have thought and maybe been afraid to admit: ‘Between the cash and the dogma/there’s no place where I belong.†But he doesn’t leave us in that limbo: ‘Through our peace of mind, we leave the world a better place.†BuddyHollywood.com
Sky's recent performances have included the following venues:
* The Sweet Spot, Santa Rosa
* Ace in the Hole, Sebastopol
* Soul Festival and Parade, with Raz B of B2K, July 2006, Seattle, Washington
* Featured in the November 2006 issue of Ph'Kaki, an online multimedia zine (www.phkaki.com)
* Harmony Festival 2005, Santa Rosa, Ca, impromptu performance
* Radio Interview: KWMR 90.5 Point Reyes , CA
* Live In-Studio Radio Performance: KRSH 95.9 FM Santa Rosa, CA
* The Cannery at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA
* Mojito Bar & Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
* Trefethen Winery, Napa Valley, CA
* Barndiva Restaurant, Healdsburg, CA
* Haven Coffee, Portland, OR
* Bella Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA
* John Ash Restaurant, Santa Rosa, CA
* CHOPS Teen Center, Santa Rosa, CA
* The Dance Palace, Point Reyes Station, CA
* The Meadow Club, Fairfax, CA
Instrumentation
Sky - Keyboards, Vocals
Josh - Bass
Dan - Drums
Eric - Guitar
Kelly - Vocals
Discography
* I Forgot I Was Alive - May 2007 - This EP contains excellent songwriting and band energy. Sky's talent as a craftsman and inspiring lyricist really begins to take root, paving the way for the upcoming 2008 release with New Vintage Artists.
* "Try Again" was recorded in 2002 at Banquet Sound Studios in Santa Rosa, California, and contains seven richly-developed songs written for vocals, piano, and guitar. The passionate arrangements include Paul McCandless on saxophone, Kai Eckart on bass, Ian Dogole on percussion, and Shannin Jones on back-up vocals. The songs range thematically from politics to perfection, from loyalty to perseverance, as well as subtly capturing the joys and sorrows of romantic love.
Links
| http://www.SkyNelson.com |