SkiP HappEns Podcast
Skip Clark is a dynamic and captivating podcast host and radio personality who has left an indelible mark on the world of broadcasting. With a voice that can command attention and a personality that oozes charm, Skip has become a beloved figure in the world of entertainment. His passion for storytelling and his ability to connect with his audience shine through in every episode of his podcast and every moment on the airwaves.
Skip’s journey in radio began decades ago, and he has since evolved into a seasoned professional who effortlessly navigates the waves of the media industry. His deep knowledge of music, pop culture, and current events keeps his listeners engaged and coming back for more. Skip Clark's enthusiasm and authenticity make him a trusted voice in the world of podcasting and radio. His dedication to his craft and his commitment to providing quality content continue to make him a standout in the world of broadcasting.
SkiP HappEns Podcast
Sydney Irving: A Journey of Music, Dreams, and Connection
and let's do it. We're live. Hi everybody, it is skip happens. My name is skip clark. I am the host of skip happens. Thanks for uh checking in with us here tonight and, as you know, I I talked to a lot of the artists, the new artists, the independent artists, superstars we get them all on skip happens tonight, no exception to any of that. Check this out as, as a matter of fact, we're probably so close I could reach out. And well, not really. I'm in the North Syracuse area. She's in the Western suburb of Syracuse, but it's an honor to have her. Sydney Irving is joining us here tonight on Skip Happens. Sydney, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to do this. I know we wanted to get you into the pod zone, but anybody that's from the northeast knows how quick our weather changes. It's a little. It's a little cray-cray right now, from what I understand, and it's going to get worse as we get, you know, into the nighttime a little bit more. But how are you?
Speaker 2:well, first off, I want to say thank you so much for having me today. It's such a pleasure to talk with you. The weather got really crazy really fast, otherwise I would totally be there, right there with you.
Speaker 1:I know the pod zone. Matter of fact, I ran the vacuum last night.
Speaker 1:I did some dusting, I cleaned it all up I said Sydney's coming over, we got to get this pod zone in shape. But no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But we will get you in here someday. And you know I have a full podcast studio, the voiceover studio, and and I even have a vocal booth. You know voiceover work, so it's pretty cool. But let's talk about you a little bit. You know, growing up here in central New York where Skip Happens is, how did growing up in Syracuse shape you as the artist that you are today?
Speaker 2:Well, for me, growing up in Syracuse, I really love Syracuse.
Speaker 2:I think it's a great city and I grew up at my family's business, which is a skate park and roller rink, so I was running around the ramps and everything and I would listen to music with my family my family just huge music lovers so listen to absolutely everything. When I was about 10, no younger when I was about seven years old, I really got into Taylor Swift and I absolutely fell in love with her album Speak Now, which I think came out in like 2010. And so for my ninth birthday, my family surprised me with a guitar, and it was a white Ibanez electric guitar and I didn't ask for a guitar, so it sat in the corner for a couple of months until I started guitar lessons when I was about 10. And I started sitting down on my bedroom floor and writing songs and I just fell in love with it.
Speaker 1:Taylor Swift. I tell you it was a lot earlier than 2010, but I gave her one of her first radio interviews.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:I still have it and someday I'll have to upload it and get it online, but I also have it's right over there. Well, if you're here, you would have seen it the thank you card from her when she came to the radio station that I was working at at that time with her mom and the record label rep, and it was just a memory that it's something I'll never forget. It was just so cool and I look at where she is now and the woman that she has become and just everything about her from the marketing to her music to just everything is phenomenal. It's phenomenal and other people need to follow those same footsteps.
Speaker 1:Some may not agree with me, but I can tell that you're a big fan.
Speaker 2:Well, I think she's a wonderful businesswoman and she writes a mean song, you know.
Speaker 1:She does, she does. Have you been to one of her shows?
Speaker 2:I have. I went to the Red Tour which was amazing and actually when I went and saw her on the Red Tour we stayed in the same hotel that the band was staying in and I think her parents were staying there too, because I met her dad in the elevator and that was really cool. I got to meet a couple of her band mates and I also saw her on the 1989 tour as well ah, very cool, very cool.
Speaker 1:now, what about? I was reading in your bio and somebody else had told me as well that you're kind of influenced by a little bit of Tom Petty, some of that.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, I'm a big Tom Petty fan. I just absolutely love his songwriting and I think he is just the definition of cool, like if you look up the word cool in the dictionary, tom Petty pops up. I love his album Highway Companion. That's one of my all-time favorites, and then Wildflowers as well. I love reading all the different things about how Wildflowers was made. It's so interesting.
Speaker 1:Very cool, very cool. God rest his soul, man. I'll tell you a lot of great music, no doubt Sydney. Do you remember maybe a particular moment when you realized that music could be more than just a passion? But you remember maybe a particular moment when you realized that music could be more than just a passion, but you're making a career out of that. When did that come about?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know, I think I always, just in my head, was like I'm going to do music. You know, in school, when they're like, oh, like we're going to do a project and you're going to say what you want to be when you grow up, for some reason, even before I started writing songs and playing out and everything like that, I always put down singer. I don't know what it was, but I was like I'm going to do it, it's going to happen, and so that's me, that's. It's just always been in my brain.
Speaker 1:You know, and you've created such a name for yourself because we see you on television, we're hearing a lot about you. I know Channel 9 here locally did just a great, great thing with you Just getting out there. How about your first trip to Nashville? Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Speaker 2:Oh, I just love Nashville. I actually went with my mom on a trip when I was 12 years old and we went and did all the sightseeing and everything, because I always told my mom I was like I'm going to be a musician and I want to go to Nashville, and we got Goo Goo Clusters, which all-time favorite they're so good.
Speaker 2:But I went down to Nashville within the last it was, I think last year or the year before, I think it was the year before and I was so blessed to be a part of a private country music event where I was a featured performer and I got to perform for a bunch of radio stations and I just had the best time.
Speaker 1:Was that the country radio seminar?
Speaker 2:It was Well so. I performed there as well.
Speaker 1:This was.
Speaker 2:Charlotte McCoy's music row live.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, absolutely. And Charlotte, I know her very well, obviously, and I'm hoping to be out at the ACMs coming up. We'll do our broadcast live from there. But Charlotte is just a wonderful person. God love her. Have you been to her ranch, her farm, have you?
Speaker 2:seen her. I never have. I would love to.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I mean, I see pictures and I go. This lady, she's just living the life. She's been through a lot, but she loves helping artists like you and it's definitely a good choice.
Speaker 2:She's just an amazing person. I really look up to her.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. She could. She can put you in the right direction too, if you know what I mean. She could. You know, don't do this, but do this. She knows, she knows the biz, and there's no doubt about that. What about your songwriting, sydney? Tell me a little bit about you. Know how that comes about. Your creative process.
Speaker 2:Well, I write about life experiences, I write about heartbreak, I write about happiness. I feel like heartbreak is always kind of the one that it draws out the best emotions, I think because it's so intense. And I actually have a new song that comes out tonight at midnight. It's called you can't forget about me, and it's a song about heartbreak. It's a song about a breakup, but it's kind of a cheeky twist on it I love that.
Speaker 1:Does it sound a little bit like this? You don't mind if I play just a little bit of it, do you go for it? All right, here we go. This is it, sydney irving, and give you a little taste of what she's talking about.
Speaker 2:Here we go. If I turned right on this road, I'd drive by your house and it doesn't matter much. But that's what my mind does, and y'all wonder sometimes how you think of me. All the memories, good and wholesome, do they bleed? Well, go pretend you don't remember me.
Speaker 1:We promised friends one thing will never be Because we both want sincere apologies.
Speaker 2:But however hard you try, you can't forget about me.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, wow, wow. So is that hitting radio stations? Are you sending it to radio? It's dropping tonight at midnight, so you know, that is so cool. You've got to be so pumped, but it's not the first time you've done that. I mean you've been putting out music for a little bit.
Speaker 2:I have been. I I recorded my first album when I was 14. And that was because I had written all these songs and my family was like, well, if you're going to do music, you might as well just learn how to do it by doing it right. So I booked a session at a studio in Syracuse called More Sound and I did all the songs in one day. I just did them all live me and my guitar and picked the best take. But that song in particular was recorded down in Nashville, tennessee, and I got to work with just the most amazing band of musicians and producer and engineer and everything. So I'm so thrilled about it and thank you so much for playing it and giving a little sneak peek.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, absolutely Tell me what. What is it like you as an independent artist, you head to Nashville, you want to get some musicians. I mean, how do you do that? Do you put an ad out there? Or do you just go to a studio and say this is what I want to do? How much is it going to cost, and who can I get to play with me? How does that work?
Speaker 2:So in this case I was so blessed because actually Sharla put together the band and she knows the great players and just absolutely amazing people and great people to work with.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And I heard a steel. Did I hear a steel guitar in that?
Speaker 2:Well, there's no steel guitar, but there are.
Speaker 1:So many guitar layers. I just love it. I'm a huge guitar fan.
Speaker 2:So I was so excited about how it turned out. Is guitar the only instrument you play? I'm self-taught at the ukulele and I was goofing around with the banjo. I learned Led Zeppelin going to California, but that was as far as my banjo career took me.
Speaker 1:You know, I mean, as we talk here, we talk about Tom Petty, but then again we talk about Taylor Swift and we talk about country music. It seems like you're well versed in a lot of different genres, or you're bringing it all together.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you. Growing up, my family played everything, so it was rock, it was pop, it was country. Obviously, I love country music.
Speaker 1:I love the storytelling in country music I don't know how many people really know this and the fact that you are from the area here in the Northeast central New York area. Can we talk about some of the awards? I know it was the 2024 Band Album of the Year at the ISSA Awards with the songwriters. That is pretty cool. And what does winning an award mean to you, especially this early in your career?
Speaker 2:It means a lot. It means a lot that people would take the time to listen to the music and then put in a vote for it. You know, like that's big time. So I appreciate it so much and it's such an honor to even be recognized.
Speaker 1:And you get recognized here locally with the Syracuse area music awards. We get the sammies. Are we going to see you there in a couple of weeks?
Speaker 2:well, so this year I didn't release a record I'm working on one but I might pop in yeah, you should, I would love.
Speaker 1:Are you gonna be there? Oh yeah, yeah, I gotta do some of the um. I forgot I think I'm presenting the country award.
Speaker 2:And nice, nice Well, I'll see you there.
Speaker 1:And we did the. I hosted, not hosted, but I was part of the press conference that they had just a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 2:I did see that. That was awesome. You did a great job.
Speaker 1:Did you see me shaking at the podium? I had too much coffee. It was too early in the morning and I had too much coffee and I'm like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I was like bouncing off the walls. Well, it's better than falling asleep.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, that's true.
Speaker 1:That's true. So you're endorsed by Breedlove Guitars. So, and how did that come about already, which is cool and what does it mean to you as an artist to have this partnership? I mean, you get yourself what I'm sure they supply guitar.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, breedlove Guitars. I've been playing for a long time now and it's the only acoustic guitar that I play out at my shows. I just love their guitars so much. They're just incredible instruments, and I have one main guitar that I bring everywhere. It's like my safety blanket. And well, it was a few years ago. I made a video out on the ice on a lake in upstate New York and it was 22 degrees. I put it up on YouTube and Breedlove saw it and they were like anybody who's willing to bring our guitar out in 22 degree weather and play a song.
Speaker 1:You got to do what you got to do. I mean I think that's phenomenal. So you've had the opportunity to play some of the bigger stages. You've done a little bit in Nashville I know you did with Sharla and it's so cool to get in front of people that could change your life. You talk to the radio people, you talk to the program directors. But what is it like for you to walk into a radio station at 6am in the morning because what they call a radio tour, and you got to be wide awake and you've got to, you know, be the best you can be. What is that? An exciting feeling for you.
Speaker 2:It's absolutely exciting. It's pure adrenaline because you have a certain amount of time on the air and you have to remember to include all your points. But it's so cool. I love getting to meet everybody and I love getting to talk to people who are real music lovers, you know, like yourself.
Speaker 1:Exactly, I love it. I love it, I, you know. And just because I work in the country format, I love all kinds of music. It depends on my mood, it depends what the weather's like that day. You never know what I'm going to listen to. You know it gets it, and I would imagine you do the same thing. It's just kind of bounce around.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I'm a big album person, so I'll get really into an album and I'll play it, and play it, and play it, and then I'll move on to another album and play it, and play it, and play it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's what I call the deep tracks, though you go a little bit further. I mean, yeah, you might have a single that's on there, but you want to go further. You want to hear what else is on that album, which is pretty I agree.
Speaker 2:I think I love because an album is made to be an album, so when you listen to it in its entirety, there's entirety, there's a flow to it and I think there's something really special and magical about that it is now.
Speaker 1:How do you feel Right now, at this point in your career? You make a lot of your own decisions, am I correct to say that? But if you're with a major label, I don't know if you'd be able to make a lot of those decisions. Do you want to stay being who you are now Working with? Sharla is great. She's definitely got the know-how and, like I mentioned moments ago, minutes ago, that she'll point you in the right direction. But sometimes you get with a bigger company, the corporate, the label. They're going to say, no, you're going to do this, you're going to do that. I mean, I've heard it both ways. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:For me, my team is totally open to conversations. As of right now, I release all my own music and I think there's something really cool about that, because the digital age allows you to do that. You know, you can be an artist and not have a label behind you and you can still release your music and get out and play shows, and so right now, that's what I'm doing, no matter what, I'm still releasing my music and playing shows. But there's always conversations that can happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and I think you're on the edge of those conversations.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. You're very kind.
Speaker 1:No, I'm just being honest because I've seen you perform. You know I've been out at a lot of these shows. I know I've seen you, I've done presents on stage and I've seen you in the audience. And you know, I think we saw each other at the fair here not too long ago.
Speaker 2:That's right at the Lainey Wilson show.
Speaker 1:Yes, it was the Lainey show. Was that phenomenal or?
Speaker 2:what she just knows how to put on a show. She's awesome.
Speaker 1:She just got engaged.
Speaker 2:I saw that today. I was on my Instagram and I saw the pictures. I was like, wow, that's amazing it.
Speaker 1:I saw the pictures I was like, wow, that's amazing, it is amazing, it is amazing. And that show maybe you could speak a little bit better about this, because you're on stage probably a lot more than I am, even though I do a lot of that. But being at the Laney show and getting on that stage at the fair and looking out and seeing nothing but people Swear to God, I could walk off that stage and walk on heads as far as I could see. What's that feeling like for you as an artist when you get on stage and you see that?
Speaker 2:I love that. I think that's just so cool. It's cool that people come out to the shows. Her crowd was huge. It was absolutely huge. That's my dream to play to a crowd like that and get to hop on a stage and do the music thing.
Speaker 1:Right, right, just to see that's got to pump you up.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's one of my favorite things. I love writing and creating and I love getting up on stage.
Speaker 1:Do you, sydney? Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
Speaker 2:I do, so you can't hear it anywhere. But I did a summer camp at the red house in Syracuse and so it was rock camp and so basically at the rock camp for anyone who doesn't know you go to the camp and there's all these different kids and they put groups together and they make like a couple bands of kids and so each one has like a drummer, a bass player, a guitar player and a singer or something or keyboard keyboardist, and you write three songs and at the end of the camp perform your three songs and your friends and family can come and watch. So I went to this camp and I was like I'll write a song, you know whatever. So I went home and I wrote a song and I brought it in the next day and I was like, guys, I wrote a song and they were like cool, so we put the drums and bass and keyboards to it and so at the, the final concert at the end of the camp, I don't think I told my parents that I was gonna sing a song or I wrote a song.
Speaker 2:I was just like, yeah, it's gonna be cool, you should come, and I think I was 11 or 12. So they came and my guitar teacher at the time, lauren Krzykowski, who is a good friend, and we still played together. And his wife came and it came to the time where I was going to play my song and I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, but I wore socks and sandals.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I thought it was going to be my thing. It was a bad idea, but there's pictures. So I stepped up to the microphone and I played my song and then that was it. That was it Wow.
Speaker 2:And the concert ended and my dad and mom were like what just happened, and my guitar teacher, Lauren, at the time whenever I went to lessons I didn't talk, I was a very, very shy kid and he was like I didn't know, you talked, I guess you sing now. He was like we're going to do that now, and so I've been singing ever since.
Speaker 1:What was the name of it?
Speaker 2:It was a song called Don't you Dare. Don't you Dare, and it was about a breakup which I'd never experienced, but I listened to enough music about heartbreak and watched enough movies that I made up a scenario.
Speaker 1:If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would that be, Cindy?
Speaker 2:That's hard, Honestly. I would love to go to Europe and perform. That would be so fun. I really want to play at Red Rocks. I feel like a lot of people say that, but that's such an iconic venue. I want to play the Ryman. That would be awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, I can see that happening pretty soon. I mean, get yourself to Nashville and get out there and do that and hopefully next week you know when I'm sitting I'm going to the Ryman. Next week we have an event going on, the country radio seminar. So we get to go to the Ryman and have lunch and all of the Warner Music Group, they they do the whole, the whole lunch with all their artists, which is pretty cool. So they all come out and they sing one or two songs.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:That's pretty cool, pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Do you know who's going to be there?
Speaker 1:Uh, I do.
Speaker 2:Cool, cool.
Speaker 1:Dierks Bentley, I don't know, there's so many, um, I I'd have to look it up. I can, I can let you know, but there is a long list of brothers, osborne, dierks, bentley, just all of the most of their artists Keith Urban, vince, gill. I can go on and on. And then what they do is they come out and, like Dierks has got a new song dropping at midnight tonight as well. I'm sure he's going to play that next week. You know it's all the radio, people hear it and yeah that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Do you have it's called? She hates me.
Speaker 1:Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good Valentine's day.
Speaker 1:Exactly what do you think they're putting it out tonight and tomorrow's Valentine's day and it's called she hates me. I love it.
Speaker 2:What were you going to say? I'm sorry, oh, I was going to say do you have a favorite place to go when you go to Nashville?
Speaker 1:Do? I have a favorite place. I like to get out of town. I like to go to, like, the station inn, uh, which is on the outskirts. You get, you get out a little bit and nashville has become it's a great, great, great city. But you and I both know so many people go to nashville and there's certain areas where everybody congregates. You go down on broadway where tootsies is and all you know jack's barbecue and you get the stage. You get all those. It's mobbed down there.
Speaker 1:If you're going to go down there you have to go down there like maybe 11 or 12 early in the day and you still hear the music. But if you wait till night it gets crazy. It turns into a bachelorette parties and all this crazy stuff going on and it's just you know. But if you you want to, you need to get out of town. You need to go to places like the station in. I have never been to the Bluebird, but I got an invite from an artist to attend their show at the Bluebird next week. So I don't know if I'm going to go or not because I have so many other things going on, but it was nice of her to send an invite.
Speaker 2:I think that's a must go.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm kind of thinking about that. Have you ever been there?
Speaker 2:I want to play there, so bad, that's another place I would absolutely love to play.
Speaker 1:It's a goal, we have a goal to get you on the stage at the rhyman and to get you into the bluebird okay, yeah, I'll be talking about you. Next week we'll see what we can do, but charla charla's got a lot of say in that as well, so absolutely yeah I see ron ray is on here. Uh r you know Ron? Hi, ron, ron is awesome. He is awesome. What do you want, your fans?
Speaker 2:to know about you. I want my friends to know that at the end of the day, I appreciate all that they do listening to my music and coming out to the shows and hanging out because I think what is so special about the people who I've gotten to meet through music is that they're music lovers and they love lyrics. For me, the lyrics are the most important part, so I love lyric lovers and all the people who I've gotten to meet. They're always like big into lyrics.
Speaker 1:Because it's about their lives. It's about them. If you have a song and they listen to it and they go my God, she's singing about me. I went through that type of breakup or this happened to me, or I mean, that's what you know. That's what country music is. It touches your life, it's. It's songs about real life, even though maybe you haven't experienced some of that. But you've seen it, you've heard it. You know what I mean. So you write a song about it. Next thing you know it's like, wow, they're singing about me and if you can make that connection, it's you've got a forever fan.
Speaker 2:So I agree. Well, I always feel like music. Once it's released, it's totally just for everybody else to take their interpretation of it and connect it to their lives, and there's something so special about when you can release a song and someone can relate to it with what they're going through. I think that's so beautiful, because people aren't all that different.
Speaker 1:No, no, that's right, that's true. Tell me about you had the opportunity to open up for Martina McBride and Chris Young and Jesse McCartney. Tell me a little bit about those experiences and how did you get involved with that.
Speaker 2:Well, that was at Speedy Fest in binghamton and it's such a cool festival and I'm so blessed to have had those opportunities. Just absolutely amazing artists that I love their music and they just know how to put on an incredible show. We, my band and I performed. We opened up for chris young, which was so cool. He is just a legend, you know and he's got such amazing music.
Speaker 2:Martina McBride was so special because it was during, kind of like everything was opening back up and so I didn't get a chance to talk to her, but I was really just totally floored because she allowed me to sit side stage while she performed. One of her people came over and they said, hey, if you would like to sit side stage, martina said that that's okay and I was like, absolutely, and I got to watch her perform from side stage.
Speaker 1:And what do you watch for when you watch somebody like a Martina by the way, I've had her on the podcast. If you go back a little bit, you'll see the interview and it's pretty cool but what do you watch for as an artist, a newer artist, and you're watching somebody like a Martina McBride, what is it that you're watching for?
Speaker 2:I like to watch how she moves on stage. I like to watch the way that she speaks to the audience between songs. She's got a very eloquent way with words and everybody watching her is just like eyes glued to her.
Speaker 1:She's such a star and what a voice, my dad, or a little woman, a big voice, just just golden. Did you meet her husband, john?
Speaker 2:I did not know. It was like everything was very like yeah, go to the stage player set and just make sure I mean, obviously I mean she's a performer, so she's taking care of her health and making sure that she doesn't get under the weather.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, exactly. If you do go to another Martina McBride show, more than likely behind the soundboard that'll be her husband. Oh, really, yeah. Yeah, Not kidding, it's not about me, it's about you. But another trip to Nashville. We went to Martina's house. We had get this, we had what they call martinis with Martina.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's so fun.
Speaker 1:And it was so cool because we were able to hang out at the house, hung out around the pool. Her husband, john, has one of the biggest Beatles collections you'll ever see. He took us down into the basement and it was just all Beatles, the records, album after album after album. Just crazy, crazy, wow yeah.
Speaker 2:Beatles stuff is pretty sought after, so that's yeah he's got really collection.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sure you know doesn't just let anybody down there, but it's a whole different event which is kind of crazy. You said your parents have a skating rink.
Speaker 2:Yeah, black Mamba skate park, like the snake, and it was opened up. I grew up all around it. So my mom tells me a story all the time that when I was little, I was like little little, like three years old and I wanted to play Barbie dolls and the boys who would come to the skate park, they would play Barbies with me on the ramps.
Speaker 1:So you're talking and not a roller skating, it's. You got the ramps, the flips and the all the extreme sports.
Speaker 2:So it's both. Now we have a roller rink and we have a skate park now. But, it started as a very small skate shop with some ramps in the back room.
Speaker 1:How very cool, were you into extreme sports at all.
Speaker 2:No, not even close. I tried to skateboard and that was it.
Speaker 1:I tried.
Speaker 2:No, tony Hawk, absolutely not. Well, I got into guitar. I couldn't hurt my hands. No, exactly.
Speaker 1:And yet, look where you are now and you're doing very well. But, uh, yeah, I married into the family of Dave Mara, who, uh, was the BMX bike rider. He's no longer with us but, uh, he has the more the extreme sports on, more gold medals than anybody holds. All the records for that, but it was great. That's why I was asking yeah, he's got his own. Well, he's gone now, but there's a park named after him, north Carolina, which is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so nice.
Speaker 1:Pretty cool, yeah, pretty cool stuff. So where do you see yourself in five years? Talk to me.
Speaker 2:I see myself playing lots of shows. I want to play all the time I already am, but I could totally play more and I want to release lots of music. I actually am writing a lot right now and I can't wait to get back in the studio.
Speaker 1:I love that. And how do you handle criticism? Because you know you and I both know whether it's doing what I do or doing what you do. You know there's a lot of there know whether it's doing what I do or doing what you do. You know there's a lot of there's everybody thinks there's an expert. Some people will say you suck. Other people are going to say you're great. How do you handle criticism?
Speaker 2:I think the biggest thing is to look at it and say music is totally subjective you know, so some people are going to like it, some people aren't going to like it.
Speaker 2:It's the same way that some people like, so some people are going to like it, some people aren't going to like it. It's the same way that some people like ketchup and some people like mustard. You know, it's just kind of what it is. I do think that when you have like music that you write and you put so much heart into it, definitely is it's really close to your heart.
Speaker 2:So if someone isn't totally the kindest about, it, it does hurt your feelings a little bit, but you have to look at it like it's totally subjective and it's not cool for people to be mean. But you know, all you can do is just put niceness into the world and and hope that you get it back.
Speaker 1:If you could collaborate with anybody. I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but I feel I think this is so interesting If you could collaborate with anybody. I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but I think this is so interesting. If you could collaborate with anybody, who would that be?
Speaker 2:Can I say Post Malone, yes, I was kind of hoping you would. Post Malone or Midland, I love Midland's music.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I did see that you love Midland. This is funny because another Nashville trip you've had a chance to hang out with these guys, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got tickets and VIP passes for my 21st birthday and there's a whole story that goes along with it. I've just been such a huge fan of them forever.
Speaker 1:I am a big fan, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, their songwriting is amazing. So, anyways, for the past few years, I always include one of their songs in my set list, a song called 14 Gears, which is one of my all-time favorites.
Speaker 2:But, fast forward. We're at the Midland VIP event and I introduced myself to the lead singer, mark, and I shared that I'm a singer songwriter too and I cover some of their songs when I play out. And he looked right at me and he said, well, why don't you come up and do one? Then and I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest. I jumped up on stage and they handed me a beautiful guitar. We got right down to business and the Midland boys backed me up and we played 14 years together.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, how nervous were you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely shaking in my boots. I was running on pure adrenaline, but it was the most surreal moment yet. And just when I thought I couldn't get any bigger, the guys from Midland appeared to be blown away at my arrangement of their song 14 Gears and Mark said hey, do you want to come up later tonight at the big show and play it again with the full band? I'm just so grateful to them. They're such kind and wonderful people.
Speaker 1:And they are. But the first time I met them not really knowing much about them, it was in Nashville Got into an elevator and these guys got in the elevator and they're all dressed weird, I said they're looking out of the 70s.
Speaker 1:you know the bell bottoms and all this stuff. I'm going, oh my God, who are these guys? Then, all of a sudden, we're at the show and they go ladies and gentlemen, midland. And I go, oh my God, those are the guys I was just in the elevator with, going, oh my, what are they? Who are these guys? The way they were dressed, you know what I'm talking about. Anybody that's seen Midland. They're a little different but they're awesome man.
Speaker 2:They're awesome. I think they're some of the most stylish people out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they made that known.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Which is pretty cool. So anyways, you know this is great that we've had this opportunity to sit and talk a little bit tonight, but you know you don't see yourself moving to Nashville anytime soon.
Speaker 2:We're talking about it. I would absolutely love to. It would be a dream.
Speaker 1:When you say we're talking about it, is that like the family, your dad and everybody, yeah, my team, my family, the whole group of them. Yeah, that's cool, that's cool. Now tell me a little bit about your team. For example, who does your socials? Do you do that?
Speaker 2:Yep, so I'm an independent artist right now, so I run my social media and my team is so wonderful and so helpful in putting all the pieces together. But I run my social media and so that's me, so if you comment, it's me. Commenting right back.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. That's good. And do you welcome people to chime in on Facebook and maybe Twitter and TikTok if somebody leaves a comment that you welcome that correct.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I do a live stream every week on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm, eastern time, and I get on and play three songs. It's called A Sides, b Sides and Covers. So I play two of my songs and then I put one of my favorite cover songs at the end and we talk about whatever people want to talk about. Last week or this past week, we talked about dessert. I'm a huge dessert lover, so we talked about where the best half moon cookies come from all right where.
Speaker 1:I think Harrison Bakery uh, I'm gonna go with Gaddis oh okay, oh okay, gattis. Bakery.
Speaker 2:Green Hills makes a mean.
Speaker 1:Green Hills makes a mean. Donuts and cookies. You're right there. You're right there. They're like out of the way for me. So it's easier for me to either go to Harrison or I can scoot over to Gattis Bakery.
Speaker 2:I mean sometimes you got to take the trip.
Speaker 1:You got to. I know. I know what else do you like to do in Central New York If you're not playing music. What else do you do?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know if this is like a Central New York thing, but I've gotten really heavily into making smoothies, like I've made it an art. So I made a strawberry smoothie the other day and it turned out very good. I also made a cherry almond smoothie, which was pretty good. I find these recipes online.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask you to get them, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, I tried to stray the other day and I was like I'm going to make a peach smoothie. It was a disaster so bad.
Speaker 1:They sound so good, though I mean strawberry. I get a strawberry smoothie from Panera every once in a while, but they're so good.
Speaker 2:That's why I started, because I'm kind of a cheapskate. So I was like I don't want to pay that money, I'll just make it myself.
Speaker 1:No, that's cool. That's cool and you find the recipes online. That's a great hobby.
Speaker 2:It's kind of a nerdy hobby.
Speaker 1:I it's a great hobby. So you know, it's kind of a nerdy hobby, but I don't think it's nerdy, I think it's healthy, I think it's cool it's doing that. Do you work out at all or anything like that? I do work out, I do.
Speaker 2:Like if you do the videos online and you just follow along with the video. I do a thing called B Shred and the gentleman that runs it, his name is Vince and he's always like, yeah, pushups, and you're like, yeah, I love pushups.
Speaker 1:That's crazy, but it's good stuff, definitely good stuff. Uh, sydney Irving has been with us here tonight on skip happens and, uh, we're actually neighbors and I'm so proud to say that I know her because she's from upstate New York show. That's where this podcast is, that's where I'm on the air every afternoon on the Wolf here in Syracuse. So it's good to you know, we have great talent in this area. We have so much great talent and you've been recognized for that. So, and and you're continuing to grow, I can pretty soon I know it's going to be, you'll be in our powers on radio, and when I say a power, those are like the best songs. There's like five or six of those and they rotate every few hours. So that means you made it Like, for example, you could be in that category with Post Malone Just saying.
Speaker 2:Did you go to?
Speaker 1:the Post Malone show.
Speaker 2:I did go to the Post Malone show, Actually fun fact. The drummer that's touring with Post Malone. His name is Phil Lawson, and he actually played the drums on my new single. You Can't Forget About Me, and my past two releases as well. How cool, how cool.
Speaker 1:Oh, so cool and he's such a talent, so it was so cool to get to see him rock out on stage with Post Malone. Post Malone goes out on concert on a on a concert tour that they they'll take some of these musicians with them. They need a drummer, they need a guitar player, they need and that's when they're not doing that, they're doing stuff in the studio. That's how they make their money. So that is pretty cool. That is you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so cool he. He posted on his Instagram I'm going on tour with Posty. I was like that's so cool, like on his Instagram, going on tour with posters, like that's so cool, like that's so awesome, and it's. It just goes to show you that, like Nashville, it's where the pros are. You know, like I, I just can't believe, like there's so many talented people in that town it's such an honor to work with any of them.
Speaker 1:What was the name of the studio that you went into to cut the air?
Speaker 2:It's called Love Shack.
Speaker 1:Love Shack. Was that up on Music Row Cool?
Speaker 2:Just off, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, very cool. You had the best people with you too. Sydney Irving, so good to talk to you, so good to see you. I'm kind of all over the place tonight. I'm all giddy. It just is, you know, it's just just is I, you know it's because we're neighbors and I think, oh my God, she, we know each other, we really know each other. I really got to be on my A game and when I think like that it doesn't really happen, I know I've seen you on the boat.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, thank you so much for having me today. It's truly an honor to talk with you tonight.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. Well, it goes right back to you. So, and you know we've got to get together, we've got to do some radio stuff. I'd love to put you in front of some of the Wolf listeners. The radio station is kicking ass, so you know, to get you out there. I mean that would be so cool. We'll have to talk about that. We have a lot of great shows coming up, and do you know Muscadine bloodline they're coming. Do you know that? Yes, I follow them on Instagram.
Speaker 2:I love their music.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep Plus. I had them on the podcast. No way, yeah. So look at. You know you get bored or anybody that's watching this. If you go to skip happens on YouTube and just go back through the videos, let me see that. You'll see Martina, you'll see Muscadine, nate Smith, laney Wilson, yeah. So you know, like I said in the beginning, that's what I love about this, because it's just a conversation and whether it's, you know, independence, whether it's the big stars, I signed with major contracts.
Speaker 2:we get them all on Skip Happens, so that's cool and that's awesome. I was yeah, I was watching the other night. I didn't see I. Which ones did I watch?
Speaker 1:Just the other night, I'm nervous. No, no, don't be nervous. Um just the other night I had um Eden, uh, delia.
Speaker 2:Eden Delia. I watched Eden. I watched Lainey Gardner.
Speaker 1:Lainey Love Lainey. Yeah, she's coming back on, by the way, oh cool, and we'll let everybody know the exact date when I firm it up. But yeah, that, and yeah, there's so many good people out there. Lainey Gardner was just phenomenal and now she is signed to a major label.
Speaker 2:Wow, good for her.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and she's doing a showcase next week, so I'll get the chance to, you know, check it out and see, see how it goes so that's amazing.
Speaker 2:I love her voice.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, so good, so good. Yeah, Just look through anybody watching this, or you. You can go through all that. There's so many videos on there now. So that's what I'm going to do all night. I'm just going to be watching all of them. Just make sure you subscribe. I need to get my subscribers up. That's what I need to do. But uh, Sydney Irving, you're awesome Young lady. You are such a talent, so much ahead of you. It's a great road. It's a lot of work, but I can see you doing it all and I know someday we're going to go. I knew her when she lived in Marcellus. I know this. You know Jennifer went to school. I'm looking at a note. Hang on and see if I can bring it up here. I went to school with your dad.
Speaker 2:Oh, no way, Hi Jennifer.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep. And let's see here, of course, ron. Where are you, ron? She's one, one, great, great talent, no doubt. Let's see what else. I'm clicking through these really quick here, awesome. And then let's see here. It's funny because I can. Got to run, we'll check. I have no, oh, okay, all right, cool, let's see. You know, even with this, you might get a new fan too, or two or three, or four Amazing Thank you, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, Thanks for joining us tonight. Before we let you go, where can somebody look at your music? Let's say they're not from the area and they go.
Speaker 2:I just want to say thank you again for having me. It's been a pleasure talking with you today, and you can find more about me at my website, sydneyirvingmusiccom. I'm on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok at sydneyirvingmusic.
Speaker 1:Just Google. Just go to Google, type it in, google it up. Yeah, google it up. Sydney Irving, thank you again for joining us. I want you to stay right there. Thank you for watching everybody and make sure you check her out, check out her music and get to some of her shows. I'm sure you can find them all on the website. So there you go. Thanks for watching Skip happens. Skip Clark, your host. Have a.
