Not sure if I mentioned this lately, but I am really crazy for the music of Skott Freedman. In my travels around the nooks and crannies of the internet, I came across his cover the the wonderful song Walking In Memphis, and just really became swept away by it. So I found more information about him, and ordered his albums, the lovely 199 release Swimming After Dark, the wonderful 2001 release, Anything Worth Mentioning, and 2003's Some Company, where Memphis could be found. I was really crazy about them, and tried to find more. Finally, I found that he had just released a new album, Judge A Book, in 2005. It was a collection of cover songs, many of them chosen with the assistance of fans. It included three duets, with Edie Carey, Jill Sobule, and one of my favorites, Mark Weigle.
I read more about him, and found he had traveled to college campuses, promoting promoting inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQ kids. He himself identified as a bisexual man, something he was comfortable discussing. But soon he disappeared to me, until I found him once again, in 2009, when he released a cover of the Cranberries' Zombie. Once again, I caught the bug. I found out he was in graduate school, having taken a bit of time away from the music business. He then released The Cottage Sessions, and I was in love all over again. As a matter of fact, I posted about Skott (here) on this blog in the first 3 days, excited about The Cottage Sessions.
One of my favorite songs from Some Company is In November, and I happen to find a video of it recorded live in New York in 2003. It was written by Skott, and the piano in it blows me away.
So knowing that Skott had surfaced, when I was putting this series together, I really wanted to include him. However, I had never contacted him before, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to contact him, and convince him to participate. Well, Skott blew me away from the start when he answered with "I really appreciate all your continued support of my music over the years and would be happy to answer your questions!" So, let's get to those questions, and see what Skott has to say.
The first question is, of course, "when you listen to holiday music, what is your favorite?" He replied with his two favorites, "The Weepies All That I Want; and Bebo Norman - I Will Lift My Eyes." Far be it from me to not take the opportunity to give a handsome young man what he asks for, so here is a clip of a live performance by The Weepies, singing their Christmas song, All That I Want.
Does Skott have a favorite holiday song to perform, you might be wondering? Well, he does. "Joni Mitchell's River," he says. This is interesting to me, as this is the second day in a row this has been a favorite, having been picked by Chris Dallman yesterday. However, I thought it might be nice to give Skott another of his favorites, with this clip of Bebo Norman in a live performance of the song I Will Lift My Eyes.
I love giving artists a chance to reflect a bit, and so I asked Skott about his hopes for the the coming year. "To become reacquainted with the simpler things in life," he answered, "reading a book, journaling, having friends over for board games and tea...in a sense, learning to "unplug" a bit from the internet, email-driven world that is moving too fast to truly enjoy the "present".
And there is my fascination with what people on my iPod might have on their own iPod, so I can't resist asking him what were his your favorite songs from 2010. "Ooh, tough one," Skott said. "Favorite song would have to be Begin Again by Measure, a stunningly raw song about starting over. Runner-up is Aftermath by Adam Lambert, an anti-bullying song that leaves me haunted thinking about all the beautiful gay children we lost to suicide. Favorite new music this year," he continued, "from The Rescues, William Fitzsimmons, The National, Sara Bareilles, The Weepies, and Ra Ra Riot."
I couldn't resist asking him about 2011, and what he is looking forward to musically. "Releases from Adam Lambert, Adele, and Iron & Wine. And of course the undiscovered gems that find their way to us in the most brilliant, unexpected way." Ha, I certainly can identify with that! And, he must mean it, for he just recently posted a cover version of the song Aftermath on YouTube, so I thought I would share it with the readers. Enjoy it, I certainly did.
He has finished up his studies, and returned to New York City, where he has started to perform again. I hope to be able to catch him live soon. You can check him out at his official website here, where you can find more music, and his live show schedule. You can also find him on FaceBook here, and get the latest news directly from him. You can also check him out on iTunes, where you can buy any of his music. You can check out The Cottage Sessions here.
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