SongVault Artist Profile

Sky Nelson
“Musician’s Musician”

Sky Nelson’s diverse music history speaks volumes about his intentions as a songwriter and performer. Sky began learning piano at the age of three. His first decade at the instrument focused on ear training with the classical Suzuki Piano Method, and even as his tastes changed to popular music, he maintained a passionate relationship with Beethoven and George Winston. Yet he began lifelong affairs with the music of Dr. John, Sting, the Beatles, and Keith Jarrett's ‘Koln Concert’. “Each time I learned something from one of my teachers, I had to quit them and spend a few years integrating what I had been shown,” says Sky of his experiences with various private instructors.

Though Sky has taken jazz theory classes at UC Berkeley and the Berklee College of Music, Sky's bachelor's degree is in physics, and this background informs his work as a songwriter in startling ways. “Just like a pinball will always find its way to the bottom of a gameboard due to gravity, I often try to find the chords that fall to the most natural, though not obvious, state.” Sky was turned on to a vast array of influences by his two older brothers, and on the long drive to their high school they reveled in the sounds of the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, and Huey Lewis. As a result, Sky’s writing tends to aim at mainstream audiences, yet it is also important to him that it speaks to his listeners in meaningful ways. “I like pop music because it can make me feel so much, but I also want to write songs that encourage people to think deeply about who they are.”

Says Sky, "I just want to know that I have lived up to my full potential as a human being. I want to look back at my life at the end and know that I was the person I wanted to be.” Sky has always been fascinated by spirituality, and its direct application to his life. “I’ve found that the only thing I can truthfully have control over in life is my own attitude. I try to be grateful, and yet intensely driven and determined.” With an eye aimed at future generations, Sky is building professional relationships with two non-profit organizations that provide artistic outlets to struggling youth, DrawBridge and Release the Fear.

Sky is no stranger to the legacy of music. Steeped in San Francisco Bay Area music folklore, he has studied with W.A. Mathieu (director of The Sufi Choir, author of “Harmonic Experience”, “The Listening Book”), Terry Haggerty (Sons of Champlin), Art Lande and others. He has worked with Raz B (B2K), David Winans, and studied the music of Michael and Regina Winans under their direction. “I like to learn and grow from everything I come across, so my piano style takes influence from gospel, jazz, blues, rock, funk, New Age and pop all at the same time. The result is pretty distinctive.” Sky has played in Bay Area bands (Wake, Waking Eve), and his own solo project (Sky Nelson). Sky is currently promoting his EP “I Forgot I Was Alive”, released May 2007.