Skyler - Long Gone
2010, SkyHi Records

In a day and age where celebrity seems to be the most desirable goal for many, the world abounds with self-proclaimed prodigies.  Nevertheless you'll occasionally come across a young artist who doesn't need the label.  York, Maine's Skyler is a prime example; as early as third grade kids were clamoring in the playground to hear Skyler play.  By 6th grade he'd mastered multiple instruments and a year later the recording studio in his bedroom reduced Skyler to sleeping on the couch.  Four albums, twenty professional and repertory theatre productions and several hundred gigs later, Skyler has a year at Berklee College of Music under his belt and a loyal following that's admirable.  With the release of his fifth album/EP,Long Gone, Skyler brings together the distinctive pop sensibility that's been drawing crowds since grammar school with a highly refined but non-constricting polish that's rare. 

Long Gone opens with "Hold My Hand", an incredibly catchy pop/rock number in the style of Elvis Costello.  "Hold My Hand" has the sort of melody that lives in your brain for years and continues to surface long after you've forgotten where it came from.  This tune has hit written all over it.  "This Dream (Nashville)" is irresistibly danceable rock n roll about coming home to his baby after time on the road.  Most any musician whose spent time on the road with a love at home has written some form of this song, but few have done it as well as Skyler has here.  "Stephanie" is a song of infatuation that's cute and catchy with serious vocal harmonies.  The acoustic country arrangement is a pleasant listen, but electrify it and polish it up and it's as close to a sure-fire hit as you can get.  "Any Stupid Thing" is a catchy love song, brilliant as in Beatles brilliant.  By the way, it's probably the weakest overall song on the EP.  Long Gone closes with "It's Just The Night", a true rock n roll 'wow' moment.  You'll have a hard time remembering the last time an album or EP was this much pure joy to listen to. 

Skyler practices the KISS principle as a songwriter, keeping the constructions simple with amazing melodies, strong harmonies, dynamic vocals and an ingenious pop sensibility.  In a perfect world Skyler would already own the pop charts.  In the real world, if there is one artist you need to turn your attention to in 2010, it's Skyler.  Long Gone is pure pop/rock that's not snarky, contrived or cynical in any way.  Skyler appears to be making music for the simple joy of it, and that energy is abundantly contagious on Long Gone.  If there is any justice in the world of music, Skyler will be the breakout artist of 2010/2011.  Long Gone is a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.  Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

LINK: http://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/skyler-long-gone.html

Season 4 Episode 2: Episode 2 of the Knightly News offers quite a variety for your viewing pleasure.  Share in the emotional end to our football season in our Last Football Game feature.  Listen to the uplifting sounds of a local band right from their studio in our feature on Skyler.  Keep your foot tapping as you relive the youthful excitement of Grease in our feature on Noble's Fall musical.  Listen to just what students think about Noble High School as they prepared for a visit from the Nellie Mae grant offering committee. Hear what teachers have to say about Noble's own student / adult mentoring program. See what  teachers and students have to say about the problem of bullying in our society. Chuckle as you watch and hear what students and staff feel about trick or treating in our Hot or Not feature.  Shiver with fear as you enter Spook Alley in this episode's feature about the night Noble High School was transformed into the kind of place you should avoid.  Finally, laugh, ponder, but mostly laugh as you finish off the excitement of this episode with Ian's Corner and its special Halloween theme.

LINK: http://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~knightcast2/knightlynews/KnightlyNewss4ep2/index.htm

1. How did you get your band name? 
It's my name....

2. How did this band get started?
I have been performing solo for years. Adam Scharff (guitar) was my guitar teacher from when I was 11 until I went to college at Berklee College of Music. I started writing with Adam and his brother, Michael Scharff (bass), in my senior year of high school. When I needed to find a band to perform these songs, Michael and Adam were the only musicians that didn't continually flake on me... And since we write songs together, it just makes sense. Enter: John Mullett. I met Johnny (fiddle/keys/guitar/etc.) on my first day at Berklee. We played a duo acoustic show in Boston, and he joined the band shortly after. We had a rotating door of drummers (including Adam, for a time) until we finally found Mark Davenport (drums) in June of 2010. With this solidified line-up, we are currently playing at every chance we get.

3. What bands are you influenced by?
Our influences vary from The Beatles to The Clash, Bruce Springsteen to Green Day, Fleetwood Mac to Led Zeppelin. We're influenced by the songwriting of Tom Petty and the rawness of the Ramones, the power of the Who and the insight of Elvis Costello. For current artists, we really dig All-American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World, the Foo Fighters, and even Taylor Swift......

4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
The Beatles for the screaming girls. The Clash for the energy of the crowd. The Who for the intensity of the performance. Justin Bieber just to find out how the hell he gets his hair to stay like that....

5. If you were a furry, what animal would you be? Why that animal?
A turtle. Can a turtle be furry? How about a turtle wearing a fleece jacket.... or a black fleece hoodie....

6. Why should people listen to your band?
If you like good songwriting, played by talented musicians who can write great vocal harmonies, then you'll like our music......or suffer the consequences of our awesome Voodoo magic....

7. If you were chosen to be in Guitar Hero/Rock Band, what song would you want in the game? How hard do you think it would be to five-star on expert?
It would be cool to have any of our songs featured in either of those games. But none of them would be as hard as a Dragonforce tune......

8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank? 
My mom. What kind of douche bag wouldn't thank their mom?

9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
Casual Fridays. And I'd make all of the hipsters wear Chuck Taylors....

10. Memorable tour experience? 
When I played a cover "Summer of 69" and found a note at the front of the stage saying, "How old are you? If we 69'd, would I get arrested.-The hot, Asian bartender"

11. What does AP.net mean to you?
It's a great way to expose yourself to new fans....without getting arrested....

12. What is your favorite song to play?
Through the Fire and Flames.....

13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
I'll let you know when I take a vacation.

14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
NSync. It brings me back to being in third grade and singing to all of the girls out on the playground.

15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why? 
X-Ray vision. Do I need to explain?

16. Do you feel that your band has "made it"? 
This is only the beginning....

17. What is something that most fans don't know about you? 
I can't eat Gluten. It sucks...

18. What's your favorite holiday?
Arbor Day. Who doesn't love planting a good tree?

19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? What's that?

20. What kind of hidden talents do you have? 
I can make Meth.


LINK: http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=2016622

Skyler is the 'maine' attraction!Hailing from Maine, Skyler is a singer-songwriter that everyone should get to know!

Home State: York, ME

Fave Musicians: The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Who, Green Day, The Fray

Fave Backstage Junk Food: Caramel Nut Blast Balance Bars..... And baby carrots...

Fave Movie: High Fidelity, That Thing You Do, Almost Famous, Walk the Line, Ray.... Any great music movie....

When I'm Not Performing I'm...: trying to find that next great song...

If a genie granted you one wish, what would you wish for?: A perfect, gluten-free pizza... =)

LINK: http://www.kidzbop.com/artists2know/Skyler

He goes by just one name: Skyler. And while one day it may be just as ubiquitous as other one-name artists such as Akon or Beyonce, for now he’s the hometown boy looking to make it big in the music industry. And he’s getting there—playing since grade school, the 19-year-old has already performed hundreds of shows solo and with his band, which also just released its first album. So, if you don’t know it already, remember the name.

Name: Skyler 
Lives in: York; graduated from York High School.
Age: 19

So you just go by Skyler? Yes, it’s my given first name. I’ve asked my parents before where it came from, and they just said they liked it.

Let’s start with the standard musician question: How would you describe your music? Everybody seems to hear whatever they want. It’s rock and roll, but rock and roll means so many things—it’s an amalgam of folk and country and blues and bluegrass and jazz and R&B. The people that really like country music who come to our shows have said, “Wow, we really hear a deep country influence.” The people who really like ’90s alt rock have said, “We hear ’90s alt rock in your music.” I just call it rock and roll.

And you guys just released a new album? Our first EP is “Long Gone.” It’s on iTunes, available at all of our shows, and on our Myspace and Facebook pages. When I was in high school I released five albums of original material recorded in my bedroom. I saved up all my money—I did lemonade stands, bake sales—to get a computer and a little recording device. I used that all throughout high school.

So when did you get your start? I started playing when I was very, very, young. In 6th grade, I started playing guitar, and within a few months I had gotten a band together with other 6th graders and we played our school talent show. My performing really took off in high school. I started playing with a bunch of high school bands, none of which did anything besides a few local gigs. I decided in order to get myself to the next level, I needed to start playing solo acoustic shows every chance I got. I did private parties, bars, I played outside the Bagel Basket in York. After a while, the Scharff brothers (Adam and Michael) asked me to play drums with them. They started featuring me; I’d jump up and play guitar and we’d do a couple of my songs. After awhile, when I was finally looking for a band, it ended up just falling right into place that they joined and we found the other members. I usually do guitar and vocals; I sometimes play piano and drums, and every once in a while I’ll do bass. 

Where have you played? I’ve played at least 250 shows, might be at least 300 by now. We had a pretty good weekend recently where we opened for Ryan Cabrera at Noble High School. We also did the CMJ Music Festival in New York recently. We’ve played a number of times down in Boston, throughout New Hampshire, a bunch of different places in Maine. Doing solo shows, I’ve gone as far down as Washington, D.C., Nashville. 

How often are you playing? It all depends. We try not to over-saturate any market, just because if you play too many places in a row, people will say “I’ll just see them next time.” We try to hit up every market every 6 to 8 weeks. We’re in Portland on Dec. 19 opening for Sparks The Rescue; we’re playing in York on Nov. 14, and probably won’t be back in York until May. We’re doing our first Vermont show in January at Higher Ground, one of the big venues in Burlington.

What musicians inspire you? The Beatles are definitely my earliest inspiration; Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty; lately I’ve really loved Taylor Swift’s music.

So what’s on your mp3 player right now? The latest songs I’ve downloaded are from Taylor Swift, The Eagles, John Mayer, Pearl Jam, The Jonas Brothers, Lyle Lovett, Green Day.

What are your songs about? It all depends on what’s inspiring us. For the most part, it’s love songs. That’s what gets us the most.

Do you have a favorite song you’ve written? Choosing between my songs is like choosing between children. It all depends  on the moment and the mood I’m in.

What’s the songwriting process like? If something strikes you, you’ve gotta write it down. I’ve written stuff on my hand, on napkins, on the backs of gum wrappers. Other times we’ll just sit down  and say ’What do you want to write about?’

What are your hobbies beyond music? Right now, I have to be so focused on my music, I’m really not able to do a lot of  other stuff. But I really enjoy going to see movies. This summer, I blew all my money on movies.

What movies have you seen recently? “Despicable Me” I thought was awesome. Also, “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.”

What’s your all-time favorite? “That Thing You Do!” It really hits the nail on the head of what a manager is supposed to act like, what it’s like to have overnight success, and then to see it all disappear very quickly.

So where would you describe yourself in terms of success? We’re right at the beginning, we’re constantly looking up.

What do you think are the misconceptions about being a musician? It’s a lot of hard work. We’ve been going into schools and playing, and one of the questions we were just asked was, “Are you rich?” Because they think if you’re in a band, you’re going to make tons of money. The reality is, not so much. Yeah, there can be the sex, drugs and rock and roll thing, but if you want to make it, you really have to stay focused.

What’s your philosophy on life? There are a number of things I have going through my head, like, “someone’s always willing to work harder than you are, so you constantly have to be working.” Or to keep myself up, I say, “It’s all happening,” which is a quote from “Almost Famous.”

What do you like about York? It’s a beautiful little town. It’s got the beaches, so it’s awesome during the summer, and it has beautiful foliage in the fall.

What would you do if you weren’t a musician? I honestly can’t imagine myself doing anything but music

LINK: http://www.yorkindependent.net/TYI_1105.pdf

Local York artist Skyler Clark-Hamel and band will be playing an all-ages concert for his hometown later this month.

"It's always fun to play a show in the town you grew up," Skyler said, "Which is why we're going to do an all-ages show in York in November."

Showtime is 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at the American Legion Post 56.

He will also be visiting York area schools to promote the upcoming concert. According to his Facebook page, he will visit York High School on Friday and again Wednesday, York Middle School on Tuesday and Wednesday, andMarshwood Middle School on Friday, Nov. 12.

Skyler, 19, an upcoming rock/pop songwriter and performer, grew up in York and is a 2009 graduate from York High School. He attended Berklee College of Music for a year, and now resides in York.

Before his graduation in 2009, Skyler had released four original CDs, participated in 20 professional and repertory theater productions and has played more than 250 gigs.

He said his biggest influences when he was young was the Beatles.

"I completely fell in love with them," he said. "They had a profound effect on me."

He also said that Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty are long-time favorites, and that recently Taylor Swift and Keith Urban have been inspiring him to write.

His band members includes John Mullet, brothers Adam and Michael Scharff, and Mark Davenport.

"My band and I had a very successful CD release party at the Dover Brickhouse in May," said Skyler. "We played the Stratham Fair and were asked to headline next year."

The release party that took place May 16 was the release of the EP, "Long Gone."

Skyler and his band also showcased in New York for 20-plus music industry representatives, and played at CMJ Music Festival in New York in October.

"It has been a bit of a whirlwind playing all of the shows," said Skyler. "It has been a lot of fun, and a bit crazy."

LINK: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20101103-ENTERTAIN-11030313