Those plugged into the local scene should be no strangers to Gayle Skidmore‘s moody brand of folk. The singer/songwriter has talent to spare; she speaks six languages, plays nearly twice as many instruments, and even makes origami for her fans. All those instruments wouldn’t do much good without some songs to play, and Skidmore shows no restraint there either — she’s written over 1700 songs to date.
So yeah, Skidmore’s a class act, and the video for “Little Bird” is every bit as classy. The Ces Peynetti-directed clip was shot at San Diego’s Singing Serpent and makes gorgeous use of color, from the red of Skidmore’s dress and lipstick to the golden, unfocused lights that drift lazily across the frame. Maybe it’s the owl that adorns her banjo — though a bear would have also been nice — but there’s just something about the understated video that pulls us in.
The hypnotic “Little Bird” is the first single off of Skidmore’s new album, Sleeping Bear. (Oh hey, there’s the bear!) Someone who has written 1700 songs clearly doesn’t want for inspiration, so the spontaneous story behind this track should come as no surprise.
“‘Little Bird’ is the first song I wrote after losing someone very close to me,” Skidmore told us. “It was a few days after it happened that it hit me, and I was in the middle of a drive from Albuquerque, NM to Lubbock, TX. I pulled off the road, got my banjo out of the trunk, and in the middle of nowhere I came up with this song.”
Skidmore just released Sleeping Bear accompanied by a coloring book at the Belly Up, and she’ll spend the next few weeks touring the West Coast. If you’re kicking yourself for missing the release show, don’t worry — she’ll be back in San Diego for a gig at the Casbah on September 15, where she’ll be joined by fellow songstresses Coeur de Pirate and Natasha Kozaily. Get your tickets here.
Check out our exclusive premiere of the “Little Bird” video above.
Gayle Skidmore tour dates
8/21 Los Angeles, CA – Molly Malone’s
8/22 San Luis Obispo, CA – Linnaea’s Cafe
8/23 Fresno, CA – Love the Captive House Show
8/24 Sacramento, CA – The Naked Lounge
8/26 Sonoma, CA – Epicurean Connection
8/27 Eugene, OR – Ninkasi Brewery
8/28 Portland, OR – The Secret Society
8/29 Seattle, WA – The World is Fun- Ninkasi Better Living Room
8/31 Salt Lake City, UT – Granary Row
9/04 Chicago, IL – Double Door
9/15 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Beautiful song, awesome singer/songwriter. Didn’t know she speaks 6 languages as well, holy crap! Nice write up, thanks for sharing!
Great video!!! Great show last night at the belly up, too!