This article was originally published in Voyage LA in October 2022. Here is a link to the original piece.
Musician, educator, activist, and parade-starter—Skylar Funk turns passion into performance.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Skylar Funk.
Hi Skylar, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I moved to LA in 2010 with a bachelor’s in Environmental Analysis, a desk job and a handful of friends. I had always done music for fun – marching and jazz band, musical theater, and then a cappella and a jam band in college – but watching a couple of my friends pursue music professionally after school inspired me to do the same. I moved into the garage behind our house in Mid City to save money, bought a looper and a keyboard, and started writing.
Trapdoor Social started in late 2011 – my friend from Pomona, Merritt Graves, and I wanted to use music as a platform to fight climate change and other existential risks to humanity. That project became my full-time endeavor as we toured the US promoting to radio from 2013 to 2017. We invested in a mobile solar generator in 2015 and started Sunstock Solar Festival in 2016. It ran for three years, and it just about ran us out of money. In 2019 we toured Europe and the UK opening for The B-52s, and in 2020… we mostly just hung out with fans on Instagram. I don’t think we’re totally sure where we are now.
I still use our solar generator and sound system to amplify events and protests, namely for the Youth Climate Strike – an amazing group of young leaders fighting for a livable future. I’ve released music with Bad Owl Records’ Megan Kinney under the name Cadence and Wyld, as well as a song with Ommega, and earlier this year I kicked off the Dream Team Family Brass Band, a New Orleans “second line” parade and party band. I’m recording a solo album with producer Ethan Kaufman for Audio Network – very much looking forward to sharing it with you all.
These days I’m increasingly interested in teaching. I’ve been picking up more and more students (music theory, guitar, piano, voice, saxophone, etc.) and I’m looking to apply to the Masters in Popular Music Teaching and Learning at USC next year. Being an artist has been fun but the lack of financial stability is exhausting. I will always write songs and push new music out into the world… but for now, I think I need to see if I can do both.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I wasn’t shy about sharing a few of the challenges I’ve encountered while answering the last question… but one that comes to mind when prompted further is seeing good things come and go over time. Trapdoor Social had an amazing connection with fans around the world in 2020. Especially in Latin America and especially in Brazil. I was live-streaming every week, taking requests, speaking Spanish, French, and learning Portuguese… and feeling like our music really mattered. For a few reasons, that fanbase, or at least my connection with them on social media, has dissipated since then. I struggle to feel sometimes like my music still matters, to be completely honest.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve spread myself across a wide variety of crafts within my music career – songwriting, singing, event organizing, political protest, touring, teaching, producing, bandleading, playing saxophone, guitar, piano, harp, learning a (3rd and) 4th language and even starting a hot sauce company (I’ve been selling my sweet potato / chipotle blend since 2015)…. so I’d say my strength is in wisdom and qualification that comes from my breadth of experience, rather than so much depth in any one of those areas.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
A couple of mentors I’d like to shout out are Chris Sampson and Jeffrey Allen – both professors at USC. Chris received my email in 2019 and agreed to meet, as I was looking for a songwriting coach. Since then, he’s becoming more of a friend and a guide to the world of music. He introduced me to Jeff, who became my voice teacher leading up to our tour with The B-52s, and who has also been a great friend and mentor. Their presence at USC is part of what compels me to study there and perhaps to become a professor like they are, and the master’s program I’m looking at was in fact created by Chris himself.
Pricing:
Music lessons: $100/hr
Hot sauce: $10/ea.
Dream Team Family Brass Band (10 piece parade band) performance: $2000