range of influences from bluegrass, to blues,
to vintage funk, even a little classical guitar all threaded together with a healthy respect
for the groove. Skye has been featured in
magazines such as Guitar Player, Acoustic
Guitar, Jazziz, Jazz Improv, 20th Century Guitar,
and others. His music has been on National
Public Radio (NPR) and PBS television.
Born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
Skye taught himself to
play when he was
seven years old. At the
end of 1970s, his family
relocated to the Bay
Area and Skye started
taking classical guitar
lessons. "I wanted to
learn rock tunes as
well, which my father
wouldn't pay for, so in
seventh grade I earned
money to pay for extra
lessons cleaning fish
tanks in local dental
offices. My teacher
showed me tunes by
Cream, The Allman
Brothers, and Led Zeppelin, but he also
turned me onto jazz guys like Joe Pass,
Kenny Burrell, and Tal Farlow and that kind
of took over."
"In addition to jazz and blues, I was very
into the contemporary acoustic fingerstyle
guys like Michael Hedges, William
Ackerman, and in particular, Alex De Grassi.
I still played some electric guitar in high
school and college, but increasingly, it was all
about my acoustic guitar." By the '90s, living
in San Francisco, Skye performed in his own
blues band, played jazz gigs, and started a
seven piece vintage groove jazz group. In
2000, when Skye just by chance heard flat
picking great David Grier on the trio record
with Matt Flinner and Todd Phillips, the last
piece of his musical style came together. "I
had a vague awareness of bluegrass, Tony
Rice, David Grisman, and others. But