Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Devan Skaggs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Devan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

I had a long-winded response prepared for this question where I’d get to drop a big music industry name from my past but it doesn’t resonate as the truth to me any longer. The real answer is that I am the best boss I’ve ever had. All my life I wanted to be my own boss. No one else could ever know how to challenge me in the right ways, how to coax the results I want to see out of myself or how to walk the very particular path that I carved for myself. I had to figure that out; am figuring that out. At least now when I’m too hard on myself or not hard enough, I only have myself to answer to. I prefer it that way and I’m pretty sure all my former employers would agree it’s for the best haha!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in Wyoming in the 90’s. There was nothing going on musically or otherwise for a kid like me so I left home at 18. I attended a music production school which led to me going on the road as a mixer at first and musician later. I got to see the world many times over and if that was all I ever got from music it would be enough. My 20’s were such a privilege. My 30’s were about self-discovery. In all my traveling I’d developed a bit of a drinking problem. Once I put the plug in the jug, it was a long climb back to where I should have been all along. In 2019 I met my wife, the brilliant artist and songwriter Victoria Bigelow. We commenced recording and playing live right away but then the pandemic made working from a home a necessity. I had been wanting to produce and mix full-time for a long time anyway so my hand was forced a little sooner than I’d expected. It ended up working out though. Most recently I scored my first short film called ‘Party Animal’ which was admitted to several film festivals and is available to watch/stream everywhere. I also started an instrumental side project called ‘Hemser’ and my first EP came out on October 11th. ‘Functional Music Works (Series A)’ is streaming everywhere now!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think generally society regards musicians and artists as fun loving folks who are making their little songs and prancing through life. It’s quite the opposite. The most talented people I’ve worked with have also been the most misunderstood, lonely and unfulfilled. Every creative struggles tooth and nail to get a work finished. It’s a fight for a knife in the mud more often than not. And some of us have to try to “fit in” to society on top of it, at least in the beginning – hold regular jobs and hours, pay bills etc. Nowadays, most of the talent is competing with kids who are burning through daddy’s money to take up air space and in the age of the internet, air space can be purchased easily. Those are two very different careers that will produce very different artists. That said, this is just the way of the world. Things have changed. They’ll change again and probably not how anyone expects. PR campaigns come to an end, social media companies come and go but the work is forever. The struggle is to find and keep your center in it all. For me, the work is the center.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Quality. I’m chasing the same thing Robert Pursig, the author of ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ was chasing: Quality.

I don’t like accolades. I don’t love being seen in a general sense. I’m quite private and reserved and that’s very much the opposite of how today’s music business wants you to be. There’s a lot about me that’s out of step with the times I’m living in but one thing that never changes over time is Quality so I try to anchor myself to that. I think people routinely underestimate audiences. If you’ve ever walked through the Louvre you know what it feels like to be in the presence of Quality. Even with your eyes closed you would know it. I like when Kerouac said “I want to fish as deep down as possible into my own subconscious in the belief that once that far down, everyone will understand because they are the same that far down.” Quality is perceived intuitively. People can sense it so I’m always striving for that before considering Tik Tok trends or the current weather forecast.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.devanskaggs.com
• Instagram: @devanskaggs
• Twitter: @devanskaggs
• Youtube: @devanskaggs

Image Credits

Neil Schwartz