We recently connected with Skip Reeves and have shared our conversation below.
Skip, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
From birth leading up to age 13 I came to realized within myself that I had a strong natural inclination towards music. My Mother told me several times that while in her womb, whenever she was near music I would start to move inside of her. Of course she was very musical herself playing the both the piano and the trumpet. At 7 years old I actually started playing the accordion and eventually winning 1st place in a contest. At age 9 my Mother started giving me piano lessons, but it became apparent that playing with two hands was going to be a challenge for me so discouragement set in and I quit the lessons.
At 10 years old, due to the popular music of the 60’s that was happening, I started to play guitar. By the time I was 13 I was jamming with other local teens, so that’s when I knew I wanted to pursue music as a career. At 15 years of age my fingers started to grow longer and it became uncomfortable for me to play guitar chords.
One day at a band rehearsal, during a break. I grabbed the drummer’s sticks, sat down on his drum throne and easily started to play a groovin beat! Shortly after that rehearsal I sold my guitar equipment and bought a drum set.
For the next 35 years I drummed professionally with both major and independent artists, recording, touring, and performing!
Skip, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was raised in a military family. We traveled extensively moving from place to place including living in Germany for 6 years. Living in Germany was an education that shaped a lot of who I became. As young black kid, I learned the language fluently, associated with other kids from different backgrounds, and developed a strong friendship with an older German woman in her 60’s whom we called Oma. The love and attention she shared with me really helped me to appreciate all races of people. So I did not grow up with racial issues. Oma treated me like I was one of her children. She had lost her son and husband during World War II. I grew to love her so deeply that we both cried when at 13 years of age my family left Germany and we came back to America. We knew we would never see each other again. After all these years I still think about her!
I was a kid who, due to my Fathers’ influence grew up not wanting to follow the beaten path that everyone else was on. He always told to me not to be a follower, so I didn’t mind being different. That would come in handing as I made my way through life. It kept me out of a lot of problems and troubles.
Both of my parents were very supportive of my musical interests. My father even helped one of the bands I performed with to by some badly needed equipment.
As my drumming career began to wind down, I found myself stumbling on opportunities to get involved in Radio and TV I was part of a duo called Bigmouth and Knucklehead’s Readertainment. The show broadcast on local TV in Denver, then on Radio Disney.
After that I pursued an idea for a music radio program I had developed while traveling from show to show during my performing days. I approached several popular stations in the Denver market about my idea but was respectfully told the show’s format would not work. Of course I knew these corporate radio programmers did not have a clue, so at the urging of a friend (Charles Dottson) I approached a non-profit community station. They accepted my concept, gave me a time slot, and as they say, the rest is history. That show which is called A FUNK ABOVE THE REST is now syndicated internationally, being heard in over 180 countries by means of terrestrial and digital radio stations, along with streaming services of the Sparkx Media Network!
I alos currently host two TV shows broadcasting on Sparkx TV, seen on the Roku Platform. The shows are Video Vibez – The Eclectic Side and Skip’s Artist Showcase. The programs are On Demand, so they can be watched anytime.
My programs have been and are mediums for independent creators. I have always known that many Independents produce quality projects and I have always wanted to provided a source for their exposure. I’m proud to say I have accomplished that!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I have had to learn the hard way that not everyone you partner with is of moral, legal, or personal integrity. Some people are strictly out for personal gain and will use you to that end. Do your best to detect any inclinations in that direction that might set you back or even cause you harm.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is that I had a vision of what I wanted to accomplish with my radio show. That simple show has lead to greater opportunities such as programs on TV, being asked to do video commercials, voiceovers, and representing several products and companies. I never saw it all coming but its here! I now also have my own book out, ” How I became A Funktologist.” So now I am a published author.
I never compromised what I set out to achieve . I control my operations and call all the shots on what I do. My Father’s advice on staying true to myself and forging my own path has certainly proved to be most satisfying!
You can hear A Funk Above The Rest on Sparkx Radio & TV Networks Saturday’s from 6pm-8pm MST and Sundays “Live” from 8pm-10pm MST as well as many other stations. Check our website www.afunkabovetherest.com for more listings!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.afunkabovetherest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funktologist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skip.funktologist/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skip-reeves-6a4034243/?midToken=AQFFaJsJPg1hNw&midSig=2gY1SAj8PrCX01&trk=eml-email_m2m_invite_single_01-header-0-profile_glimmer&trkEmail=eml-email_m2m_invite_single_01-header-0-profile_glimmer-null-gqpi3g~lpgjbgy4~rr-null-null&eid=gqpi3g-lpgjbgy4-rr&otpToken=MTMwNTFmZTIxMTJmYzFjMmJjMmEwZmViNDExZWU2YjQ4N2M5ZDE0MTkwYTY4YzZhN2JjZjA0NmU0ZjVhNWFmNWY3ZGRkY2U5MWFjZGIwYzg1OThjZTNhYmNiOTIyNDNkYTA2MDZmNjg1MzFhNjI4NDAzNDMyZjRiLDEsMQ%3D%3D