Skylar Kergil: LGBT Rights, Audience Connection & Songwriting

Skylar is a transgender singer-songwriter, activist, educator, writer and artist currently living in Boston. Most often known on the internet as his pseudonym “Skylark” or “Skylarkeleven,” he began documenting his transition on YouTube in 2009 when he began hormone therapy, and as a result of his vlogs and written blogs has been invited to speak at numerous events across the United States. Skylar’s latest EP Tell Me A Story was released earlier in 2015, and there’s more music on the way. In this episode we talked about the importance of having a connection with your audience, songwriting, and how attitudes towards the LGBT community have changed over time. Enjoy!

Highlights:

We all have a Skylar (or Skyler) in our lives!

Skylar tells us about transitioning from female to male, and how music helped him through the process

Ross always goes with his heart

We talk about the importance of being vulnerable when writing and performing music

Skylar tells us how he’s always been influenced by artists involved in activism

We get some exclusive news about Skylar’s upcoming EP, and how it includes a song written for a friend of Skylar’s

We hear how Skylar’s dad really got him into music and how it enabled him to express himself

Skylar talks about boundaries and knowing what you can share online

We talk about the LGBT Pride Month event at the White House that Skylar and around 300 other activists were invited

We talk about our admiration for Obama

Skylar tells us some common misconceptions that people have about the trans community

We talk about the attitudes towards the LGBT community in different countries and how they’ve changed over time

Marcio breaks 20 Questions

In this episode we talk more about Michael Bolton than we ever have before

Ricky Martin’s comeback wasn’t REALLY a comeback since Skylar didn’t know about it

Artist Advice:

Being vulnerable and honest can help to build and connect with your following

It’s important to have a connection with your audience – they need to feel close to you

Recommendations:

Artist Links:

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