Mid-Week Intermission Good Vibes Edition: Scott Strickland
POSTED ON APRIL 6, 2021 BY LONG
2020 was a busy year for Scott Strickland, as we learned in this Mid-Week Intermission feature ahead of his Good Vibes Only performance, airing tonight at 8pm. Read all about how he reconfigured a record, got into community activism, and went through some big life changes. You can check out some of his newest tunes in tonight’s show, too!
I’m an entertainer/singer/songwriter based here in Austin, Texas. Since 2015, I’ve been in and out of local clubs getting my feet wet as a performer. In 2016, I released an EP Try This Love, and we basically started performing non-stop — anywhere anyone would have us. I landed a residency at the Four Seasons Hotels Austin, and this was the beginning of writing what was to become my first LP. At 37 years old.
It’s kind of wild to think about, but I’ve finally put all of those insecurities behind me, and started fully embracing my calling to share my gift of music with others. I’ve toured regionally, and before the pandemic, I was playing consistently in San Antonio and Dallas. Having a career in music in Austin — though definitely challenging at times — has been very, very good to me.
Since the quarantine, my team scrambled to figure out how to actually make the record happen. We were full-tilt in the studio February 28, 2020 with future dates scheduled to record. That all went to hell when the pandemic hit that very next week. The team recorded remotely and, needing a different direction, I reached out to Mike Ingber and Eric Harrisson of Studio 601 in South Austin.
Mike, Eric, and I recorded demos the year prior, in 2019. I went back to them to just see if we could make something work. It was the first song, the first take — Mike on drums, Eric on bass (and they were also engineering) — and I asked them if we could start over, and if together we could produce a record. That’s how these new songs came to be — how a lot of the ones showcased in my Good Vibes set came to be.
In between all of that — and after the death of George Floyd — I decided to get involved in community activism. I became a precinct chair in my district, which leads Get Out The Vote efforts in Travis County. I also joined the non-profit Austin Texas Musicians, where I sit on a few committees designed to engage City Council and the community in different efforts and agendas. That work has been extremely rewarding for my soul.
In between studio sessions, there was a change of biblical proportions happening in my life. My wife and I of 14 years decided to split. I moved into my own place, not even a month later, and had to pick up the pieces of my life. I unpacked from the day I moved in until about mid-January. I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s completely alone, isolated because I was weary of getting my own family sick with my travels. My phone also barely rang, which — given the timing — was absolutely heartbreaking for me. In fact, my Good Vibes Only showcase for the Long Center happened the day before movers were scheduled to move me out of my home. It was an extremely nerve-racking time, to say the least.
Since then, I took up cooking, healthy eating, and spiritual healing. I’ve lost almost 40 pounds since my show in December, I got to see the beach, and I’m working on giving this album the best launch it could possibly have. I’ve also been reading Room to Dream by David Lynch, which is an absolutely fascinating book. So glad I stumbled upon it.
Support Scott and other local artists while live music is getting back on its feet by tuning into tonight’s Good Vibes Only episode, just one of a series of fully-produced performances recorded safely in our Rollins Studio Theatre that give musicians and music industry workers a place to work their magic. It airs free, tonight on Luck.Stream at 8pm.
