Meet Randy Sykes | Solo Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Randy Sykes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Randy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Covid really was the start of something different for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being a musician for many years, I had been in local bands for a long time. Then quitting for about 10 years realizing that I wanted to focus on my family and growing daughter.
During covid, I would go to the lake with my guitar, play and watch the sunset. Toward the “end” of covid I saw a solo performer playing in a beautiful place by the sea in Jenner California. I knew I could do at least what he was doing and hit the open mic circuit.
After my second open mic performance, to my surprise, I got hired right away by a local bar. From there it grew over night to 150 shows a year. From wineries, bars, weddings, restaurants, street fairs, country clubs and more…it just exploded. I am sure it was the fact that I live in a place that values live music.
I remember watching a local performer with my brother. This performer was so good, and I kept telling my brother ” this guy is so good’. He was playing Led Zeppelin on acoustic guitar and singing. I kept going on when my brother said. “You are not him”. You don’t sing or play like that…that’s true, but you have the ability to somehow connect with an audience in a completely different way. And HE is not do that”.
My brother was right. Am I different? Heck yea…we all are. If you ever watch people dance, it’s amazing! We all ( well most of us) have 2 arms and legs, yet everyone dances differently. It’s really kind of amazing.
Am I a great guitar player or singer? Nope:) Just different from the next person. But, yes, I use the best equipment possible. The stuff is expensive and it sounds amazing!! Anyone who played it would sound good. And yes, I ” work” hard and practice for hours a day. I love it and cant get enough. It’s like an addiction, I almost always want more.
I think that passion translates in my performance and people feel that. What’s more, I am old, and amazed at the fact I get to do this 150 times a year! Point is, I am grateful. I know I am small potatoes,. But, I am so grateful that people hire me and come see me. At the age of 63, I feel so lucky that music came back into my life at such a magnitude. And, there is no guarantee that tomorrow will happen. So I am so extremely grateful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Folsom Ca.. It really is an amazing place. I mountain bike in the hills by the lake near my house. I kayak on the river. On weekends when I can. I drive to the west for an 90 minutes I’m at the Ocean. I do the same to the east and I’m in lake Tahoe. To the south and East there are hundreds of wineries. Old town Folsom, has so much vitality. Between the river, the restaurants, the history and natural beaty of this area, I damn near feel guilty to live here. There is so much to do!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Grateful to my wife, family and friends for their patience and moral support.

Website: https://randysykes.com/

Instagram: randysykesmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RANDYSYKESMUSIC/