Conversations with Devan Skaggs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Devan Skaggs.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I don’t come from a musical family but I picked up the guitar when I was 12 and have never looked back. I spent a year after high school playing small clubs with my band. After quickly realizing that it wasn’t going anywhere, I enrolled at The Conservatory of Recording Arts in Tempe to pursue recording, which was always what I really loved about making music.

I grew up in Wyoming and had never even been to Arizona before I started school here. I was 19 years old when I drove into the valley for the first time. I came in from the Northwest at sunrise and it was love at first sight. After I finished school, I tried to stay local to the valley because I loved it so much and I had a lot of friends here, but work took me to Nashville and Los Angeles for the next 15 years. I lived in both cities but spent most of my time traveling during those years. I toured the world with artists like Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, A Perfect Circle, Shawn Colvin, et al.

Covid put an end to my touring days but I had been ready for something new for quite some time. I met my wife – a tremendously talented singer-songwriter, Victoria Bigelow – a year before the pandemic and was already producing her songs, so we just kept going once we were confined to home all the time. That’s also how we ended up in the Valley. The pandemic made it so anyone could do anything from anywhere, so we came to Phoenix. We have a young boy and it’s a great place for family that’s close to LA which is pretty ideal for us.

Pretty soon after moving to Phoenix, my wife signed a record deal with Immortal Records. Her new record, “Songs For No One Vol. 2” came out May 10th which I produced and recorded right here in our Phoenix home. Since her signing we’ve played SXSW and Luck Reunion festivals and have a full summer of live shows ahead this year!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Haha!!! The music business is anything but a smooth road, ever. There are no roads. You have to make your own and the terrain is constantly changing. I’ve had guitars stolen, I’ve had to pawn gear a few times, I’ve been stiffed on payment, I’ve been lied to. You’ll see it all in the music business if you stick around long enough.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m most proud of the work I’ve done with my wife because anything and everything that’s come of it, came entirely from us. She writes her own songs and I record and play everything and we did it all at home. Things are getting really busy and there’s a whole team of people rallying around her all of a sudden and it all came right out of our home studio. Just the two of us putting our minds to it and sharing the work.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
If you experience bad luck it’s important to remember, ‘this too shall pass’. If you experience good luck it’s even more important to remember, ‘this too shall pass’.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.devanskaggs.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devanskaggs/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/devanskaggs
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/UFptB0AszDQ?si=_kARikLTH-GzWo73
• Other: https://youtu.be/hf0xH7vpXJ0?si=JSMFfni5Xji9FCk1

Image Credits
Neil Schwartz, Kate Liddy