Photo by JAVIER OSPINA
She looks like the kind of girl who comfortably belongs in a coffee shop. She wears a dress with a flowing skirt, the colors reflective of the deep winter doldrums. Earrings tinkle like falling ice as she turns her head to greet the patrons she knows. Slender fingers wrap around an ivory mug of tea, poured from a French press filled with hot water that turns a beautiful shade of mint as the tea leaves brews.
All that’s missing is a book to place in her hands.
But Valerie Eskridge prefers books on tape lately; they are more accommodating for her commute to the guitar classes she teaches at Tulsa Technology Center. Her latest listen is Ayn Rand’s classic “The Fountainhead.”
“Her words really mess with your head,” Eskridge laughs. “It’s the second time I’ve been exposed to it, and it’s a very empowering book.”
When she’s not listening to books, Eskridge listens to music. It’s her job.
She graduated in December from the University of Tulsa with a bachelor of arts in music and has been taking steps towards launching a music career. (Schooling began at TU; Eskridge transferred to the University of Oklahoma, took some time off and then came back to TU to complete a degree.) Locally, she is already successful, regularly playing at local restaurants, bars, and private parties. Look for her this summer at music festivals and local wineries.
Her decision to pursue music as a career began far from home, though.
“That didn’t click until I was 19,” says Eskridge. “I went to the Netherlands for a study abroad program (through OU). I was a business major at the time but soon realized I couldn’t live in a cubicle.
“Meanwhile, I got a guitar. Since I was just starting out and didn’t know many chords, I would just sing ‘la la la’ to keep myself entertained. That’s where I found my songwriter’s voice, and that’s where I realized that this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
Eskridge returned from the Netherlands, only to be disappointed OU didn’t offer a degree in becoming a rock star, she jokes. She took a semester off school and moved to Madison, Wis., where she made a living singing and playing on State Street. When it got too cold to play outside, she returned to Oklahoma and TU to complete a bachelor’s degree in music.
“I took the smorgasbord approach,” she says. “I wanted to study jazz, classical, composition, piano, guitar and voice and to pick and choose from the smattering of classes, so that was the best degree for me.”
While at TU, Eskridge sang with a nine-piece swing band comprised partly of TU students called The Zuits.
“That was a lot of fun, but it’s hard to book a nine-piece band in Tulsa, and it’s hard to find a practice time that doesn’t conflict with someone’s class schedule. It’s like herding cats.”
For now, Eskridge is focusing on her own music. In her repertoire, she says there are 20 original songs she plays at shows but over 40 total that she has written. March has been set aside to self-record an EP she can sell at local shows.
“The plan is to release it in April around my birthday so we can have a big party,” she smiles.
Influences she draws from when writing are mostly real-life, and she compares her songs to being like letters to friends. When first embarking on her musical path, Eskridge cites Ani DiFranco as a major influence.
“It was less her music and more her message. Whatever she was saying, there was always a purpose behind it. She uses music as her vehicle to get a message across. I took a lot of that in, and I think about that when I’m songwriting.”
Vocally, Eskridge says she likes Natalie Merchant.
“Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman—all of them, whatever bracket you would put them in, that’s the bracket I would like to be included in.”
Eskridge currently performs at local restaurants Los Cabos in Jenks and Broken Arrow and Tsunami Sushi in the Blue Dome District. Her solo shows are filled with original songs, jazz standards, Beatles tunes and 70s faves like Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide.”
She also does duets with guitarist Chuck Fluker (jazz standards and a few originals) and pianist Dr. Jake Jorishie, known simply as Dr. Jake to many TU musicians (jazz standards).
“I’m trying to start an all-girl band,” Eskridge adds. “That’s something that’s in the works but just kind of brewing at the moment. It’s a challenge, though. The more people that you involve the more schedules you have to accommodate and when everyone is in school, you have to just keep doing your thing.”
The best place to catch Eskridge this month is at The Colony’s singer/songwriter nights started by The Hero Factor guitarist and Vandevander front man Matt Fisher. Each Tuesday, Fisher emcee’s an evening of local musicians showcasing their original works. The first two sets of the evening feature two local artists and the third set is an open microphone setting. Eskridge is a featured artist on March 25.
If Eskridge isn’t playing, she’s usually in the audience supporting other local acts and friends.
“The idea is that original artists from around town come in and play their own compositions and some covers,” Eskridge explains. “It’s nice that you get paid a little bit, but the real treat is that you get a venue to play original music and the audience is coming specifically to enjoy original music. The energy in the room is always good. It’s a really cool concept.”
Eskridge is available for venue bookings and private parties by e-mailing details to Valerie.Eskridge@gmail.com.
For more information, including a sampling of songs, visit www.ValerieEskridge.com or www.myspace.com/ValerieEskridgeMusic.
