Sasha Swetlowski
Local Musician Builds ‘Keyboard Wagon’
I find enjoyment hearing other people’s stories — where they came from and the path of their life journey. My musician friend Sasha Swetlowski has led a very interesting life and continues to do so. I recently sat down with him to hear his story about how he landed in Woodstock.
Sasha comes from an artistic and musical family. He began piano lessons at age 5 when his older sister began taking lessons. Classical music from “Looney Tunes” Bugs Bunny cartoons and the “Ghostbusters” movie seeped into his soul during this time and would later prove to be an inspiration. His father, a professional musician, ran an instrument repair shop in the Tucker/Norcross area, which brought musicians from all over, and all genres, through the doors.
It wasn’t until high school that Sasha decided to take his musical talents to the next level after overhearing some cute girls swooning over a classmate who played the guitar. Sasha dug through the drawers at home until he found his dad’s harmonica and dived in headfirst. Sasha stumbled on a recording of “But Anyway” by Blues Traveler. From that moment on, he was hooked.
Sasha studied computer programming in college and joined a band called The Jagerbombs, which played several nights a week at the local SportsTime.
Bands come and go, often morphing into other projects, and Sasha found himself living and working in a house with new bandmates, from a group called Almost Blue. This group of 18- to 20-year-olds lived in the same house that The Black Crowes had previously lived in and kept one of their contracts written on a napkin posted on the wall. The Almost Blue crew enjoyed living together and playing around town, and they recorded music at ZAC Studios off Howell Mill Road — the same studio Whitney Houston and OutKast used.
A huge turn of events came when Tinsley Ellis reached out to Sasha on MySpace, and the two exchanged several messages. Sasha was working at a UPS store when he got the offer to go on tour with Tinsley. Initially, Sasha was going to decline, until he received encouragement one day from a regular UPS store customer, Yonrico Scott, who also just happened to be the drummer for Derek Trucks. The deal was solidified one night after Tinsley came to Sasha’s house for a jam session. Sasha decided to abandon his current life and hit the road with Tinsley.
In 2008, during his fourth tour with Tinsley, Sasha found himself playing the Wanee Festival, which was an annual event held 2005-18 at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Florida. The festival was hosted by The Allman Brothers Band, and Sasha met folks like Derek Trucks and his favorite keyboardist, Robert Walter, who was playing with The Greyboy Allstars.
Sasha moved to Woodstock around the “pandemic days” and enjoyed the walkability and welcoming music scene in this area. Most recently, Sasha designed and built a portable “keyboard wagon” that he can roll from his home near downtown Woodstock to any location and practice his craft. The keyboard wagon features its own power supply.
If you are lucky enough to catch Sasha out and about with his wagon, stop by for a listen and enjoy the tunes from one of the most talented and accomplished musicians living among us.
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