Breya and Jackie Skinner have spent a lifetime writing, playing and performing together. Over the course of many years they have celebrated some notable achievements. In the spirit of reflecting and looking back – these are just a few fun facts about SKINNER.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
From the very start, Breya and Jackie enjoyed some pretty interesting first gigs! Their first television appearance was on The Big Top Talent show with Oopsie the clown. They performed “Somewhere Out There” (from the movie An American Tail) and “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” (Brian Adams).
A couple years after that, (well below the legal drinking age) the sisters played their first bar gig at ‘The Moon Room’ (Oshawa). They opened for Canadian indie rock band; Juno award nominees – Treble Charger.
NASHVILLE BOUND
In March 2008, Breya and Jackie set their sights on going to Nashville. With the help of Laura Takahashi, Bob, Sandy & Blake Skinner – SKINNER submitted an audition tape to NBC’s Nashville Star TV show. Producers viewed their audition and invited the sisters to Nashville. 30,000 musical acts auditioned and SKINNER made it to the top 100 acts! This experience in Nashville inspired the song “2nd and Broadway,” which landed them the CBC Searchlight ‘Regional Finalist’ title. To be continued, below.
TOP 23 ACTS IN CANADA
In 2015, SKINNER competed in the CBC Searchlight competition; a contest to find Canada’s best musical acts. Out of hundreds of entries, SKINNER was voted ‘regional finalists.’ They moved onto the national contest, where they placed top 23 bands in all of Canada. Their song ‘2nd and Broadway’ was featured on the radio.
ADVOCATING FOR FERTILITY
Dec 1 2014, Breya and Dan started a 5 year fertility journey in hopes of expanding their family. With the help of many friends at One Fertility (Burlington) – their first-born son, Bodi was welcomed in May 2017. Bre and Dan continued the fertility process and welcomed their twins, Hali and Kai in October, 2020. Along the way, Bre and Dan became advocates for raising awareness of fertility. In April 2019, Bre and Dan were asked to share their fertility story on film, and EMD Serono released the video and SKINNER’s song “Guitar That Needs A Tune” in association with Fertility Awareness Week, 2019.
BE A HERO
In October, 2014, Breya and Jackie joined forces with ‘power sister duo’: Kary Carkner and Pam Helmer. Kary and Pam co-authored a children’s book encouraging young minds to be everyday heroes. As part of the book release, Kary and Pam envisioned a theme song to share their motto. And so began the collaboration of Kary, Pam, Breya, Jackie and talented musician/producer Chuck Dailey. The song ‘Be A Hero’ came to life as a modern day anthem to inspire today’s youth and adults alike. SKINNER is proud to be associated with such a positive message – “You can be a hero.”