Langhorne Slim’s early artistic interest was expressed through involvement in community theater before shifting to music as a teen. Teaching himself to play guitar, he began writing his own songs first by rearranging chords on songs he had learned. In college while studying for a music degree, Sean Skolnick took the stage name Langhorne Slim from his hometown Langhorne, Pennsylvania and started playing in area clubs. He landed a gig as the opening act for the quirky Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, who toured with their music accompanying slideshows they collected from estate sales and thrift shops.
He spent several years touring before he landed a record deal, only to have that derailed by the sale of the label while he was recording his first full length album. Finally in 2008 a second company stepped in and helped Langhorne Slim complete the self-titled Langhorne Slim.
Langhorne Slim has struggled through substance abuse problems throughout his career, admitting that as a teenager, drunk from a six pack of beer, he was struck that either he would have to quit or eventually it was going to kill him. Scolnick finally addressed the problem as a 33-year-old and has remained sober since that time. Around that same time, he suffered a serious breakup and moved to a now permanent home in Nashville – in a big pink house. It is his first permanent residence in fifteen years – time he has spent on the road.
The latest release Strawberry Mansion is named for the Philadelphia neighborhood where his two grandfathers were raised. Written during the pandemic, the album is influenced by his experiences prior to and during the lockdown. After developing an addiction to the medication prescribed for his anxiety disorder, Skolnick found himself on tour in Europe and without his meds. Unable to get them he was urged by doctors to curtail use of the drug. He achieved that, only to have his world turned upside down by the pandemic.
