Hudson Valley’s Very Own Sexy Sax Man
AUTHOR: Derek Jorgensen, Staff Writer
Meet Samuel Guagliardo, the multi-talented 18-year-old who you may have spotted on campus playing an alto saxophone. Guagliardo is a graduate of Schalmont High School and is currently in his second year at Hudson Valley as an engineering science major.
When Guagliardo isn’t focused on school work, he is pursuing his passion for music.
“[Music is an outlet] for me,” said Guagliardo, who found his love for music at a young age.
One of Guagliardo’s goals in life is to own and be able to play as many instruments as possible.
“The first instrument I ever started playing was drums,” said Guagliardo. “I began taking lessons in third grade, in fifth grade I did the trumpet and in seventh grade I played the tuba.”
“Then from there I’ve always been interested in guitars.”
In the middle of tenth grade, Guagliardo was stuck babysitting his younger brother at their mother’s house in Connecticut for two weeks. During that time, Guagliardo broke out his older brother’s used and out-of-tune electric guitar.
“[I] taught myself how to play it because I had nothing better to do,” Guagliardo said. “I knew that the earlier I [learned], the better I could possibly be by the time I die.”
During his senior year in high school, Guagliardo added to his talents by learning how to play the piano.
“Some friends of mine taught me how to make a tectonic scale out of the keys and I just figured out how to transpose that into any other key,” said Guagliardo.
He didn’t stop there. He credited his little brother with bringing him to the saxophone.
“He was in fifth grade and he taught me how to make a reed sound, and then from there, I learned how to make all the notes out of his beginner book,” he said.
But which instrument is the hardest? He considers brass instruments to be the most difficult.
“A person can’t see chromatically what notes you’re going to play. You have to just know what you’re playing, whereas [with] piano or guitar you see every note in order,” he said.
Some students may have spotted Guagliardo roaming around campus playing Kenny G’s version of “Careless Whisper” on his saxophone. Guagliardo was inspired by the humorous viral video “Sexy Sax Man,” during which a shirtless man sporting black leather pants visits public places and plays “Careless Whisper” on a loop.
Through this humorous act, Guagliardo has attracted more attention on campus than expected.
“I’ve actually gotten a girl’s number from playing the song,” he said.
Though Guagliardo has received some perks from his saxophone adventures, his message is clear.
“I don’t want to annoy people [with] it and my main purpose is to have everyone enjoy it,” he said.
Guagliardo enjoys listening to a wide variety of music genres such as funk, jazz, heavy metal, reggae, country and rap.
“I sing all the time. There’s nothing more enjoyable than driving up the road singing my favorite song,” said Guagliardo.
Some of Guagliardo’s main musical influences include Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, Roy Eldridge and Miles Davis. Bands and artists such as Lettuce, Galactic and Trombone Shorty have been recently been inspiring Guagliardo on the saxophone.
Music comes naturally to Guagliardo, but other people have also contributed to his growth as a musician.
“My best friend Ben took guitar lessons before I learned, so when I started learning he taught me a couple of scales [and a] funky seventh chord. I use that chord more than anything else,” said Guagliardo.
He plans to compose his own music and play multiple instruments during live performances in the future.
“My ultimate goal is to get involved with sound engineering of some sort, like even physics of sound design. Then [I want to] build the world’s best acoustic music amphitheater, [name it after myself] and play my own music in it in front of thousands of people.”
Trying to find Guagliardo on campus?
“Usually, I’m by the piano room in the campus center or outside by the picnic table. But if I got the sax out, just listen,” he said.