We recently connected with Clyde Childrezz, Albert Hobson NA and have shared our conversation below.
Clyde Childrezz, Albert Hobson, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
A lot of us musicians start off with the fantasy of super stardom overnight. Well, for most of us this is not the case. Being a true musician and artist you’re faced with lots of study practice and playing small gigs to hone your craft. Then as we get older we realize we need to take care of our family while still trying to pursue the dream. This is where a lot of people throw in the towel and start talking about what they use to do. I started playing bass 47 years ago and can truly say I’m more enthusiastic than ever.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
(Clyde) I started playing guitar around the age of 13. I remember that first summer, I wanted to start off with formal lessons, by the end of that first session, my teacher told me, ” Just go home and listen to the radio, and pick out the notes.” When I started, there was no internet or MTV. Musicians were almost shrouded in mystery. They would arrive in town, play a show and off to the next adventure. Nothing like the microscopic scrutiny of todays performers. Technology, in all its fanfare, has made it possible for anyone to make music and distribute. Back in the day, you had to be signed by a record company, or shell out a lot of money to make a “record,” and have to figure out how you were going to distribute it. You couldn’t create a vinyl record in your bedroom.
One of the things I am proud of is having a fellow friend and also a musician
(Albert)
In middle school I joined an African Drum Ensemble and experienced how rhythm and sound could communicate powerful emotions. The African Drumming experience can be heard in most of the music Clyde and I write. Once I started playing bass I had a good sense of rhythm and feel because of my drum experience so I always grooved from the beginning. By the time I was in high school I was influenced by the top commercial bassist at the time. Some of the bassist included: Stanley Clarke Larry Graham Louis Johnson and Bernard Edwards just to name a few. During my freshman year of high school I was on the bus headed across town to go work at my fathers dry cleaners. When I got on the bus there was a young lady who I recognized as my grandmothers care taker. Sitting next to her was her boyfriend holding a bass so as I spoke to her briefly and started talking to him; his name was Carl Falls. We started trading licks on the bus and everybody gathered around us. Before he departed he gave me his address and phone number. Within a day or two I called and started skipping school to go hang out and play bass all day with Carl. For the record Carl was 21 but always made it a point to let me know he didn’t approve of me skipping class. We became really good friends and still keep in touch today. Carl Falls was the biggest influence to my bass playing career, He use to say “you gotta put the vibe on it little brother”.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
(Clyde) I have made a lot of sacrifices because of my desire to continue on in life creating and performing music. I know of countless other musicians that have stopped all together for a number of reasons. I keep playing because more than anything else, I don’t know what I would do with my life without a guitar. Working a regular 9-5 is the cost I pay for continuing to work on my guitar craft. It is therapeutic when I get to engage in musically interacting with other like minded individuals. I can experience joy and peace and escape from my day to day challenges in life. As a young man I had hopes and dreams of being famous and rich but as life continued to show up, my definition of success and my values have gratefully changed. The business of music has nothing to do with music. I would be content in being able to make a moderate good living playing music. But I cannot put a price on the joy I receive from playing my instrument paid or not.
(Albert)
I agree with Clyde on the fact that my day job has allowed me to pick and choose the kind of gigs I play as well as afford me the time to concentrate on our original project. We enjoy what we do so it never feels like we’re working when it comes to music…we’ve been blessed with something called harmony in human relations. Through the struggle I’ve raised my children, maintained a job in the environmental field and earned an Associate’s Degree. All while continuing to persevere as a Recording Artist and Freelance Bassist who studies with the World Renowned Bassist Kai Eckhardt.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
(Clyde) My writing partner and best friend Albert Hobson, I first met when I was 22 and he, 16 in Seattle, Washington. We both were born and raised there and met through other mutual friends. We both enjoyed playing together and in one of the highlights of that era, traveled over seas on a DOD ( Dept. of Defense) Far east tour with a group at the time. As we got older we both left Seattle (1988) on our own paths and journeys but before we left we knew in our hearts we would meet again. In the years between, I fought with addiction problems and just dealing with life on life’s terms. Never though, did I give up my playing, or my dreams. When I got clean in “95,” I started to record a lot of my ideas that had laid dormant for as long as I could remember. As I continued to record my ideas, I would think about my old friend, Albert who I had not talked but briefly to through out a 12 year period. We had both left Seattle around 1988-1989. In 2000 I was living in a town called El Cerrito, in northern Ca and one day got a call from Albert. We all know California is a huge state. When Albert told me where he was in the town of Fairfield which was a 30 minute drive from where I lived, I was ecstatic ! The puzzle of who could help me with all my musical Ideas had been solved. About 2 years before we connected, I had been slowly learning to record with the then new digital computer software. When Albert walked in to my little humble studio that first day and I played him a track, he asked me ” can we make records with this ? ” Indeed we can Albert. ”
(Albert)
In 1990 I was traveling with Mr. Clean and we hired a drummer from Detroit. After he was with us for a few months on one of our off days we allowed him to drive our equipment rig. Well, he disappeared into the night. The next day we found out all of our equipment had been sold for drugs. Thanks to Ollie (Mr. Clean) Mcclay we were able to purchase enough equipment to get back on the road.
In 1999 my wife who suffered from Bipolar Manic Depression, took my kids from the Tri-Cities Washington where we were living to Fairfield, California. I stayed and worked for six months but management knew I was missing my kids so they put me down for transfer to California. In May of 2000, I drove to California and brought my musical equipment all the belongings that were left behind. I dropped off household belongings to my soon-to-be ex-wife. Clyde and I had kept in touch over the past several years so I knew he was somewhere in California. After a few days of trying to find places to crash, I called Clyde and told him I was in California. When I told him where I was he said “You’re only fifteen miles away from me”, what a coincidence. I immediately drove to his place in El Cerrito and we started writing music together. I was blown away by Clydes tech savvy Computer skills. I remember asking him, can we make records with this thing? For the last twenty-three years, we have written Arranged and Produced our own music…resilience…!
Contact Info:
- Website: docalmistaclyde.com
- Facebook: Clyde Childrezz
- Youtube: Doc Al & Mista Clyde
- Other: [email protected] [email protected]
Image Credits
JP Castillones