We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dave Clark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dave, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I purchased my first guitar at age 14 and knew absolutely immediately that I wanted to play music for a living. Of course, my family had other ideas and pushed me toward college to prep for a professional career. I played in bands from age 15 through age 26, trying to get that elusive record deal. When it didn’t happen by age 26, I unwillingly decided to build a career in the corporate world. And I hated every moment of it!

I continued to play guitar as a hobby, and wrote a tremendous amount of songs; somewhere upwards of 70-100. I eventually began to perform as a soloist here and there after work.

Finally, after 30 years doing several different jobs that went against every fiber of my being, I decided to take the leap and make music my full-time job. It was a most definitely a leap of faith, because not only did I need to charge significantly more than I had been as a hobbyist, but I needed to fill my calendar to make it a viable means to a living. All the while, I had to build up strength in my voice to be able to perform several days a week.

I put in the time, worked extremely hard and I’m happy to say that I play music for a living and, for the first time in my life, I can say I honestly love what I do!

Dave, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have a dual musical personality. I make a good portion of my money playing cover tunes that people know and love. Performing in bars, restaurants, concert stages, at resorts, golf courses and even on a boat, I perform at least five days a week.

The other side of my musical personality is my original music. Some would call my style “hair metal” or “80s hard rock,” but my original music style is based on hard rocking guitars, catchy memorable melodies and big harmony vocals. People have said they hear certain influences in my music, bands such as Bon-Jovi, Night Ranger, Boston and Thin Lizzy are a few that have been mentioned.

My first album, Rock City, can be found on all major music platforms by searching Dave Clark Rock City. My new album, Arizona, is due for release in Spring 2023. Those that prefer old school CDs can order a CD from DaveClarkMusician.com.

Even when I’m performing at a “covers” show, I always add a few of my own songs, because you never know who is in the audience and who might be looking for a new song for a movie soundtrack or a new act to sign to a record label. It just takes a little serendipity of being in the right place at the right time for everything to fall into place.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Although I knew I had a passion for music from an early age, I didn’t always have the natural ability to consider a career in music. In fact, although I came up as a lead guitarist, I always wanted to sing. Truth be told, when I first started out, I simply wasn’t a very good singer. But deep down, I knew I’d eventually get there because I knew I had the desire.

I made a commitment to never smoke, because I knew I would be a singer one day. I made a commitment to learn from as many different people as possible, to try to improve a little at a time. You don’t necessarily notice the improvement day by day, but I soon realized that my range was expanding, my tone was improving and my voice was getting exponentially stronger. Where I used to struggle to get though a single two hour performance, I now am strong singing three hour shifts five days in a row. There’s only one way to get there – and that’s through hard work – but it is very rewarding hard work.

I started out as a guitarist who could sing. Now I consider myself a singer who can play guitar; a complete shift in how I view myself as a musician.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There is nothing more amazing than looking out into the crowd and seeing my music making a positive impact on people. Whether they are singing, dancing, clapping, crying; whatever the emotion, it is an emotion generated by the music and my performance of the music.

What non-musicians may not understand is that music is ENERGY. And, the performance you see is a mirror reflection of the energy you as fans send to the stage. When we musicians see an energetic crowd having a great time, we take that energy and reflect it right back to the crowd via our performance.

That’s why participating in some way (singing, clapping, tipping) are all ways that we get energy that we can return to the crowd.

Contact Info:

• Website: DaveClarkMusician.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/DaveClarkMusician
• Facebook: Facebook.com/DaveClarkMusician
• Other: Spotify: Dave Clark Rock City

Image Credits
All Photos Courtesy of Laura Rosch Photography