We were lucky to catch up with Jefferson Clay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jefferson, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
So this is gonna get nerdy, bear with me! I was super close with my grandma growing up, and she was the coolest. She 100% believed she’d been abducted by aliens, that the Great Pyramid of Giza was actually an ancient power plant, and that she’d been reincarnated numerous times. But more than anything, she was obsessed with the multiverse theory: that all possible realities and versions of you are occurring and existing simultaneously, and that many of her life decisions and experiences were influenced by the other “hers”. This concept is the inspiration for my debut LP that I’ve been working on for almost 2 years now, and why it’s so meaningful to me. All of the songs felt, while I was writing them, like stories or experiences that I’d had, even if I hadn’t. Almost like they were coming from the other “me’s”. The record is called “Elsewhere. Somehow. Somewhere.” and even though my grandma has passed on, I know she would totally dig the concept!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
All I’ve ever wanted is to do for other people what my favorite artists have done for me – made me feel 2% better. Music has the power to transport you somewhere else entirely like nothing else can. Hearing the right song at the right time can completely change the course of your life. Or it could get stuck in your head so many times you never want to hear it again. I’d be happy to be in either camp. Really, I’m just aiming for that 2%!
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. my dad was a keyboard player in a country band, so I grew up going to his shows, and just fell in love with all it. Ironically I went to a Christian school for like 10 years that didn’t want us to listen to pop music, like no instruments in church, pop music is the devil kind of thing. So naturally, coming out of high school, I started a band with some buddies and moved to Austin for college 😂 But when COVID hit, and gigs disappeared, I really took the recording process seriously and started releasing music regularly. It’s only been a couple of years, but my songs have ended up on Spotify editorial playlists like “Fresh Finds” and “New Pop Picks” which has been really exciting! A dance studio in Boston did a whole class to my song “Do I Go Down Smooth?” And I just got to headline the downtown NYE celebration in San Antonio for a crowd of like 100,000 people. So that was pretty much the best night of my life. I’d like to do that every night!!
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?
How isolating it can be. Not working a typical 9-5 means it can be almost impossible to make time with friends the older everyone gets, the more kids and marriages. But more than anything, being completely focused on a sort of nebulous path that doesn’t necessarily have any concrete end goal is tough. The highs are really high and the lows are really low. You have to do your best to surround yourself with people that build you up and support you, or you’ll never survive. I’ve been lucky to find a few of those people.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Go to shows! Buy merch! Seriously, I know everyone talks about it, but streaming services aren’t cutting it. That artist you’ve saved to your Spotify playlist that has a few million streams probably can’t pay their rent. You just spent $15 on a Chipotle burrito, drop $15 to go see that new band and have an experience!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeffersonclaymusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffersonclaymusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jeffersonclaymusic?si=lT29KpXTEosucKbA
