Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Clay has a birthright to
the best of
American music. His travels throughout the South and Southwest
have
provided poignant images and influences for his songs. His own
compelling
style reveals a cool blend of country, rock, folk and the blues.
After fostering his career in the late eighties during his
college years in
Tucson, Arizona, he returned to Oklahoma City in 1991 and formed
the
country-rock band The Hillbilly Love Gods which earned him many
awards
including the Oklahoma Gazette's "Songwriter of the Year"
in 1993 and 1994,
"Best New Band" in 1993 and "Band of the Year"
in 1994. He has since
opened for or picked with many great artists including Guy Clark,
Nancy
Griffith, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard,
The
Georgia Satellites, David Allen Coe and others, playing all across
the
country in coffeehouses, roadside honky-tonks and college fraternity
houses
alike. He is a regular at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, The Sutler
and the
Broken Spoke and returns annually for the Terlingua Chili Cookoff,
the
Oklahoma City Arts Festival and Opening Night. Clay has also
performed at
the Crossroads Music Festival in Memphis, the Tom Mix Festival
in Guthrie,
Oklahoma and the Kerrville Folk Festival with brother John, and
was the
first place winner of the 2001 Mountain Valley Arts Council-Southeastern
Songwriters' Festival.
His latest effort, "Tumbleweed" is a stripped down,
no nonsense personal
insight into his life since moving to Nashville six years ago.
With great
guest artists like Guy Clark, Jo-El Sonnier, Verlon Thompson,
Suzi Ragsdale
and Tommy Spurlock, Tumbleweed is sure to be a favorite among
Americana
fans everywhere.
