ARTIST: Gary Clark Jr.
HOMETOWN: Austin, Texas
WHAT TO BUY: Tribute, Gary Clark Jr.’s latest CD, is exactly what its title implies: an homage to the pioneering blues artists who most influenced the young guitarist. Tracks include covers of such classics as “My Baby’s Gone,” “Catfish Blues,” and “Whole Lotta Lovin’.” The other must-have disc by Clark is 110, a “bedroom tapes” collection of rough-honed original songs.
SOUNDS LIKE: The “Kings” (Albert, Freddie, and B.B.), Hound Dog Taylor, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, with large doses of R&B tossed in for good measure. “I don’t see myself strictly as a blues player,” Clark says, “mainly because I was influenced at a young age by people like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Sam Cooke, and Wilson Pickett. That sort of music was always being played around the house. Plus, I’m an ’80s kid, so I grew up listening to Prince and things like that. Still, I think the blues is a great art form in and of itself. When I play a standard blues tune, I try to play it as straight-ahead blues—as lowdown and funky as I know how.”
GUITAR: 1953 Gibson ES-125. “I saw it hanging on the wall at a store called Austin Vintage Guitar,” Clark explains. “It felt just right. The action was perfect, and it felt like we were meant to be together. It’s been my No. 1 guitar ever since. I play it all the time around the house, and take it with me everywhere I go. It’s the guitar I write on as well.”
CRITICAL ENDORSEMENT: Clark was a mere 17 years old when the mayor of Austin declared May 3, 2001 “Gary Clark Jr. Day,” citing Clark’s role in helping make the city “the live music capitol of the world.” In 2004 Clark was voted “Best Blues Musician” at the annual Austin Music Awards, an honor he received again this past March.
WHY YOU WILL SOON HEAR MORE OF HIM: In a forthcoming John Sayles movie titled Honeydripper, set in 1950, Clark plays a young guitarist who brings a newfangled electric sound to a small lounge in rural Alabama. Sayles describes the film as a “crossroads” story wherein the blues, boogie-woogie, big band, country-western, and gospel all come together to forge what would soon be called rock and roll. “That era really interests me,” says Clark. “I tried to put myself in that time period, when Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters and Guitar Slim were first coming up, and music became electrified. It was something totally new.”
BACKSTORY: Clark got his first guitar as a Christmas gift when he was 12. The following week he went to the library and checked out the book How to Play Guitar by Roger Evans. His childhood love of Motown music was subsequently fused to a fascination with “the Kings,” Elmore James, and Hendrix. “Soon as I got the guitar nothing else really mattered,” says Clark. “I put all my time and energy into it. It was pretty rough and rugged at first. My parents didn’t want to hear anything I was doing, for about a year. But once I sort of figured it out, I was completely locked in and could learn pretty easily.”
FUN FACT: Clark’s main inspiration to pick up the guitar was―hold onto your hats!―Tito Jackson. “He had that ES-335 that he played,” says Clark. “It was all bright and shiny, and had that beautiful tone. I’m talking here about that old footage of the Jackson 5, when they were first breaking out and Michael was wearing the purple hat. I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME: Clark says his beloved ES-125 once underwent a baptism, of sorts. “I was home in Austin, and it was raining pretty bad, and I had my car parked on a low curb,” he explains. “I had gone out with some friends, and when I came back the car was flooded. The guitar was soaked, and I thought it was ruined. I cried about it for awhile, and put the guitar in its case, and then put it in the closet. A couple months later I pulled it out. I don’t know how it happened, but it played and sounded better than ever. It must have had something to do with the wood, and the temperature, and the moisture. I think maybe it was baptized. Other than a couple of water spots, there was no damage at all. It’s just perfect.”
WHERE TO FIND HIM: www.garyclarkjr.com/, MySpace
DOWNLOAD THIS, IT'S FREE: Gary Clark Jr.'s Driftin'