Austin Downtown Arts Magazine

Music

Local Teenage Blues Sensation to Play at South by Southwest

by Erin Steele

Gary Clark Jr. spent the night of his 19th birthday at The Continental Club, but he wasn't part of the massive crowd cheering for the act on stage. He was the act.

Clark may have been too young to legally enter the Austin venue, but the soulful musician is no stranger to breaking age barriers - his talent has proven far too great to succumb to modifiers such as "young." He's still a teenager, but his most important label, he says, is that of musician.
And Austin is taking notice. Clark performed at the Austin City Limits festival in August, where the Austin Chronicle described the applause that met his appearance as "long and loud." He has been invited to play again this year, but his next festival appearance will be at South by Southwest - running March 12-16 - where he won a gig at Austin's popular musical haven Antone's.

The fact that Clark is appearing at showcase after showcase is no accident. Already hailed as one of the most important blues musicians in the Austin music scene, Clark seems well on his way to achieving the status of his inspirations, musicians Freddie King and Albert King (whom Clark paid tribute to at the ACL festival). He's sometimes puzzled by the overwhelmingly warm reception he's been given, but Clark takes it all in stride.

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"It's kind of weird, seeing as how I am so young," Clark said. "There are so many great blues players, like Freddie King and Albert king, all those greats. And it's weird, coming after them."
Clark has received a lot of attention because of his young age, assuming the stage at venues where other 19-year-olds would not even get past the doorman. He said his youth works both to his advantage and his detriment at times, although it's an issue he'd rather ignore.
"My age does a little bit of both; it helps me and hurts me sometimes, but it all works out in the end. All I know is that playing music keeps me from getting into a lot of trouble," Clark said. "A lot of times, people say, 'You're pretty good for being young,' when you really just want to be good for being good."

Clark began playing the guitar seven years ago, although he had begged his parents to purchase the instrument practically from the moment he learned to speak. 1n 1996, after beseeching his parents for years, they finally gave in.

"I started playing seven years ago, at Christmas," Clark said. "I always thought the guitar was a cool instrument, I always wanted to be able to play it. I would always watch the guitar players when I saw bands perform.

"I told my parents I wanted a guitar when I was really young, but they never took me seriously - they bought me one of those little fake guitars, and I was like 'That's cool.' I was four, maybe. I was just really interested in playing, and they were like, 'You're never going to play it. You'll have it for a week and then you'll put it down.' But finally they came through."

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Though his parents suspected guitar was just a fleeting passion for the young Clark, he proved them wrong, practicing religiously until he finally achieved a firm understanding of the instrument.

"The first two or three years, it took me a while to figure out what I was doing, as far as learning what key I was in, and all that kind of stuff," Clark said. "But after that was when I started doing my own thing. I was always pretty eager to learn. Any music I would hear, I would try to play it no matter what it was. I wanted to learn everything."

The more he started playing, the more inspiration Clark began to draw from, whether it was from other musicians, or everyday experiences.

"I'm inspired by the blues guys I named earlier, Hendrix, all those guys," Clark said. "I think, 'Yeah, that's what I want to do.' And every day experience influences songwriting, I guess. But that's where the young thing kind of hinders you, because you don't have too much depth to draw from."

For those who seek out Clark for inspiration, his first CD - released in May 2002 and entitled Worry No More - is available at Tower Records and Waterloo Records. Clark's favorite song on the CD is called "Drifting," and he said it is the only track he enjoys listening to with any regularity.

"On the CD I recorded, there's a song called "Drifting," that's an instrumental. It's the only song I listen to on the CD - I don't like listening to it that much," Clark said. "I'm real particular about listening to my voice, and that's song is an instrumental, so I kind of lay back and listen to it. It's weird - I love to sing, but I guess I'm just not comfortable listening to my voice. My voice is still changing and everything. Hopefully, I'll get over that."

Though he said it was exciting to record the CD in the studio, Clark much prefers playing live shows, where he can feed off the energy.

"The studio is kind of weird," Clark said. "You think about getting it right more than playing what you feel. There are guys in booths looking at you. But it was a neat experience."
Clark's favorite place to perform is The Continental Club, and his favorite performance to date was at the Austin City Limits festival, from which he continues to receive feedback. "It was really exciting; that is my biggest gig to date," Clark said. "Just the other day, someone came up and said they had seen me there, so I'm still getting feedback from that show."

As for South by Southwest, Clark should prepare for even more feedback, as executives will be prowling the concerts looking for the next big thing. Despite the pressure, Clark's attitude is relaxed.

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"I believe I'm playing at Antone's, which I've played at before," Clark said. "I know that all the record people will be there, but I'm not intimidated - who knows what will happen?"
Clark said his dream is to travel overseas, and play gigs all across Europe. Regardless of how far his talent takes him, he'll never escape the bittersweet relationship he shares with his much-talked-about youth, thanks to a little help from his parents' video camera.

"One night, me and a friend went down to Babe's on 6th street - it's not there any more, it's called Friends now - and we had this Walter Hicks blues jam that we were playing," Clark said. "It was the first time I had played in public, but we just got up there and started playing - we were 14, I think, and the guitars were bigger then we were. I was pretty nervous. Our folks were there and they recorded it. Every now and then, they'll bring out the tape, and I'm just like, 'Oh my God.'"

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