Interview With Jonathan Clay,
( Singer / Songwriter / Musician )
(added December 19, 2006)
The interview below may be reprinted
with permission. The interview must contain the links and the credit
posted at the bottom of it. Please contact
Dreamish.com
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
I have been checking out music on MySpace on and off for a while
now. There is one musician named Jonathan
Clay who came by my spot on MySpace and sent a friend request
along with leaving a nice comment. After listening to his songs,
I decided it would be nice to interview him. I sent him a message
back in July and he agreed to be interviewed, however I didn't get
to do it until now.
I talked with Jonathan on the phone the other day and then sent
the questions his way. He is super busy getting ready for a tour
with a couple of other musicians and releasing a new album.
Jonathan really tries to keep in touch with his fans and stay real.
His music contains lovely relaxing lyrics sung with a silky soft
voice. Find out more about Jonathan below...
[Wendy at Dreamish.com]
Who taught you to play guitar and sing?
[Jonathan Clay] Nobody ever really taught me
to sing. I had musical parents though, and I think it helped to
always hear them singing and making music. My dad played guitar
and that definitely rubbed off on me. He enjoys music as much as
I do, and that really had a big impact on my development as a child.
I was the kind of kid that would get frustrated though, and I probably
quit guitar 2 or 3 times. He was patient with me though, and every
time I thought I wanted to try my hand at it again, he was there
offering to help me. Eventually, I think I had messed around on
it enough, that it started to come to me.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
did you start taking music seriously as a career?
[Jonathan Clay] In my mind, I've been taking
music seriously as a career since I was 15 years old. I felt like
that's what I wanted to do, and that nothing could stop me from
doing it. Luckily, my parents convinced me that college was the
best route to take while I developed as a musician, and they were
definitely right. I learned a lot in the 3 years I went to college.
It gave me time to fine tune my craft as well. When I was 20, I
made the decision to withdraw from school, and pursue music full
time.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
did you create your first CD?
[Jonathan Clay] When
I was 19. A friend and I recorded it, and I was pleasantly surprised
at how well it turned out.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
was the first thing you did when you got your hands on your CD?
[Jonathan Clay] I rounded
up all of my closest friends in the dorm, and gave each one of them
50 cd-r's. We all burned as many CD's as we could, and when we were
done, we just went around handing them out to everyone. My one goal
was to get my music out there. I registered www.jonathanclay.com
and my roomate made me a temporary and simple website. I just wanted
a place where people could go and download my music for free. It
worked, and within days, my songs were all over the p2p file sharing
programs, and the word had begun to spread.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
Along
with your official website, you also have a spot on MySpace. Has
it been beneficial to have both?
[Jonathan Clay] It has
definitely been beneficial. MySpace has had such an impact on
the music industry. I was lucky enough to get in on closer to
the beginning. I realized what a vital tool it could be in promotion,
and really started to benefit from it.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] On
your MySpace account, I noticed you get a lot of comments, friend
requests, and probably lots of messages as well. How do you keep
up with it all?
[Jonathan Clay] I spend about 2 hours a day writing back
messages/comments, etc. I think it's an amazing thing to be able
to connect personally with the people who support what I do. MySpace
is a great way to do that.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
blogged about how you submitted your music to iTunes for 3 months.
Once it became available through iTunes, did you notice a surge
in sales?
[Jonathan Clay]
Before my music was on iTunes ( here
) I didn't have much digital distribution. Once my music became
available, I realized how important digital distribution can be.
From 7/07 - 11/07, I received over 4000 downloads from iTunes.
During that time I also had my songs available from free download
from myspace and www.jonathanclay.com.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
became a one-man band entrepreneur, who wrote, sang, and did all
of the music for your first CD. Why did you take on this challenge
by yourself?
[Jonathan Clay] Vision
with music has never been something I've lacked. I've often “seen”
or “heard” the final product before I start to record
(or write). With band mates the trouble is communicating that
vision & successfully creating it.
As a one-man-band you have utter control.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
has been your best selling avenue for your CDs?
[Jonathan Clay] Live
shows, and through jonathanclay.com. In the last 14 months, I've
sold over 2000 copies. I have the amazing support of my fans to
thank for that.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] According
to a blog post you made in June 2006, you almost signed a record
deal. Was this something you have been pursuing from the beginning?
Or do you feel starting out as an independent musician was a better
choice?
[Jonathan Clay]
I'm a big believer in fate. I feel like when the time
is right, the right deal will come my way. Of course, I'd ultimately
like to sign with a label, but that is not my focus. I think you
can really do a lot as an independent artist, and I'm in no rush
to sign just to be signed. Timing is everything, and when the
time is right, it will fall in to place.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
did you go about getting your music licensed to play in a store
and in film?
[Jonathan Clay] It happened when someone
involved in a film came across my music. They got in touch with
me, and I put them in touch with my manager. I've had some really
good experiences with licensing my music to independent films,
and I think it can be really beneficial to both artist and film.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
did you decide to tour with fellow musicians and offer private
shows known as "House Parties" or "House Concerts"?
[Jonathan Clay] That is something I had
been planning on for a while. What better way for people to hear
your music than in their own living room?
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Are
you doing anything special for the Christmas holiday before the
New Year?
[Jonathan Clay] Working on the new album
that will be released in February. It's keeping me pretty busy,
but I'm loving being back in the studio. Other than that, I'll
head to Houston to see my family for a few days, and then back
to Austin to finish up recording.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
is your biggest wish to have fulfilled in your future?
[Jonathan Clay] My biggest
wish? I dont think I could file it down to just one. I want to
do all of the things that make me stop and think about how amazing
life is. I want to be happy. I feel like it would be such a waste
to go through life doing something you didn't enjoy.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Thanks
Jonathan!
You can visit Jonathan
Clay 's MySpace spot to hear his music. He also has an official
website located at Jonathan
Clay .com where you can get his album.
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Wendy Shepherd is the owner and
creator of a multitude of websites on the internet since 1997.
To learn more about Wendy Shepherd, please visit the website
at www.wendyshepherd.com
.
This interview
may be reprinted with permission. The interview must contain the
links and the credit posted at the bottom of it. Please contact
Dreamish.com
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