Click here to watch a short video from his White House gig.
Clark reminds me of a mix of Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. Gritty vocals and some nasty guitar licks shape his sound. He's not overly produced or supported by computerized gadgets, light shows or an army of backup singers. Just a pure sound -- sometimes similar to Chuck Berry, other times Buddy Guy. He also seems to play nice with other types of musicians, which is sometimes a challenge for performers used to staying within their comfort zones.
I found it interesting that Clark uses Epiphone guitars -- the lower-end of the Gibson line. I wondered if that was a statement of his modesty, a good personality trait for any blues player who wants to keep it real. I am sure he can afford a nice Gibson guitar if he wanted one. Then again, there have been some blues players throughout history who have played wonderful guitar licks on instruments that consisted of little more than a block of wood and some rusty strings.
While Clark may upgrade his guitar collection at some point, I hope commercial success doesn't eventually change his music. The world needs more music that comes from the heart and less that is digitally tailored and packaged exclusively for money. It was good to see a new, young musician with the chops and desire to carry on the tradition of the blues. Gives me hope that music will eventually return to what it once was in America.
As a side note, I am glad we finally have a president who, along with being intelligent and a respected writer and speaker, is also cool. Genuinely cool. Not fake-politician-cool. You could tell President Obama was into the blues performances, so much so that he took the microphone and sang a couple bars on the final tune of the night.
