Clay Walker

On his image as a family oriented man. I remember when I was first about ready to have my first album out, some folks on the marketing end of things actually wanted me to deny I was married.

I think the people who wanted that, they just wanted me to be a success,they actually thought they were giving me good advice. I could never deny I’m married. While we didn’t grow up together, I’ve had a crush on Lori before she knew that I knew who she was. We didn’t even meet until almost four years after I had first seen her. We met before a had a record deal. That’s the beautiful part of it too. Some people think that she liked me because I had a record deal. A actually had next to nothing when she met me. I really didn’t have any money or anything. We’re both pretty practical, rational people. We like to take things one step at a time. We known that we need to be on the same track. But,anyways, I am very happily married and I’m a daddy.

For me I measure success by happiness. I’m one of the happiest persons in the world(he laughs). I’ve always thought that family should always come first. I’ve been always taught that, have your priorities right and rest will fall together in life. My families always been my top priority to me. I’m 27, my birthday is August 19th.

Story about the song “One, Two, I Love You”.

I’ve never told anybody this story before. I grew up singing songs with my daddy when I was a kid. There was a song that was my favorite back then and it was “Is Anybody Going To San Antonio”(?) and that was a Charlie Pride song. And that on that song,”One, Two, I Love You”, if you’ll listen to the very end of it,where I sing,(he sings the closing lyrics)”l can’t wait to hold you once more.’ If you listen to the music right after that at the end. The fiddle part kicks off and you could sing,'(He sings lyric of song)”Is anybody going to San Antonio.” The two songs are identical at the end. And,when I recorded that song, it did take me back to my childhood and I was once again with my father singing that song. Since I actually had a chance to co-produce this album I wanted to get back to my roots and that song is the most favorite song on the whole album. It seems like you can get caught up in Nashville and all the songwriting that goes on there and you can get a little too caught up in forcing a certain kind of sound onto your music. Now that’s not me. I like that kind of sound on “One, Two, I Love You”. That’s the kind of songs I love and it is representative of what I wanted to do on that album.

Clay’s newfound sense of clarity and purpose which he feels he has manifested through his music on this latest album.

I think what happens in my life is, that, through my music, and it’s probably not even intentional, I’m a lot deeper then the music. And I think that shows in the music. In other words, if this whole thing falls apart tomorrow, I’m not going to be devastated. Because I realize there is more of a reason to why I’m here on earth now. I’m not saying I have all the answers now, but I think the reason we’re put here on earth is to better other people’s lives and to have the best life that you can have. I mean, music is not my god(he laughs). I think that comes through in my music. I don’t try to cut a song just because it’s going to be a radio hit. I try to do things with my music so that 20 years from now when somebody listens to my music, they’ll still get something out of it. It won’t be like a song that is a one hit novelty song.

Clay’s immediate plans for the future to be with his family.
I go home to be with my family probably more often than the average artist. I mean being with my family means that much to me. I will take the red-eye flight out of Los Angeles to see my family, than see my family for one day, then catch a flight to Mississippi for a concert the next evening. I think you make sacrifices. My family makes sacrifices because of my work, so I think it’s a fair trade for me to make sacrifices to be with them. I really enjoy my family. Yet, I think being on the road for long periods of time in some ways is healthy. Because I never take for granted when I’m at home with my family. I never want to leave or be away from them. I love coming home to them loving arms.

Clay’s opinions about becoming a father.
When we had my first child, after that, she became everything to me. I don’t think I ever really knew what good was until I had a baby. That changed my life in the sense so that my whole perspective and the little things that bothered me, don’t bother me anymore. The same thing with the MS, when I was diagnosed with MS, things did change. I mean life’s really,really short, I’ve probably lived half my life. And,I think that comes out in this album and the music I’ve recorded. I’m one of the happiest guys in the world right now, and I want my fans to know that. It’s right there in the album.

How’s Clay’s health been lately?
But, I truly believe that, over the past three years, all the prayer and support I’ve received from my fans since the initial impact of my diagnosis of having MS as announced, well that initial impact and the love and support I’ve received from my fans, that has carried me through and it has helped me psychologically and mentally. I really believe through the power of prayer and through God’s love, that that’s what is stabilizing me. Because, when I realized all the prayer and love and encouragement and support that the fans are giving me, that showed me that country music fans are way more then skin deep. It’s more then the fact that they buy the records. I discovered through a series of tests recently that I am still in total remission So that I, along with my family, have been really happy. And I’ll tell you once again, I believe with my heart it’s God’s love and His will for my life along with all the prayers and support from my fans that’s carrying me and providing me with the strength to continue.

Clay tells of a recent meeting he experienced and a lesson he learn from a stranger.
I was sitting on a airplane recently next to this guy, who was in his late 50’s or early 60’s. And we were sitting next to each other and it was a redeye flight in the middle of the night heading somewhere. And we were looking out of the windows and the Hale Bopp comet was out there shooting across the skies. The tail on it was splitting apart and we could see it clearly in the air. And the fellow next to me was real nice and we started talking. I said something to him and it was like,’Well, you think that God made that, all of that and He still looks at us as the greatest creation He ever made. And the guy next to me just kind of looked at me and I said to him,’You know, it’s kind of funny, the older I get the more complicated I tend to make things by questioning everything.

I mean, like wondering why we’re here. Or what does that comet mean. What is all this stuff about that’s going on around us now? Should I be concerned about it or whatever?’ Then I told him,’You know when I was a kid,I said,’You just believe what you’re told. You believe the Bible and you believe your parents, as we should. When we get older, we tend to complicate things. I mean there was a magazine there in the seat in front of me and this was big magazine (He cannot remember if it was Time or Newsweek)’and it had all these quotes by people who have said to have seen all the lights at the end of the tunnel of life, or whatever.’ And this man sitting next to me said something that I still remember and his words just cleared so much up for me. He said,”Well, you know, I went through all that too. But the older I get, I’ve started to simplify everything down to the way I was when I was a kid.” Imagine that, and he was an intellectual man. To me, I was like, Well, that’s why I like children and old people(long loud laugh). There’s a lot of wisdom in that. I’m working to simplfy my life and to make everything easier for me and my family. It is giving my best at everything I do.

I know it sounds like some kind of generic answer, but that is what’s my main focus for me now. I make plans for my life, but if the plans don’t turn out exactly like I’ve mapped them out to be, then I adapt to it. I think that’s important in life as well as in business. Or as well as being an artist. I mean music is going to change. George Strait has had to make changes. Everybody has to make changes. Just like this MS, that was a big change in my life. And I adapted to it and I’m fine with it. But I think whenever you say the word focus and what that means for me, well I think my focus right now is being able to adapt and being able to change with the environment or that which God has provided. What’s going to keep me around for twenty years from now is being able to adapt and putting out music which is still traditional, but is changing with the times. In addition to me a sense of balance is really important to me right now. I mean there’s family and then there’s work. There’s the proper time for me to do both and I tend to keep the two separate. After all, with all that I’ve got to do right now, maintaining a sense of balance is really important to me now.

How Clay has matured over the past few years.

I think I’ve grown up a lot. Being with a great producer like James Stroud, I’ve learned so much from him. He’s passed a lot of his knowledge onto me. But also by trial and error. It’s like a good golf swing. You just have to let it happen naturally, you can’t force it. I’m a lot more mature then when I first signed my recored eal. You learn a lot fromthe fans, there’s always something I can learn from listening to my fans. Their support is what helped make me who I am in country music.

What Clay does at home with his family on the ranch in Brenham, Texas.

I used to run around at home and try to fit a ton of work in just a few days. I mean I’d try to get all kinds of work done around the house and on the ranch, then throw a big barbecue for my family and the folks who work with us at the end of the day. Well, I tried that and I don’t do that anymore. What I do is when I come home, I just try and fit in. You know,what I finally had to come to realize is that I’m gone from home two thirds of the time. And, my wife has to run our ranch and we have people who work for us. So when I come home,I just become one of the hands around the ranch. I mean the other day when I had some time off I had to work the cattle that day. I mean I say,’I had to work the cattle.’ I mean the cattle have to be worked but, obviously, I could pay someone to work the cattle. That’s not why I have cattle, I have just enjoy cattle so I can work the cattle. I have just enough cattle, I have 60 head of cattle, where I can work them all. So we go out and I had to rope calves, through them on the ground, and vaccinate them, ear tag them, fly tag theme and work all the cows. I had to brand, fly tag, worm them and vaccinate them. I do all that myself. That’s something I enjoy doing. But, you cannot come home after weeks on the road and try and play catch up. You cannot make up for time that’s been lost while you’re out on the road or working on business in Nashville. I think that attitude of playing catch up at home put a lot of pressure on me because I had a certain amount of guilt for being gone away from my baby and my wife all the time. When I was home I just smothered them. That’s not what they want(he laughs). They want me and I just fit in when I come home now. It is kind of sad in a way. I mean before I realized that I couldn’t play catch up, I felt an anxiety when I was home because I wanted to play catch up. I would say in the last nine months to a year, that’s changed. But, it was a gradual change for me,especially since I’ve been diagnosed with MS, Lori had wanted me to slow down and let my body catch up with everything that was going on. But what I had to make her realize was that is was not my body, it was my brain. And I’m caught up now(he laughs).

Why Clay is possibly a hopeless romantic at heart.

I think that romance is one of the biggest keys in life. If you look in most people’s life romance and family and then probably money would be second. That’s why I write anmd sing so many love songs. I’ve always liked Lionel Richie and the group Chicago. Their music is great and it means a whole lot to me. I think that’s because I was probably falling in love whenever I was listening to their music(he laughs). But, I’ve always enjoyed love songs and I’ve always enjoyed good romantic songs. I really believe that love ballads should come from the heart. That’s what makes most of us do what we do anyway.

Clay on his songwriting.

I can’t just sit down an say,’Well, I’m going to take time off and write a country song. My songwriting comes from the heart. It’s inspirational. I really don’t consider myself a great songwriter. I have to give what I’ve got to give and give from the heart, then that’s what I write. I think the big name producers and the big record companies are always going to get the best material. I can’t blame the songwriters in country music for that. I’m anxious to go out and find good songs and that’s why I didn’t write a lot of songs for this new album because there were so many good songs that I was offered to record.

On Clay’s diagnosis of having MS.

I think that right now my biggest thing regarding the MS is being true to myself. I think you’ve got to be true to yourself before you can be true to anybody else. I’ve dealt with the fact that I have MS. I wake up every day and say, ‘Wow, I have MS.’ I have God on my side. I never doubted that. I have my family and my wife and my daughter, and their love and support means a lot to me also. Also I have the fans there for me. I mean since the beginning of my career the fans have been there for me but, since I announced that I have MS. I’ve never seen an outpouring of love and support them as I have in my career. They can’t imagine how much their love and support nmeans to me. Every night when I take the stage, knowing howmany folks out there love and support me really gives me hope and strength for my life. That means a lot to me.

Clay talks about his album “Live, Laugh, Love”.

I think we kind of stretched the envelope little bit on this album, which we needed to do. I think that when I was working strictly within our limitations, I wasn’t completely getting done what I wanted to get done. Now it’s time to see how much room there is at the top for my music and for just who Clay Walker is as a recording artist.

I’m not really holding back on this record, it’s very much about baring my soul on this record. You know, I personally think that any artist who sells albums or sells singles sometimes can try to be too safe with their music and what they’re recording. Now for myself, I’ve enjoyed recording the music that I have recorded in the past and there are songs in my playlist that I’ll always enjoy performing, however in the past I felt like there was a part of me that has not had a chance to come through on my record and now, I feel like on this new album, that part of me is coming through. Like the song “Once In A Lifetime love”, I’ve never sang that type of song on one of my records before, in that I’ve never really let it all out before in the studio like I did on that song. I felt like in the past, I was always thinking,’ Don’t over sing on any of your songs. Don’t get to caught up too much in the song.’ That was something I was always preoccupied with prior to entering the studio to work on my previous material. I’d think,’Don’t overusing, don’t get too involved in the material. Because it may appear like I’m showing off or trying to be too flashy.’ But, here’s a song like”Once in A lifetime love”, it lets me as a singer use my full vocal range.

It really allowed me to do that and I’m very happy with the way it turned out. I feel content with this record like with none other I’ve ever released. I don’t think I have ever been completely content with an album before, because I’ve always felt like there were always one or two things better. And I want to give Doug Johnson a lot of credit because, he came out to see first hand to see several of my live shows. And his one comment when we were looking for songs and when we went into the studio was, ‘Man I have never heard you do on an album what you do live. That’s what I want to go for. Let’s don’t make the same record again. Let’s go in and get on tape what you’ve got going on live. I really didn’t know if that was possible.

So I kept thinking, ‘How is he going to do that? what I discovered was that Doug really wanted the feeling and the heart of myself in my music. I just went in and sang in the studio and I’m really glad to see how it all turned out in the end. You know, I’ve always been happy with the way one or two or even four or five tracks on my albums have turned out but I’ve never been happy with an album as a whole and throughout the entire continuity of an album. Although my single releases have not been repeats of each other and I think that’s a trap that people fall into. They have a hit with one type of a song and then they try and do another one just like it. But, I wasn’t throwing enough curve balls to radio and to my fans when it came to my singles. So, here’s the curve ball they’ve all been waiting for and I’m happy to say it’s right across the plate.

How does Clay look at the process of making of an album?

The making of an album is like building a house. You have a general idea of what kind of house you want, but when you take it to a great designer and builder, they can make your dreams come true. That’s the way I want to make every album like that. There’s a lot of people who are helping me to get to that point.

What affects the way Clay will sing and thus sound whenever he’s cutting new material in the studio?

My frame of mind is what determines what, or how your delivery is going to be whenever you’re in the studio recording new material. And what happens a lot of times, if I’m going to sing something upbeat, positive and happy, then I cannot go into the studio worrying about a lot of things. So I pick and choose songs that fit the mood of the day for me especially if I go into the studio with the intention of recording a ballad or a love song for that day’s session. I want to make it where it’s right. It’s the same thing that is if you’re not confident and you don’t have the easiness in your soul, then it’s not going to be reflected in your song. It’s going to sound like it’s labored, it won’t sound natural.

What’s the favorite song Clay has to sing in his in-concert playlist?

My favorite song is, “You’re Beginning To Get To Me”. It was a Number 1 single for us and it may not be other people’s favorite song of mine, but to sing it, it’s just right in the pocket for me. It feels very easy.

How Clay views the way he works at his craft, singing, songwriting, recording and performing, both as an individual and as an artist?

Most of the time the truth works with my music and that’s the way I’m going to keep it, that way you’re not trying to be somebody who you’re not. Now we all have inhibitions, I do and I’m sure that everybody does in one way or another. There’s areas that we feel comfortable in and then there’s areas that we don’t feel comfortable in. learning how to function within those limitations I think is the key to getting where you want to be. Because if you can be the bet within those limitations, then I think that you can go somewhere with your life and your goals. It’s whenever we try to reach outside of those limitations, then we start messing up and we oftentimes don’t achieve our goals.

So what does Clay feel about the way country has changed over the years and more importantly, where does he view himself and his relationship with his fans currently?

I think that we’re finally getting back to where our real fan base is in country music and it’s in the Heartland (Just like Clay’s new song “It Ain’t Called The Heartland (For Nothin’)”. You know, anytime I’m talking business with my management company or with any business company or my band and crew on the road, one thing I always say is,’You know, we should all have a goal. A common goal while we’re all working together out her on the road or back in the office. Because it simpilfies things, if we all want the same things. Now an example of this is when I’m in a touring situation, we all want to get to the show safely and on time, which concerns our transportation department. Then we get our production up and running which concerns our production department. And then we do a great show, we do the best show that we can.

That’s our goal and the we go onto the next town. So, how can things ever get messed up out here on the road or back at the office if we just keep focused on our goal. Because if it doesn’t really concern that (their goal) then it’s not really something that we should have to spend a lot of time worrying about. And, it’s the same way with the music. Are we trying to just make a personal statement, or are we trying to please a lot of people who really love country music? I understand to a certain degree why artist make certain types of records, they want to make personal statements. However for me, my goal is to make music that people are going to want to hear and that I’m going to love singing. Now that’s my goal anyway, I’m not saying that I always achieve that, but that is my goal. Now the people who are the heart and soul of America and who are also the backbone of this country are the people who are the fans of country music. This country is full of a lot of people in the working force of America who make what we do as country singers and artists count.

Does Clay find it difficult to make a traditional country song sound modern and updated?

It is very hard to make a traditional country song sound modern and traditional. Not a lot of people who are popular in country music today can do that. George Strait and Alan Jackson are masters at it. Now for me, I’ve made songs like “If I Could Make Living Out Of Loving You”, “Until I Die” and “One, Two, I Love You” and Rumor Has It”, those songs are very traditional sounding and you they’re modern country songs. Now how did I do that, well I did it like that because I didn’t worry about it. You see back when I was playing the clubs(in Texas and Louisiana and Oklahoma) and I was living from pay day or I should saw from the money we got from each night’s performance, back then I had some of the most fun in my life, I didn’t have any worries. Hey I was splaying five sets a night and I never got to the point where I said,’Man how am I going to make our band sound country?’, and I was out there just to have fun, more fun then a person should be allowed to have. That’s what I’m going to be doing this year, I’m juts out having more fun then I have had in years. “Live, Laugh, Love” is going to be the theme for the tour for a long time. Now I don’t know where it’ll take us but I’m sure it’ll be fun.