diamondjake2001

EEEEEEE!!! He looks so good. I'll be there tonight! I can't wait!

OMG This is too good!

wrapping DJ up in a big old bear hug and locking all the doors Hee, I saw that one coming. You guys do seem like you all have tons of fun around here. I need to check in more often.

Awwww, I Granpa Aiken. I have to say I love this nerdy look. He's just too cute for words. The man of a thousand faces. I do love the pics posted on the previous page. They really look like Clay had a blast at that party.

This brought me out of lurkerdom! I've been meaning to come back here & say hi for a while now. It's hard to believe it's been more than a year since I've posted. Life's been crazy for me but Clay's still my guy! I'll celebrate him!

That's for you bottlecap

Things have been crazy for me the last couple of days. Add that to the fact that I was fuming yesterday over the flash fiasco & I chose to not write a recap. I did rant a bit at CV while I worked on my videos. I have uploaded my videos to my home board Best of Clay. Best of Clay Scroll down to my post. Please right click & save once you get there. The concert was magical. The excitement of the crowd was palpable & the birthday celebration was perfect. The crowd lept to our feet when Clay came out & he was overwhelmed & a bit embarrassed. There were so many wonderful moments & then Good News. I'm still in mourning. It was painful & I am praying that we won't have to endure that ever again. I'm going to try to forget about it and just try to remember the rest of the night. I sat amongst other fans who were totally unspoilered. I went alone & did not know the ladies sitting around me but it was so much fun hearing their quiet comments during the show. The lady to my right kept saying to herself, "Wow Clay is a wonderful playwright." The lady to my left swooned over & over again. We were in the 12th row & she couldn't believe how close we were. Of course, this was my 'worst' seat for this tour. Really made me realize how spoiled I am. They both loved the show but were really really upset about the flashes. The lady to my right (petite quiet oriental) was so upset that when the lights came on she started bellowing "What part of NO FLASHES did you not understand people" I'm sure it made quite an impression coming from this tiny woman. Man no matter what I write I keep coming back to the disaster. Sorry, I guess I'm not over it yet. Well, I've got to get on the road soon. Hopefully, I will remember more good stuff later.

Keep in mind that the one pin maker that received a C&D letter was also making ornaments. It makes me wonder if the problem was more with ornaments (which really does directly compete with the official ornament.)

There is some good stuff in that Denver article. It sounds like the author wanted to dislike Clay but just couldn't. Speaking of clack, fortunately my husband is very aware of how much clack I have. He even encourages me about it. He's been on a 3 week business trip to China so we've been aim'ing. He asked how the tour was going. I told him that I was drowning in clack. I guess I forgot I was talking to him. He laughed at the term drowning in clack & then told me to go buy another external drive. I currently have 500g internal & 200g external. I said that I didn't need another one quite yet. He's such a sweetie. Think I'll keep him.

Your recap was wonderful bonniemeadow. I think you understood what Clay was trying to do with the scripted portions of the show. He said in (I think the San Diego) interview that he purposefully wrote the script to tie the songs together. I'm sure he added some songs to fit the 'plot' but I don't know that for certain. Regardless, how could he not be the focal point? And while I usually don't like white, I have to say that all 4 of them look fantastic. What I want to know is how did Quiana & Angela find white outfits that look incredible in 1 - ONE day. I am amused by the accents, also. Though Ms. Lawrence was not born in the South, the program says she is "Yankee by birth, Southern by the Grace of God" (Which for our Canadian friends is an old favorite Southern saying. The program also says that Gregory was recently Tom of Warwick in Camelot & was Tosca for the Opera Company of North Carolina. He also speaks French fluently. Sounds like he has been classically trained which would explain the lack of accent. Then again, it doesn't say how long he has lived in Raleigh so it's possible he is not a native.

I'm still waiting to hear all of "When I Need You" and all the other covers Clay recorded for MOAM. Wow, Ansa, you may be on to something there. Last summer during an interview Clay said that it was easier to write the book than a song because you don't have to get 'flowery' with prose you can just write it straight. That tells me he has most likely written songs but I think he is more 'judgemental' with his own ability to write 'flowery' lyrics. This play is very much like a song. It tells a story through emotion & while Clay is using others lyrics he still had to weave the story together. I'm sure he feels vulnerable in putting this out there. While many people did not think Clay was serious about wanting people to post nice things when I watch that on video I see a man desparately wanting reassurance. It's a moment of open vulnerability. I wouldn't be at all surprised if JF-L posted because she wants Clay to get the reassurance to take the next step as an artist. While I have always enjoyed Angela, Quiana & Jacob's support during Clay's concerts I've not always been a fan of Jacob's and Angela's melisma. I couldn't stand Jacob's during the NAT & I love Angela's voice but I have had trouble when she starts into the, for want of a better word, shrieking. When I listened to the cellstream I was disappointed with Angela's solo. Well today I watched the whole play and when it got to Angela's part I saw & heard it very differently. The song has such intense emotion & she pulls that emotion out and I was bawling by the end. When she went into the serious melisma I heard intense crying rather than shrieking. I have a different appreciation of her now.

Well Jerome was shining his flashlight in someone(who had a 'big honkin' lensed camera')'s eyes last night. Apparently he was just checking to make sure they weren't going to use a flash. I thought maybe you, SkateJoy, decided to fly to Portland & he recognized you and just had to say hello. ;-) Ya, you wish. So where is the different themed CD covers with dressed up penquins. Doesn't someone here have a con.nec.tion with a friend ***coughQuianacough*** of Clay's. Come on Couch Tomato, I'm sure you can come through for us. Let's see, we know that Clay has recorded enough songs for 4 cd's. He has told us that it could be Mongolian Polka, Mexican folk songs or favorite love songs. So what's the 4th theme. Someone must know! Any ideas? By the way, I absolutely love every moment of the show. I've downloaded every piece of clack & have watched it all multiple times. (My dh is in China for 3 weeks so I'm FREE to mainline Clack.) This show has so many small subtle touches that seeing it once would not be enough. Fortunately, Clay is allowing the clack to flow freely so I get to see it from every angle imaginable as often as I want. YAY!

After watching tons of clack the one word that describes this show to me is Magical. I can't wait to see the whole show live. I love how Clay controls the action on stage and I really love seeing just a bit of his heart. And wow, Clay can write good dialogue too. ldyjocelyn, I love that Clay knows he's making people mad & he doesn't care at all. He's just gonna keep on saying what he wants to. Good for him! I'm so proud that he is such a risk taker. He really is going to be his own kind of popstar. OK I can't hold it in any longer, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Ever since the Prime Time interview with Diane when Clay mentioned he changed one line in "Measure of a Man" I was sure that this was the reason he did not have writing credit on the song. I love a man with integrity. He sure has it in spades. I am getting so excited for this show tonight. I can't wait to see what Clay has in store for us this time. Every tour seems to be bigger & better than the last one. He seems so excited that I'm sure this one will hold true as well so I will just get a jump on my EEEEEEEEEEEEing now.

Wow, I really love the new look. Anoroc has done a great job with the new logo. I love the simplicity of the petals & colors. It speaks so clearly of the goals of the BAF. The flower is only complete when all the petals are together. Including pictures of children playing makes it clear that the foundation is all about children. I can't wait to see the site once it is complete. eta: I took the new site link down for now...I was not sure if this was released officially since the site seem to be under construction. I will put it back once I'm sure it was meant to be shared with the fans at this time. ansa

You are absolutely right Ansa. I'm afraid that the merchandise tables are going to be worse than usual and that's a scary proposition. I sure hope playbiller is right. It makes perfect sense but I'm afraid Clique is not very good at making sense. I suspect the ornaments are going to be outrageously expensive which won't make TC any favors either. I can't imagine what they were thinking. I guess we will have all the answers in less than 1 week.

Hee...I did the same thing last weekend, and will probably do more this weekend. Since I hate housework so much -- I figure it is a good time to make sure the cat's hairballs are harvested, in time for a new crop by Christmas. *g* <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Now I'm really hoping that those cat's hairballs are really just dust bunnies and not what I think of when I think cat hairball. Hee, & ewwww & just ick! I loved the KTLA interview, too. I think I would be happy to just sit and listen to him talk. One thing that really stood out to me was how thick he made his accent when he was talking about his Atlanta Audition. I grew up in LA and I lived in FL for 20 years. I have several friends from Raleigh and I usually just don't notice accents. When people talk about Clay's accent or how fast he speaks I'm always surprised because I don't usually hear it. But when he talked about buying the clothes he really accentuated the 'stereotypical' southern accent. I found it incredibly cute. It made me smile. So have all the pin collectors decided to join in the newest Clay collector INSANITY. If you haven't been to the OFC lately they have posted this on the public page : I think this is one collection I will just have to skip. Can you IMAGINE the insanity at the merchandise tables (unless they charge $100 each)? Regardless, I will definitely skip this collectible. I did order 2 shirts that were on sale from OFC on 10/11 and I received them on 10/24 so maybe they have worked the kinks out of the system. I'm very curious how much they will charge for a pashmina. Will I have to mortgage my house just to buy 1? I guess we should know next week. EEEEEEEEEEEE!

bottlecap BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Those socks really crack me up. I showed them to my dh & he said they looked like the Wicked Witch's from The Wizard of Oz. I :::heart::: Jimmy, too.

Congrats to the ebird family! Sadie is such a pretty name. I’ve wanted to post this but just have not really had time to write till now. I was in LA visiting my mom & 2 sisters from 10-1 through 10-15. I was supposed to go on a cruise in Alaska with all three of them in early August but I had health issues that kept me from going. I have not been terribly close to my family during the past 20 years. No seious falling out or anything they just all live in CA & I lived in FL. (DH & I also adopted 2nd sister’s 2 kids when she decided she didn’t want to be a mom but that was years ago & everyone has grown up since then.) They all know about my hobby and I’m sure they talked about it but none of them ever said anything truly negative. My oldest sister, turns out, thought Clay sang only country & Christian music. Second sister watched AI2 but liked Ruben better. I gave all three of them MCWL. My mom liked it & (shamefully) burned copies of it for her friends that she volunteers with. Second sister really likes MDYK. Oldest sister never said anything about it. Chances are good that she didn’t even open it. I was at my mom’s during all the ticket presales so it was going to be hard to hide trying to buy tickets. I decided to just go for it & not try to hide the level of my obsee …er hobby. I brought several DVD’s of the JBT that I had made. I was playing the dvd’s for my mom when my oldest sister arrived. Clay was doing the intro to UM as she was coming in the door. When he started singing she dropped dead in her tracks & stared at the TV. She said “Is that Clay?” I said, “Yep.” She stood there with her mouth hanging open until Clay finished the song. It turns out that UM is her & her husband’s song. As we were chatting I just left the show playing. She stopped talking (which is a miracle in itself) several times. I happened to have the AC 9-1 show playing so I had to explain some of the practical jokes. Both mom & sister found them very amusing so I just had to play a few other clips that show Clay’s sense of humor. This sister said at least a dozen times that Clay had really filled out. She kept asking to watch UM again & again. She said he really should record all of the covers. I told her that I had good audio that I could burn for her but it wouldn’t fit on 1 cd. I asked her to choose the songs she wanted. She asked if I could put it all of it on 2 cds. So she went home (2 hour drive) listening to Clay. She said she wasn’t going to tell her family who it was until after they listened to it. My mom really loved Clay’s sense of humor so I started telling her about how I got hooked and played the JJ interviews from AI2. She loved them so much that when the second sister came over she wanted me to play those clips. This sister is a huge Elvis fan so I had to play the Elvis clips for her as well. She was quite surprised. The next day we went to a day spa that was several hours away so I played my JBT cd on the drive home. She had to stop talking during SM & then she made me play the 80’s medley several times. It was pretty amusing watching both sisters’ faces when they realized Clay was singing WDC. When the ticket presales happened my mom was very impressed with the ‘covert’ operations. It was of course 3 hours early for me so I was on a conference call at 6:45 with buzztechie & Shelley, trying to get NYC tickets. I also had seating charts for 4 different venues spread out. So while NYC was not coming up for sale I was buying tickets for several other shows. We gave up on the call when the word came that NYC would be on presale the next day. I finished buying for my other shows & I was occasionally checking the NYC presale through the day. Several hours later I clicked that one last time & NYC tickets popped up. At that point I was trying to buy tickets & make a call to buzzie (as I had her number in my phone.) I called her several times. She was in a meeting but she figured out what was going on & fortunately for us we got some great seats. Well I didn’t realize my mom was following all that was happening but she was. She is 78 and very computer savvy. She was fascinated with the whole fandom. I don’t think she will become an internet fan but she did say she’d like to go to a concert with me. She can’t make it to a JNT show but I will definitely plan a trip when the next tour starts. It was fun sharing my hobby with my mom & watching both sisters shock watching the JBT. I am really getting excited for the tour. My dh is going on a business trip on 10/30 so I know I'll be up for the first show. At least William Joseph won't be opening that night so it won't start later than 9:30.

I will miss S'von also, but I'm sure he will be working on his own career. He is incredibly talented & we were lucky to have him. I won't be surprised to see him with Clay again in the future, though. I'm very excited for this tour. I loved JNT but I'm excited to see what Clay comes up with for this year. I have loved every show Clay has done so I'm sure I will love this one as well. Couch Tomato, when pictures are developed if the negative is placed right side down the picture will be flipped. Clay fans notice these things because Clay's face is unique & Clay fans study pictures of Clay 23 out of 24 hours every day.

I agree, this is just a way to get rid of the excess JBT merchandise. I did the same thing couch tomato, I bought all my stuff at the shows. I will probably buy the baseball shirt. I wanted it but I just didn't want to pay $45 for it. $25 is definitely a good price for that shirt. I won't be spending $100 though. So I guess I better make note of those of you who like drummers, and keep you away from my hubby. He is an amazing drummer. When we lived in FL he was part of a great oldies band. Since moving to PA he has not been playing and he really misses it. Yup, it's all about the forearms. :::swoon:::

We were very lucky today in the NYC presale. There will be great seats available on the boards once they all get confirmed. I just hope that TM doesn't fix their error by negating the sales. As I understand it they won't do that but I still worry a bit. I'm currently visiting family in LA so the covert operation this morning had me on the boards before 7am. I was able to get tickets to several other shows before the NYC excitement so it worked out great for me. I thought my heart would skip a beat when the NYC presale popped up. I was just refreshing one last time and I bout jumped out of my skin. I was amused at the first word confirmation I got for the NYC show. It was antacid. Hmmmm.... How did they know?

I loved the Insider clip both on tv & online. It's great seeing an actress go all fangirly over Clay. I've watched Reba (the show) & Melissa is just as funny on the show. I am convinced we will see more of Clay's interview with Reba at some point in time. I loved seeing Clay get 'starstruck' with Reba. He certainly did list all of her accomplishments fairly easily. I truly hope Clay has as much diverse success as Reba. I also loved hearing both Reba & Clay's accents.

I don't think they ever said when the baby shower piece would run. At the end of The Insider clip on Friday Clay said it was his next assignment. Then in his blog he mentioned he would be interviewing someone who has a career that he has admired for years and to be watching for it on Insider sometime this week. And then on Kimmel, Clay said he got to meet & interview Reba Macintyre. Don't know how that interview relates to the baby shower clip but I guess I'll be watching (or more likely recording) Insider the rest of the week. SkateJoy you weren't the only one bracing for a PETA attack. I believe Clay brought it up himself. I loved both "Quarterback Clay" & the chat with Jimmy last night. I loved that Jimmy mentioned that he had shown the Emmy clip & then played it for Clay. I really liike that it wasn't something done meanly behind his back. It was clearly a snark worthy moment. I like that Clay talked about what he wouldn't do on Insider. I think Clay can do interviews & not 'dig' into private areas. So, as long as Insider is willing to play by Clay's rules, I say go for it.