#11 I love me some Clay Aiken! He (soft) rocks *g*

[ldyjocelyn]

I haven't had my coffee yet this morning, but I do want to say this:

clayzedover....

And I'll add a couple for couchie and Ansa and cindilu2 and....hell, everybody around here.

And a :big hug: to Totally...

BTW, I keep reading clayzedover's name as clay-ze-dover. Why is that? I need to apologize to her for thinking that! *Of course, people still see my name as Idyjocelyn....heh*

[muskifest]

Mornin! What the hay is Muski doing up so early? Why SOFTBALL, of course! Heh...we're out the door for another day of fastpitch...three games not so spread out over the day, though, so we'll be done by 3:30 or 4, I think. (San Ramon, couchie!)

That Clay Aiken guy's sorta cool, donchathink? HAWT, too...I hear that boy can sang.....

Later, peeps! Go, BLAZE!

(uh, that's Carrie's team's name, not your skin under the man's fingers.... )

[Clayzorback]

BTW, I keep reading clayzedover's name as clay-ze-dover. Why is that? I need to apologize to her for thinking that! *Of course, people still see my name as Idyjocelyn....heh*

Guilty

Have a good day everyone. I am going to go swimming and gets me some sun. Plus going to the mall and out for my dinner tonight. Oh I also have to make a liquor run for Tulsa..... :eusa_whistle:

[atinal]

Well, I finally did it. I firmed up my travel plans for Tulsa. I was going to drive, husband suggested I fly, so I checked and a flight from St. Louis to Tulsa was fairly reasonable so I decided to go for it. My room reservations are made, so hopefully I'll see some of you there. Yipeeeeeee!!!

[keepingfaith]

Great conversations last evening ... and Clayzedover I LOVED what you wrote ...Ansa too -- I enjoyed reading all the points of view. Clayzorback's Superstar = Legend, I like very much.

The cool factor related to Clay is one that never enters my mind ... because I've always defined cool as something unreal, an act, an attitude put on like a hat. I love the way Philip Seymour Hoffman played Lester Bangs (legendary Cream Magazine rock journalist) in Almost Famous ... and my favorite line of dialogue that "Lester" spoke to the character playing director Cameron Crowe in his youth was: The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool.

Clay is such a chameleon, a man of a 1000 faces .... and however he looks at any given time is going to be somebody's favorite. What I think is hot may not be anything near the majority opinion at any given time ... but if it turns me on I don't mind being a stand alone! A friend I work with is a big every-year-AI fan and liked Clay from the second season, but was bowled over by AI5. When I got into things, I started sharing Clack with her along the way, and was surprised that her reactions to his appearances were almost never the same as mine. Case in point ... the Gala clack is so hot to me. Yet my friend didn't like that look on him at all, thought it was too "ministerial" and for whatever reason "not hot." Okay to each his own, but I was surprised that she didn't see what I saw. So ... come along to earlier this week when I realize she never watched the most recent Kimmel and I download it on her computer and we begin to watch. She GAHed over the whole thing. And that one snapshot of Clay in Afghanistan ... the "confused Jesus" or "young Obi-Wan-Kenobi" now she gasped at that picture and while I thought it was not his best, she certainly did. That was the only picture where she liked him in the beard -- go figure, huh? She thinks that picture is the cat's pajamas and the bee's knees. Ultimately, it all comes down to 'different strokes for different folks' and so on and so on and shooby dooby doo!'

Oh, and my friend's absolute all-time two favorite pieces of Clack are .... a Waldo video, and Mary, Did You Know -- now juxtapose that and we may be talking "legend" here!

Edited June 16, 2007 by keepingfaith

[playbiller]

Ah - there is a big difference in why the conversation seems like we are disagreeing when we really agree - our set of definitions are different.

Superstar in no way equals legend to me. Superstar is someone that is famous right now in this instance. Legend is someone who has been around for a long time and will be around forever.

Right now Justin timberlake is a superstar for now - there is no way that I beleive he will ever be a legend. Clay will be a legend, ans is no where close to being one now or in 10 years.

Whitney is a legend, but I fear she will never be a superstar again. Macca is a superstar and a legend, but has a value in what he does today (although he keeps marrying women who support PETA - ick.I think he does eat meat though.

[Claygasm]

The "haters", whoever they are, aren't going to like him no matter what, so I don't waste time worrying about them.

Big fat WORD to that statement, Totally!

As for what makes me cringe and why, it's just that I want for others to see in him what I have always seen in him - a sexy, intelligent, attractive, witty, and talented man. When he sings, the talented comes thru loud and clear, but he hasn't been singing recently. So when he does something like come out on a horse dressed like a leprachaun on Kimmel, I kind of cringe. Sorry, I just do. That was one appearance I couldn't bring myself to save and watch over and over. And occasionally he sticks his foot in his mouth and says something that I really wish he hadn't said, but Clay's going to be Clay and sometimes he doesn't have much of a filter. So things make me cringe that might not make others cringe. But that's just my personality. I embarrass easily.

Up until this calendar year though, I think Regis and Kelly was the first time I really cringed or hurt for him during an appearance because he tried so hard and it didn't work.

I have cringed at some of his performances, even on stage in concert. R&K made me cringe a lot. On first viewing the leprechaun on the horse bit made me cringe, but after watching it a few times everything from the God-awful bowl cut to the green vest to the horse just seemed so slap-sticky I now rather like it. But of course, the casual fan only watched it once.

I too want others to see even a tiny percentage of what we see in Clay. His humor, his intelligence, his compassion and of course his talent. And I wouldn't mind if they also saw the sexy. But I also know many will never see any of that in Clay - and that's ok. There are many other celebrities out there who have fans who adore them in every way the way we adore Clay and I don't see what they see. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. It would be a pretty bring world otherwise I think.

When I tell people I will be seeing Clay the most common reaction I get is...Clay??? I love him in AI what happened to him? Or sometimes someone will mention AI5..

I have never, ever had anyone tell me that! I mostly get blank stares and "who?" or I get "Oh, that guy from AI? What ever happened to him?" or "Oh, he's gay, isn't he?". Not once has anyone but the 70-something woman I work with whose granddaughter is doing the internship at Chatauqua (and it looks like they will be there for Clay's concert!) has ever said they liked him!

I know lots of fans look to Kelly and envy what happened to her. Well, have y'all heard Kelly's voice lately? she is ruining her chords...she has said the last two years was not the wonderful happy times the fans think it should be. She was over worked and overwhelmed by a lot of whats happened to her. In the end.. all that

success does not guarantee everything will always be great.

So true. And you know what a lot of the reaction I have read when people point out that despite all her success Kelly may have not always had happy times and smooth sailing in her life? "What does she have to be unhappy about? If anyone has a reason to be unhappy its Clay!".

Looks like even being unhappy is a com.pe.ti.tion!

Musically, his career might be in Clive's hands, but that is not all he is. He's funny. He's a smartass news junkie. He writes lyrics and dialogue. He sees this as a business. He can ACT, he's shown that with Kimmel (fight and candy kisses). He produces and runs his shows, directing right from the stage. He manages his tours. I see a very hands-on learning process that has taken place over several years. He's learned to sing with nuance as well as balance the bottom line. He's won people over in every show he has done. He loves doing TV and said he wants his own talk show. And, then, there are the PANTS.

I think Clay is having the kind of career he wants for himself. I think he would be bored doing only one thing. He has been building it slowly and it has not yet reached where he wants it to be. Yes, he could have made choices to give him what Kelly has had, but I don't see him being attracted to that. I think he loves the sound of the symphony, and playing with the musicians on stage. This is more suited to concert halls than arenas. He appears to want a purpose driven life, one that makes a difference, one that garners respect from people he respects. Garden parties with international VIPs is a pretty good "gig" IMO. Hanging with his friend David Foster on a whirlwind trip through Canada and Paris is not chopped liver in the music industry. It made headlines. Sitting on a committee that has input into national decisions impacting persons with mental disabilities has to be empowering. Running his own foundation fulfills him. Serving the world's children through UNICEF is obviously gratifying for him and his exposure to the problems of the world has broadened him.

He is well rounded, multifaceted, not focused on one talent or interest at the expense of everything else. I think he looks beyond the present and plans for the future. I think he wants the kind of career where he does not have to make personal compromises. He values his integrity and I do think that public service will always be in his future, one way or another. I would not be surprised if down the road he was appointed or elected to office of some kind. He is who he is and his career will be what works best for him, and that is all that I expect from him.

WORD!! (Especially to the bolded part... )

Have a good day everyone. I am going to go swimming and gets me some sun. Plus going to the mall and out for my dinner tonight. Oh I also have to make a liquor run for Tulsa..... :eusa_whistle:

Be careful of that sun. Wear plenty of sunscreen!! Tans may look nice but they are bad for you!

**This PSI brought to you by Pet Peeves R Us, an organization dedicated to bugging people about the dangers of the sun and smoking. We are no way affiliated to SnarkRUs and neither organization is responsible for anything we say. In addition, views expressed by Pet Peeves R Us in no way are meant to reflect the opinions of anyone at FCA living or dead.**

[lightmyfire]

Clay is Clay.

His instrument is undefinable.

[jmh123]

As for TC and what they've done for him, I'll pull out the old chestnut that I do every time this topic comes up. Some fans insist on focusing on the first part of the phrase, "team." Me? I always pay attention to that second word, for IMO Clay is the one running much of the show, and if he truly didn't like the way something was going, there would be changes made.

I agree--I think Clay prefers the slower pace, and to have time for UNICEF and BAF.

Superstardom, like anything else is subjective. Is it based on record sales, radio play, on screen personality, awards, longevity, concert ticket sales, philanthropy? Who gets to define greatness? A few years ago, I couldn't have told you who in the heck Bono was. I don't own a Bruce Springsteen album, I probably wouldn't walk across the street to see Madonna or Britney Spears, but I guess they would all be considered superstars.

....

So is Clay a superstar? Probably not by the standards that define these people I've mentioned. So what do you call someone who can cause otherwise reasonalbe people to fly cross country to see him? (countless times) How do you define someone, who with a few simple words can encourage fans to donte a couple hundred thousand dollars for a cause dear to him? Is there a word for an entertainer who can have you laughing at his expression or antics one minute and choked up by the meer beauty of his voice the next?

I love this....and so true.

Clay gets interviews because he is just very interesting and unique. He is entertaining because he is not self conscious, he is not afraid of making himself look like ridiculous. As a consequence...he will be talked about and no one will always agree...what some will find cringe worthy others will find hilarious and that is not only with the fans but with all non fans as well.

....

What I like about SAM....I think they let Clay set the pace...I think they let Clay be on the driver seat, they just deal with the details. My take with The Firm...they were setting the pace for Kelly. I think this is why Kelly finally fired them.

When we look at it...the things that distract Clay away from his career are things that are necessary for his soul. For example...if in 2005 Clay concentrated on working on his CD the way some fans wanted...then he probably would have the sophomore cd late 2005 or early 2006 and they wouldn't lose too much momentum. BUT what did Clay do instead. He went to Indonesia...he went to Uganda ...he did the JBT ...he did The JNT 2005...I think these were experiences he needed to have for his own personal and artistic growth. If it was also all about sales and getting publicity...then he could've just brought out a quicky cover album...if he brought out the CD in May or June 2006...he would've taken advantage of the buzz from AI5...but Clay wanted to take the time to make the songs his own...I believe this is very vital for Clay's artistic growth. So yeah TC and Clay probably sacrificed a lot of momentum for Clay to do things that are important to him...but I think that is what is making him happy right now...what is making him able to cope with the stresses and the gnats so well...and in the long run that is what will build his long career.

Word to all of this!

My department chair, a non-fan, wandered into my office yesterday and saw this poster up on my wall:

She commented on how lovely it is (and it IS!) and then reminded me that she was in the audience at the AI5 Finale and how stunned and amazed she was with how well he sang. And that from a non-fan. I don't think she's heard much of anything since then except from me.

ETA, the poster is credited to CDD.blogspot.com. Whoever you are, you are awesome.

Whoever runs that site has amazing design skills! Thanks for sharing that beautiful poster and your story.

Clay is Clay.

His instrument is undefinable.

Oh yeah!

And a huge fat WORD to clayzedover for an amazing post!!! YAY playbiller and keepingfaith and couchtomato and all the great posts on this topic. FCA (soft) rocks!!!

Edited June 16, 2007 by jmh123

[Claygasm]

Clay is Clay.

His instrument is undefinable.

Thread title???

[keepingfaith]

Ah - there is a big difference in why the conversation seems like we are disagreeing when we really agree - our set of definitions are different.

Superstar in no way equals legend to me. Superstar is someone that is famous right now in this instance. Legend is someone who has been around for a long time and will be around forever.

Right now Justin timberlake is a superstar for now - there is no way that I beleive he will ever be a legend. Clay will be a legend, ans is no where close to being one now or in 10 years.

Whitney is a legend, but I fear she will never be a superstar again. Macca is a superstar and a legend, but has a value in what he does today (although he keeps marrying women who support PETA - ick.I think he does eat meat though.

Exactly, it's all in our definitions. And perceptions. It hasn't escaped me that Clay is continually defined as Superstar by the media and when the public reads or hears "Clay Aiken Superstar" it means something. Whether it's an understanding of the legendary path he's on, or the devotion of his fans, his incredible voice, his stage presence, his magnanimous being ... or all of the above ... I think it speaks to an underlying acceptance of Clay Aiken as a true emerging giant in the entertainment industry.

And playbiller, IMO the legend/superstar thing is something that once you have it you have it. Whitney may never repeat her earlier successes, but she'll always be a superstar. Diana Ross probably couldn't fill up an arena any more, but she's still a superstar. Greta Garbo went into seclusion for decades and remained a superstar til the end. And lately I've been hearing a lot of superstar/legend talk bestowed on Barry Manilow that I've never noticed before. Superstars can go in and out of the public eye, and whenever they emerge, people are interested. But, hush your mouth honey, Macca does not eat meat!

[Totally]

A lot of very wise, true and interesting things being said this morning.

Clayzedover Loved your post. I so love Clay's multifacetedness, and hope that it helps garner him some respect as time goes on.

ldyjocelyn Hug back at ya! And sorry I got your name wrong. Thanks for pointing it out, because I think I would have continued to see it as starting with an "I".

Oh, and my friend's absolute all-time two favorite pieces of Clack are .... a Waldo video, and Mary, Did You Know -- now juxtapose that and we may be talking "legend" here!

KeepingFaith You can't blame her for loving the Waldo video, lol! I've got a few of those in my favorites collection myself. MDYK was one of my favorite Christmas performances until Clay started singing My Grown Up Christmas List. Have you seen his GMA Dec 2005 performance of that song? GAH! There was some fan video of that that I loved as well.

If I had to pick a group of Clack that was my favorite, it would be all of the GMA performances, from the beginning. I loved the very first fall of 2003 GMA performaces and I loved the summer GMA performances and this past fall's GMA performances was my favorite look EVAH!

Not that we were talking about favorite Clack, but I got excited about the topic once I got going.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Totally

[Claygasm]

Speaking of getting excited.....

I meant to comment on that beautiful montage PuddinsJoy posted yesterday. It was gorgeous. Love using the black and white, AND my God, where did this picture come from?

It is mesmerizing! And its also now my new desktop.

Now I am going to stop post-whoring and get on with my day.

[jmh123]

MDYK was one of my favorite Christmas performances until Clay started singing My Grown Up Christmas List. Have you seen his GMA Dec 2005 performance of that song? GAH! There was some fan video of that that I loved as well.

One of my all-time favorite Clay performances as well. Just amazing! I might have to go and watch that again now.

[keepingfaith]

If I had to pick a group of Clack that was my favorite, it would be all of the GMA performances, from the beginning. I loved the very first fall of 2003 GMA performaces and I loved the summer GMA performances and this past fall's GMA performances was my favorite look EVAH!

Not that we were talking about favorite Clack, but I got excited about the topic once I got going.

My favorite piece of Clack from the most recent tour and one of my all-time top two or three is the Grown Up Christmas List video from Joanne at Red Bank. There's something there that I can't begin to describe, but lightmyfire's "His instrument is undefinable" says it all -- oh, and those EYES --and his vulnerability and the love that pours from him .... the way he plays to the Clack cameras .... I'm going to go watch it again now.

ETA: at 2:00 in the video when he looks directly into Joanne's camera, earache and all, was the first time I got that Clay's singing to me feeling whether I was there or not he was singing to the Clack Watchers! And for someone who's never seen him live ... that was and still is, a biggie.

Edited June 16, 2007 by keepingfaith

[luckiest1]

Wow, some really good posts lately. I'm up north for the weekend and trying to catch up, but had to come here and just EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE about the M&G buttons. I am so freaking happy that he's doing them again. Maybe this will be my year for a picture and an autograph. *fingers crossed*

Great post, clayzedover. ldyjocelyn, you confused me - how am I supposed to read her name? Cuz I read it just like you.

playbiller, Macca does not eat meat. Hasn't in years and years. He won't eat anything "with a face". He has been known to fire band or crew members who are caught eating meat on one of his tours. He's pretty serious about the whole thing.

[clayzedover]

Wow! Just stepped in before running some errands to see what was "new" on the boards this morning. And that black and white picture brought me to a complete STOP! Have never seen that one before but WOW, just WOW.

Thanks so much for all of your kind words about my last post. Appreciate that very much. Am going to play with the quote thingy before posting anything with quotes, but so many great posts last night, and am happy to be included among them.

Just a quick explanation of the name: no, not clay-ze-dover.... but I'd probably look at it that way myself! LOL.

Story is, I share a house with my brother and used his computer to follow Clay after AI2 fiasco. But had to do it while he was sleeping because he needs to use it all the time. He had no idea what I'd been doing with it, but I'd lost so much sleep over several weeks, he noticed that my eyes were glazed over. When I explained what I'd been doing, he got hysterical. People my age don't do these things (HA. SURE they don't.) That same day I registered on a message board for the first time, but all the good Clay centric names were taken. He suggested "clayzedover" and that very day, we went out shopping for my own computer. He knew what was to come.....

[Couch Tomato]

couchie, little dude is having a fit. Swearing, jumping up and down, waggling his finger, pounding his fist, throwing his arms up in the air, holding his breath, and screaming. What's not to love? (not to mention a whopping 169 frames to make the animation. Incredible!!!)

eta: can I be clayzedover when I grow up? Please? BRAVO!!!

Hey I want to be clayzedover too. (who knew heee..that makes much more sense LOL) Very nice post!

Cindilu..ahhhh they made an emoticon based on my 4 year old neice (ok except the swearing part)!

I'm going to be really random like i am anywhere else and say..

Hey nothing random about that. I think it's part of the FCA bylaws...must use that emoticon at least once a week.

Great conversation last night. The man is certainly a multifaceted enigma, isn't he?

thread title?

Scrpkym's pictures are lovely. She became one of favorite clackers during the last tour.

What NaJNT concert was it where he cracked a joke and said how funny he was? He said, 'most of my jokes are planned but that one wasn't' I know he was being a smartass, but I also think he does 'write' or at least anticipate a lot of his jokes, or set them up working towards a punchline. I showed a casual friend the Kimmel tape and her reaction was, 'OMG, that's funny!' I'm sure Clay doesn't need a career as a comedy writer, but I think he has it in him. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in writing the Guillermo's Mustache bit.

Oh I think Clay definitely has hit bits worked out before hand. But once he gets audeince reaction he tweaks those bits into perfection. However, he can't pre work a lot of the off the cuff stuff that happens during the concert. His immediate comebacks to anything out of the ordinary that happens or by something unexpected from the audience is what I enjoy most.

Totally, great to see you posting more. And see what a great convo you sparked. I love to wake up to lots of posts. Fantastic.

BTW, I keep reading clayzedover's name as clay-ze-dover. Why is that? I need to apologize to her for thinking that! *Of course, people still see my name as Idyjocelyn....heh*

Your name always confused me LdyJ. I thought you were idy as well. Before I really knew Ansa...I would just skip over her CH name (samtaycai)..it was just a bunch of gibberish untill she explained how she came up with it and of course now it makes perfect sense and I have no trouble writing it out.

Later, peeps! Go, BLAZE!

(uh, that's Carrie's team's name, not your skin under the man's fingers.... )

Bwah...have fun out there..hope it doesn't get too too hot for you today.

She GAHed over the whole thing. And that one snapshot of Clay in Afghanistan ... the "confused Jesus" or "young Obi-Wan-Kenobi" now she gasped at that picture and while I thought it was not his best, she certainly did. That was the only picture where she liked him in the beard -- go figure, huh? She thinks that picture is the cat's pajamas and the bee's knees. Ultimately, it all comes down to 'different strokes for different folks' and so on and so on and shooby dooby doo!'

Oh, and my friend's absolute all-time two favorite pieces of Clack are .... a Waldo video, and Mary, Did You Know -- now juxtapose that and we may be talking "legend" here!

Loved this story. And it's true. I didn't even much get into the long hair until the snowflake hair. I thought that day he was just breathtaking. Now I see pictures posted from the album drop period and I ahhh over it months later. He is an enigma isn't he.

Ah - there is a big difference in why the conversation seems like we are disagreeing when we really agree - our set of definitions are different.

Great point Play. I don't know how many times someone has disagreed with me by way of long reply and I think..well isn't that what I just said?

As for what makes me cringe and why, it's just that I want for others to see in him what I have always seen in him - a sexy, intelligent, attractive, witty, and talented man.

And I think he shows that. But nobody can be all of those things during every appearance. There will be faux paus and mistakes and bad hair days or unfortunate clothes choices but it's just a moment in time. If a million people are watching him and he only wins over 20% with an appearance...that appearance is a success IMO.

**This PSI brought to you by Pet Peeves R Us, an organization dedicated to bugging people about the dangers of the sun and smoking. We are no way affiliated to SnarkRUs and neither organization is responsible for anything we say. In addition, views expressed by Pet Peeves R Us in no way are meant to reflect the opinions of anyone at FCA living or dead.**

heee

Clay is Clay.

His instrument is undefinable.

Can't wait to see what Muski does with this one.

Not that we were talking about favorite Clack, but I got excited about the topic once I got going.

That's what I like about linear thread... you can talk about anything. There is no topic. And favorite clack is always a good little aisde to throw in there.

Well I've said it ad naseum and I'll say it again. My all time favorite peice of clack is El Cajon's Good News from JNT04 taken by the lovely Scarlett. She didn't even get the entire song..don't care...absolutely adore it.

Wilkes Barre Invisible, Oprah's I Will Carry You (not a song I particularly like until he sang it there)...I could go on and on and on and on...

Story is, I share a house with my brother and used his computer to follow Clay after AI2 fiasco. But had to do it while he was sleeping because he needs to use it all the time. He had no idea what I'd been doing with it, but I'd lost so much sleep over several weeks, he noticed that my eyes were glazed over. When I explained what I'd been doing, he got hysterical. People my age don't do these things (HA. SURE they don't.) That same day I registered on a message board for the first time, but all the good Clay centric names were taken. He suggested "clayzedover" and that very day, we went out shopping for my own computer. He knew what was to come.....

Ha, what a great story...I'll never pronounce your name wrong again. I love when people share their screen name stories.

If you have a good story, please share..hell even if it's not a good story.

[atinal]

Couchie, was Clay's joke, "I'm sweatin' like Ruben" from the JBT in Cary? Just seems familiar.

ETA

Ooops, now I go back and see you said it was from the JNat.

Edited June 16, 2007 by atinal

[Claytonfan20]

I just wanted to tell everyone about a travel Horror story i had. This is a Clay Aiken concert that i went to a couple years ago. enjoy.. i sure did not. lol

My friend and I her mom and her moms boyfriend all planned on going to the Clay Concert which would be held in Detorit, Michigan. I think ok thats only about 30 mins to a half hour away(from my house, i live in Michigan in Monroe if you know where that is) anyway we stayed at My friends house becuase thats who was taking us(she lives in Toledo, Ohio). The day of the concert we decied to leave a couple hours early. We jump on the express way. Me being a HUGE Clay Aiken fan did not notice we were going the wrong way. (i was not paying any attention i doing something that had to do with clay) When i finally did notice that we were going the wrong way We were 3 hours out of our way.. Yes 3 hours. We went to Dayton instend of Detorit. i know they both start with a D but come on one is in Ohio and One is in Michigan. anyway i tell my friends mom that we were going the wrong way. she does not believe me. So i call up my dad to tell my firends mom. We finally turn around. You think oh not to bad only 3 hours out of our way and we started really early so we would make it to the concert in time. WRONG. :o We are going along and we finally get to Detorit. Well if anyone has ever driven to detorit they know that By the canada bridge it gets quite confusing. Lets just say we ended up on our way over to Cananda. Right all good we were still right on time. so we would make it. Wrong. again. we finally get over to the Hotel we would be staying at and we check in. they tell us that we cant stay there because my mom was the one to pay for it with her credit card and she forgot to send something. So i had to call my mom for her to fax something over. All is fine with that because she faxed over the right info(or so we think) anyway we head over to the Concert which was being held at Jo Louis. We are now a half hour to an hour late. guess what we missed almost all of clay's songs by then We did get to listen to 4 or 5 of them which i am thankful for. It was the Kelly/Clay concert. After the concert we go back to the hotel and sleep. when we wake up about 9 ish.. we find out we cant leave till my mom faxes something else over so we end up leaving about 12- 1 in the afternoon. we get home and i'm a wreak because of all this.

[bottlecap]

Phew. Just back from my first ever real life meeting with a "Board" person. [Waves wildly at laughn.] I met her online first, so I wasn't totally sure that someone wasn't going to come around the corner of the restaurant with a full camera crew in tow and say: "I'm Dateline NBC's Chris Hanson, and this is 'To Catch a Clay Fan'..." I so wouldn't want to have to explain some of my posts to a national tv audience.

Instead, I spent a fun-filled couple of hours with someone who has great Clay stories and who speaks my language. What a treat!

:Tour3: :TourExcite:

[JennaZ]

Wow! Some great discussion last night. Wish I was there, but Friday nights are when I usually go out.

Last night, I saw Wicked. I can understand why Clay seems to love it. The lead character is someone who is ridiculed by classmates and disregarded by her father, someone kindheated, smart and talented, but often misunderstood, someone outspoken who is willing to stand up for what she believes, even if costs her. Hmmm.. Sound like anyone we know?

I think that if all Clay wanted was superstardom, he might have made different choices. More standard pop songs, for example, even if they required no range or emotion. Less time spent on humanitarian causes and more time spent on cultivating his music and image. A greater emphasis on what's hip and current, rather than on the older songs he loves. However, as ambitious as he may be (and I do believe he is), I get the impression that he's unwilling to sacrifice his soul and sense of self for instant popularity.

Personally, I may not have agreed with all his choices over the years. However, I like to give him the benefit of the doubt 1) because I'm not aware of all his options and 2) because these choices are part of who he is. If I just wanted to follow someone popular, I could be Justin Timberlake fan. But I don't find him half as fascinating as Clay.

[laughn]

**This PSI brought to you by Pet Peeves R Us, an organization dedicated to bugging people about the dangers of the sun and smoking. We are no way affiliated to SnarkRUs and neither organization is responsible for anything we say. In addition, views expressed by Pet Peeves R Us in no way are meant to reflect the opinions of anyone at FCA living or dead.**

Hey! I beat bottlecap here!!! I just left from meeting the wonderful afore-mentioned bottlecap *muah* for lunch and a lovely 3 hour chat. (3 hours??! bwahhh! We are two long winded woman!) Fun times!

ETA...ack! I see she did beat me!... but I'm not editing.

Claytonfan20, so sorry about your lousy Detroit/Joe Lewis concert. I wish you better luck this year for sure!

:TourExcite: :Tour3: (bottlecap's fault I'm all wound up)

[bottlecap]

:TourExcite: :Tour3: (bottlecap's fault I'm all wound up)

Or you could just blame all the on the endless refills of we had....

[ldyjocelyn]

Go BLAZE! muski, I sincerely hope they do well, and that no one collapses from dehydration. It's 91 degrees here today....too hot for me....

Well, I finally did it. I firmed up my travel plans for Tulsa. I was going to drive, husband suggested I fly, so I checked and a flight from St. Louis to Tulsa was fairly reasonable so I decided to go for it. My room reservations are made, so hopefully I'll see some of you there. Yipeeeeeee!!!

EEEEEEEEEEE! Is your name on the FCA representing list yet? *note to self: add atinal's name to list after completing this long-assed post*

The cool factor related to Clay is one that never enters my mind ... because I've always defined cool as something unreal, an act, an attitude put on like a hat. I love the way Philip Seymour Hoffman played Lester Bangs (legendary Cream Magazine rock journalist) in Almost Famous ... and my favorite line of dialogue that "Lester" spoke to the character playing director Cameron Crowe in his youth was: The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool.

I simply LOVED that movie, and that line stuck with me as well. I love being uncool -- and I own up to it every time someone suggests it.

Ultimately, it all comes down to 'different strokes for different folks' and so on and so on and shooby dooby doo!'

It really doesn't doesn't it? The way someone finds something he does so charming and others find the exact same thing cringeworthy fascinates me. Frequently surprises me too, but I'm getting used to that.

When I tell people I will be seeing Clay the most common reaction I get is...Clay??? I love him in AI what happened to him? Or sometimes someone will mention AI5..

I have never, ever had anyone tell me that! I mostly get blank stares and "who?" or I get "Oh, that guy from AI? What ever happened to him?" or "Oh, he's gay, isn't he?". Not once has anyone but the 70-something woman I work with whose granddaughter is doing the internship at Chatauqua (and it looks like they will be there for Clay's concert!) has ever said they liked him!

I get a combination of responses actually. Some people have never heard of him, period, but others know who he is, and are at least interested in why I like him so much. Some are now fans too, because of me. *g*

**This PSI brought to you by Pet Peeves R Us, an organization dedicated to bugging people about the dangers of the sun and smoking. We are no way affiliated to SnarkRUs and neither organization is responsible for anything we say. In addition, views expressed by Pet Peeves R Us in no way are meant to reflect the opinions of anyone at FCA living or dead.**

BWAH! And I'm going to my shows as the pasty white girl that I am. It's just ME, you know....

ldyjocelyn Hug back at ya! And sorry I got your name wrong. Thanks for pointing it out, because I think I would have continued to see it as starting with an "I".

Don't worry about it. I just realized that every once in a while, I need to point it out, especially as newbies show up. For the record -- I used to be part of a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism, that recreated the Middle Ages. My name in the society was Lady Jocelyn (Jocelyn also being my real middle name). When I first signed up for a free email account so many years ago, I tried for ladyjocelyn, but it was taken. So, I took the first "a" out. Little did I know it would cause such confusion later on, especially as I chose it as my universal screen name on the net. I too love hearing screen name stories....

ETA: at 2:00 in the video when he looks directly into Joanne's camera, earache and all, was the first time I got that Clay's singing to me feeling whether I was there or not he was singing to the Clack Watchers! And for someone who's never seen him live ... that was and still is, a biggie.

Want a whole song like that? This piece, shot by jojoct at the final JBT show in Atlantic City, took my breath away. It literally looks as if he's singing Mandy directly to the camera, and thus the viewer. Guh.

Claytonfan20 -- what a story! AAAAGH! I would have been pulling my hair out....

I think for me my horror story was the concert that never was, for me -- Waukegan this past year. God wasn't very nice to me that day and decided that we needed a snowfall of over a foot. So much for seeing a first show.

Phew. Just back from my first ever real life meeting with a "Board" person. [Waves wildly at laughn.] I met her online first, so I wasn't totally sure that someone wasn't going to come around the corner of the restaurant with a full camera crew in tow and say: "I'm Dateline NBC's Chris Hanson, and this is 'To Catch a Clay Fan'..." I so wouldn't want to have to explain some of my posts to a national tv audience.

Instead, I spent a fun-filled couple of hours with someone who has great Clay stories and who speaks my language. What a treat!

:Tour3: :TourExcite:

Glad everything worked out well. But isn't 20/20 still on TV? *g*

However, as ambitious as he may be (and I do believe he is), I get the impression that he's unwilling to sacrifice his soul and sense of self for instant popularity.

Bingo! I think he's probably seen "Damn Yankees" a few times too, and taken the moral of that story to heart.

Mandatory smilie here: :Tour3: :Tour3: :Tour3: