# 12 An Evening With His Royal Highness Fantasy Fodder

[Claygasm]

Bad sports moments? Try being a fan of a team that has lost more games in history than any team in any sport anywhere!

Yup, I speak of my beloved Phillies who recently took their 10,000th loss, making them the losingest sports team in history! Granted, it been over 124 years, but still.

We did win 1 World Series in 1980 - my most exciting sports moment ever. They made it to the World Series in '83 and '93 (and 1915 and 1950 - but those were before my time...).

But alas, with so many losses, its tough being a Phillies fan.

Good thing I have Clay to amuse me this summer!

ETA:

BWAH!

from here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07203/802901-37.stm

OMG that is sooooooo funny!!!!!! I love it!

Edited July 22, 2007 by Claygasm

[bottlecap]

playbiller, thanks for the Columbus Dispatch review. I read it this morning, and thought it was pretty accurate, and the random "Carburetor" comment was right on the money. Clay said we would scream at anything, and then said "Shoes" and we dutifully screamed. Then he said "Carburetor" and we screamed even louder. My throat's still a bit scratchy today. Of course my "Yee Haw's" during Tractor and Achy Breaky probably didn't help either.

ldyjocelyn, I also really liked the blog you brought over. I was looking over the line when we were waiting to go in. Many older couples, lots of women, the usual stereotypes. However, there was also a thirty-something couple directly ahead of us. The husband had his car keys in his hand and they caught my attention because they were on a Clay Aiken key ring - from the JNT05. There were tons of couples of all ages in our area - I think being on a Saturday night helped, as the whole dinner and a show under the stars thing made for a great date night.

[cha cha trusty]

OK - I am ready to get back into Clay now, I've finished the new Harry Potter book!!

So......... what did I miss??

[luckiest1]

Awww, thanks for the welcome back, couchie. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I hope bottlecap doesn't mind that I stole this for my avatar....if it works.

ETA: It's not moving. How do I fix it? I want a cool animated avatar, too. ::pouts::

I am loving all the recaps and even the reviews. Hey, they may contain the odd diss, but they are head and shoulders above some of the reviews I've seen in the past. *cough*JBT Toronto*cough*

:Tour3: One more day till Sterling Heights!!!!

Edited July 22, 2007 by lickiest1

[YSRN]

ETA: It's not moving. How do I fix it? I want a cool animated avatar, too. ::pouts::

You saved it as a .jpg instead of a .gif file.

[Gibby]

OK - I am ready to get back into Clay now, I've finished the new Harry Potter book!!

So......... what did I miss??

That HP is pretty absorbing, isn't it? I might as well have been out of the house yesterday, 'cuz I sure didn't talk to anyone while I was reading it! Finished it yesterday afternoon. Wow! Excellent book!

Jamar - glad you had so much fun at your HP party!

I just showed 'The Classics' to my 15-year old daughter. She was quite impressed that Clay could actually sing those songs, and sing them well! She laughed a little at it, but mostly said, 'WOW!' I think she expected him to really stink, but was surprised when he didn't.

[luckiest1]

You saved it as a .jpg instead of a .gif file.

No, I didn't, I checked. Maybe it's because I am trying to upload it from my computer straight to the board - I'll try doing it to photobucket first.

ETA: Wheeeeeeee! I think that fixed it!

Edited July 22, 2007 by lickiest1

[Gibby]

Lick, it's moving for me now.

Heeeee. I sure wish he was moving for me like that in real life!

:medium-smiley-070:

[bottlecap]

Hee. I hope the body roll shows up in the Columbus Classics Clack, because the boy was into it, and he and Angie did the move several times while Quiana was singing.

[Couch Tomato]

Annetherese's syracuse meet and greet recap. What great recollection heee.

It's been an exhilarating, crazy-fun, wild and wonderful 4 days and 3 night concert swing through western NY. Recapping it all will have to come in parts. It's difficult to even know where or how to begin. But, I will start with the Syracuse Meet and Greet and do my best to put the experience into words. The experience was surreal. The memory of it is equally surreal.

Syracuse Meet and Greet

I had never met Clay before. Never got his autograph. I was extremely excited (and nervous, too!). The M&G group was gathered outside the venue near the entrance as per instructions in the fan club email. Jerome came out and was as nice as can be. He took pictures with us individually (No, I did not do the prom pose with him. *g*) He was very down-to-earth and his presence put me somewhat at ease. Jerome took us up an escalator, down a hallway and into the theater itself. It was a beautiful concert hall. Small and intimate. This was my first concert of the tour, so I was excited about that, too. Jerome led us down the length of the theater and up the stairs to the right of the stage. We stopped on the stage for a bit. I could see the set lists taped down on the stage for the concert. I took a few steps onto the stage and looked out from the stage into the rows of empty seats to get a sense of what it would be like for Quiana, Clay and Angela to be on that same stage and look out into the audience. It was pretty darn cool!!

Jerome led us back into a large room behind the stage. It must have been some sort of rehearsal room. There was a large curtain on one side of the room. The ceiling was very high and there seemed to be track lighting overhead. There were risers along two sides of the room. Very big room. There was a long table with lunch food on it and water bottles. Jerome offered us water bottles if we wanted. (I think he offered us food, too, but believe me, no one had any appetite!) Jerome had us sit down in some chairs set up in a straight row along the front of one set of risers. He then took a chair and put it in the middle of the row of chairs we were sitting in for Clay to sit in. Jerome said that Clay doesn't usually listen to him. He asked us not to hug Clay. Someone said, but what if Clay hugs us. Jerome said, "like I said, Clay doesn't usually listen to me". But, he asked us not to hug him tightly or squeeze him tightly. That was really the only rule. He asked if we had any questions which he answered so respectfully. He was gentle and kind. It was my first interaction with Jerome, too, and I was very impressed.

Some of us at the end of the row of chairs moved our seats out to form a semi-circle so that we could see the place where Jerome had marked for Clay to sit. So our chairs were more or less in a "J" formation. Jamie walked in. She's as young, tiny, and cute as I remember her from the West Point concert in December when Clay brought her out on the stage to tease her about her accent. She came to gather any gifts people had brought for Clay. She was very down-to-earth and easy to talk to. She then placed a chair for Clay at the end of the row opposite the little semicircle we had formed. We told her that Jerome put a seat in the middle of the row for Clay. She said that then she would sit in the chair she set out. She sat for a little while and then got up to leave.

It was only a few moments later when I heard Clay's voice. There he was with Mary and Jerome walking into the room saying something about, "so what's this about being nervous?" He sat right down in the outside chair that Jamie had set out. We said he was suppose to sit in the other chair that Jerome set up for him in the middle of the row of chairs. He said, "Oh, we have assigned seats?" (bwah!). He stayed in the seat on the outer edge of the group.

THE FIDGET

He began playing with what I call a "fidget". (That's what we call them where I work. We use them with students with attentional difficulties who need something to play with or fidget with to help them stay focused in class). It was a small plastic squeezy ball. The ball had a part that was outside the ball and you're suppose to push it back inside the ball. Clay sat there talking about how they were playing with it on the bus. He was trying to get the part back inside and made some grunting noises of frustration while he was working on it. He finally got it inside and showed it to us. He said one part that bulged out looked like a pimple.

In that time, I was able to just observe him. He was wearing brown slip on sandals. He had on cut-off tan cargo shorts. He wore the white 52-Thirty t-shirt. He wore an attractive black watch on his left arm. His hair looked great! (It looked very similar to the way it looked later that night for the Syracuse concert). HE looked great. He looked very natural and at ease. It was at this time that I noticed that there was no arm hair as had been reported at the Philly concert the night before. I then noticed that his legs also looked like they had no leg hair. I was pretty stunned. I also wasn't sure if I could trust my poor eyesight. Maybe it was the lighting? The lighting was this overhead track lighting and it wasn't very good. It wasn't a very natural lighting.

The order of things after that is fuzzy, but I will recall as much as I can as best I can. After he finished playing with his "fidget", he looked at us and asked us our names. He went around the semicircle pretty quickly, enough for each of us to say, "I'm _______". He asked us if we were from around the area. I don't think anyone was directly from Syracuse so he asked if we were from the surrounding area to which several of us replied "yes". He moved along pretty quickly and directed the conversation.

THE COLOR PURPLE

He asked if we had heard about wearing purple. Two of the 6 people had on purple. One woman brought a pair of purple high-heeled shoes, another had a purple keychain of sorts. Choosing the color was just something for fun. He said we had to pick a color for the next night's group. He squeezed his fidget and out popped several lime green plastic balls from the inside. So, he said, "how about green?" So, green it was.

CONCERT TALK

He asked us if we had been to Philly. One person had. He talked about how tough the venue had been with security and that he thought the Syracuse venue was going to be even tougher than that. He said "they" (meaning Clay and Co.) didn't mind the clack, but that flashes were tough because he feels like he's going to fall off the stage when there are flashes. He talked about people standing up during the concert. He wants people to stand up during the uptempo songs. He thinks some venues are more conducive to that than others. I asked him if he knew that Chautuaqua had pews. He wasn't aware of that.

He asked if we were going to Canandaigua and most of us said "yes". He said that there would be a new song at Canandaigua. He mentioned that folks ask him what his favorite song is and it changes all the time. He said he has previously mentioned that "Open Arms" was his favorite and that the TV MEDLEY is his favorite thing to sing even though he knows that others don't like it. He said he does.

He talked quickly and the conversation moved to different topics quickly as well. He'd finish talking and ask if anyone had any questions. Someone asked him if the songs in the Classics Medley came from a thread from the OFC discussing songs Clay should sing. I guess one of the songs in the medley was in that thread. He said, no, he didn't know anything about that thread so they didn't choose the songs based on that.

CAR TALK

Someone asked him about the two Volvo cars that he had and asked if he had gotten rid of them. He said he got rid of one but that he still had one in LA. (NO, I didn't think to blurt out if it was in Santa Monica!! *g*). He talked enthusiastically about the cars. He included Jamie and Jerome in the conversation about the cars...how they loved the Volvo (XC70 I think). He said that now he loves Audis.

DOG TALK

Someone asked about the dogs. Again, Clay talked enthusiastically and at length about Raleigh and Durham. He repeated the story of Raleigh going into the suitcase and whimpering when Clay was getting ready to leave for the tour. He mentioned that one of his "employees" was allergic to the dogs, so that's why the dogs are not with him. He had Mary go out and get the staff tour passes that had the pictures of Raleigh and Durham on them. He said not to bother with the Raleigh picture because Raleigh hadn't changed so much. Mary brought in the pass with Durham's picture on it and we passed it around and looked at it. So, we had car talk and dog talk!

MATING TALK

I don't recall how this conversation started. I just remember that Clay started telling a story of how he and Jamie got home around 2 a.m. from his uncle's wedding. (Now I thought he said "uncle's". I sure could be wrong.) He said that they heard this really loud noise outside the house. He said it sounded like two deer mating. He referred to a big male buck. Then, he made the sound they had heard. Okay, so how does one type the sound? It was a long deep sound like a bullhorn. He imitated the sound again. It was so funny! He proceeded to tell that he and Jamie went outside to check things out with their flashlights. They looked around for quite awhile and then discovered the source of the loud noise: bullfrogs mating in his pond. He teased Jamie at the M&G because she doesn't like bullfrogs. Apparently, they were quite big. Clay said that the pond water is low because there hasn't been much rain so the bullfrogs were near the surface.

EVA TALK (No, not THAT Eva!! *g*)At one point, I asked Clay if he had ever heard of Eva Cassidy. (I love Eva Cassidy's music. Her voice is so pure and her musical stylings so diverse and eclectic. Unfortunately, she died of cancer at 33. She had inquiries from record labels, but her diversity scared them off. She liked to sing a little bit of everything: R&B, jazz, folk, gospel, blues. When Clay sang "Fields of Gold" during the acoustic set for the IT, he sang Eva Cassidy's arrangement). His answer floored me and thrilled me. He said that "they" had actually wanted to do a DUET of Clay and Eva with her song "Time After Time" using her vocals posthumously. (Yes, he actually said, "posthumously") He said that it didn't quite work out and unfortunately, they couldn't bring her back to work on it since she had died. He then mentioned singing "Field of Gold" on tour and that being her arrangement. (Those are two voices that I would have loved to have heard together. It was exciting for me to learn that this was something they pursued even if it didn't work out.) It wasn't clear to me if this duet was something they considered for a previous album, current album being worked on or as a song for a tour. The conversation moved rapidly and there often wasn't time for a follow up question since Clay would have already moved on to another question.

CD TALK

(Please keep in mind that I am paraphrasing here since I do not remember every exact word Clay said) A question was asked about the new CD. Clay reiterated what had previously been reported about finding a producer for the CD. He mentioned that it was a man but he knew that we already knew that. He mentioned that things were going well with the process so far. He does not know how long the process will take. He mentioned that with the last CD, they considered doing covers from the 50's, but they didn't think they would have a chance for much radio play. They did the covers from the past 20 years thinking they would have a better chance for radio play although that didn't work out that way. With the last album, they had a choice...to do the cover CD or else have to wait even longer to get out a CD. He said they chose to put out the CD of covers rather than wait. There were questions about why the label insisted on covers. Clay reiterated that the label had been successful with that format with Rod Stewart etc. The group said but that was different because Rod Stewart had been around for such a long time...and Clay basically said he knew that and that we all (meaning those of us in the M&G) knew that. I am very cautious about the next part because I do not want to misrepresent what he said. I am relying on my own memory of it. I got the impression that if the choice for this next CD was "covers" or "not make the CD", then this time, they would wait. But, that for now, things are moving along well. (AGAIN, these are my words paraphrasing the conversation. He did not say wait for how long or wait for what, so I can't answer exactly what he meant by that, except to say that is is clear to me that Clay's preference is not to do another album of covers.)

Autograph and Photo

At some point, Mary came over to the table and said that it was time to take the photos. But, first Clay autographed the items people brought. Mary gave him a pen and a marker to use. Jamie walked up to each person and took their item for signing and handed it to Clay. Clay asked each person who the item was for and asked how to spell the name (or he spelled it himself out loud to check the spelling before writing it). He seemed to write the same thing on everyone's item: "The person's name, Use your voice, Clay Aiken." There was a diversity of items to be signed: a CD, a Linda Huber print, a picture frame, LTS and an original Kevin Hess photo! The Huber print and the Hess photo were gorgeous!! The signing went very quickly and then it was time for the photos which went just as quickly. Mary called up people in the order they had their names on their list. She said they would email the photos to us, maybe as soon as Wedneday night. (I did not receive mine yet). Jamie took the pictures. While the first person was called up, Mary called my name to be next. It all happened so fast and it was so surreal. I remember walking up towards him and he said, "Let's do the prom pose. Everyone seems to like that". Hey, who was I to argue?? *g* I remember him taking my right hand with his left hand and putting my left arm around him (gently....no squeezing!!) and his arm around me and then looking at Jamie and smiling...and then CLICK! I know at that point, I walked away in a total daze. I don't even remember getting back to my chair. Heaven knows what I look like in the photo. When the last photo was taken, Clay said good-bye from across the room where the photos were being taken and walked out of the room with Jamie and Jerome.

The group stayed and chatted with Mary for a few moments until someone from the venue came to escort us outside. I did make sure to thank Mary for this format for the meet and greet and told her how great it was. Someone had also told Jerome how great the format was and Jerome said, "If you're happy, then we're happy".

When I walked outside, I had to sit down on a bench near the venue just to be in the moment. It was at that point that dear Pookle came walking by. I probably haven't seen Pookle since Darien Lake for the JBT and normally, I would have run up to her and greeted her with a big hug. But that night, I saw her walking towards me and it was like everything was suspended in slow motion. I could see her. But, I couldn't make my body react. Or my brain. I apologize to ANYONE whom I saw in that post M&G FOG. ( Fortunately, I got to see Pookle again the next night in Canandaigua and she was so understanding of my altered state when she saw me after the M&G. )

Thank you to everyone for the kind support, word of encouragement throughout my nervousness and the elation of sharing the excitement of the M&G with so many thoughtful people both in person and PMs. The meet and greet was just the beginning of three wonderful days in western NY for Syracuse, Canandaigua and Chautauqua. But, that's another recap! *g*

Here's a link for examples of FIDGETS. The one that Clay was fidgeting with is not pictured in this catalog. But, it was something similar. I kind of liked the one at the end of the first row named, "Click Clack Stress Ball". *g*

[Couch Tomato]

Again with the filters and it doesn't really matter at this point..but wonder if she's saying that Clay could have just waited, not made the covers album and just gone back and found more songs to record and fix whatever Clive found lacking but that would have extended the album release even further.. I'm glad to have ATDW and am glad he chose to make it. Not sure if that's quite right interpretation and to me it's old news and am really looking forward to what's next...well I will be after this tour. I have to have my shows first heee. Dang it's getting closer and closer. Songs from the fifties... .. that could have been intersting. heee. Of course from Clay I want him to sing every song every made and if he keeps doing JBT type shows or medleys like the classics he eventually will.

He's so fickle..throwing over the volvo for the audie. What next?

[Claygasm]

With the last album, they had a choice...to do the cover CD or else have to wait even longer to get out a CD. He said they chose to put out the CD of covers rather than wait.

I find this part interesting. It actually could fit with a theory I have long held, one that disputes the gun-to-his-head "mandate" theory. Essentially my theory is this: He and Jaymes presented all they had recorded - including some covers - to Clive. He wasn't thrilled with any of it. Frankly I never thought Clay sounded like it was thrilled with much of it. Per one of Clay's blogs a discussion ensued about the kind of songs Clay likes to sing and he said singer's songs and the ones he enjoyed the most from what they had recorded tended to be the covers. So Clive - noting the success of Rod Stewart and *gag* Barry Manilow came up with the idea of doing a covers album. Clay naturally objected for obvious reasons but Clive pointed out that the alternative was he and Jaymes starting from scratch on an album of originals which could take a really long time and it had already been a really long time. So Clay decided to go with the covers idea rather than wait. This time, though, he would rather wait.

Makes sense to me! Probably not accurate, but if others can extrapolate why not me!

I also think its interesting that at first they thought of doing covers from the 50's. When I think back to how he killed on the 50's segment of the JBT, if he HAD to do covers I think I would have preferred an album of 50's covers. I would have loved to have had a studio recording of SM!

It amazes me so many people think of such intelligent questions to ask him. All I can think of is "Did you and Kelly get it on in that bus during the IT?" and stuff like that! I think its a good thing I will never win a M&G!

[Gibby]

CG - I DARE you to ask Clay that question if you ever get a M&G!! BWAH!! I'd love to know the answer.

[Couch Tomato]

Makes sense to me! Probably not accurate, but if others can extrapolate why not me!

I also think its interesting that at first they thought of doing covers from the 50's. When I think back to how he killed on the 50's segment of the JBT, if he HAD to do covers I think I would have preferred an album of 50's covers. I would have loved to have had a studio recording of SM!

It amazes me so many people think of such intelligent questions to ask him. All I can think of is "Did you and Kelly get it on in that bus during the IT?" and stuff like that! I think its a good thing I will never win a M&G!

OK jinx... heee and I think yeah our filters are in play. I love it. I love having real meat to chew on.

I absolutely LOVE Suspicious Minda. I didn't know the Elvis version so that was a new song for me. It was my second favorite song during JBT behind Tears Run Dry. Who knows..maybe those songs would have been further away from the public conscious and might have done really really well. Boy does want radio though..I've always felt he did. I think he could have had it with ATDW with different song selections.

Ah man dreams of a studio version of Suspicious Minda.

Yep, very good questions..a nice mix of the silly, informative, important.

[bottlecap]

It amazes me so many people think of such intelligent questions to ask him. All I can think of is "Did you and Kelly get it on in that bus during the IT?" and stuff like that! I think its a good thing I will never win a M&G!

Hee. laughn and I were discussing possible M&G questions in the car yesterday.

What I'd feel comfortable nagging / asking Clay about: Readily available merchandise - that could be ordered online and not just a t-shirt and a poster at the concerts. Dude, your peeps are desperate to get new key rings, and some of us might consider selling a kidney to get a new "official" calender. Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, it seems to me that there is a pent-up demand for new stuff, and I would think it would be highly profitable to Clay, so I'm not clear why they aren't tapping into that revenue stream. Oops, I think I just went all "Banker" on y'all there.

Sawry...

What I'd secretly like to ask: Did you ever have dinner at Tyra's house? :eusa_whistle: Waves to muski.

[JennaZ]

Thanks for the recaps and reports. It is interesting that there seemed to be a choice between a covers album and a longer wait. If true, I can see why the covers album might have seemed like the safer route. Fans were already climbing the walls, and he may have feared that a serious delay might have kept him away from the public eye too long. Now, he seems to believe that it may be worth the extra time to put togther the right original songs.

It also seems that if songs from the 50's were rejected out of radio concerns, he really does want radio play.

I do think he is in a positive place when it comes to his career. No, he's not going to get everything he wants. However, he does seem to have a good sense of direction. You can almost see the wheels turning in his head. I think he has more going for him than many believe.

[lightmyfire]

Is this anntherese54's recap? 'Cause it is being posted over at the OFC that she gave details of a "horrible ultimatum" that RCA/Clive gave Clay (no longer a mandate) of "three years"...??? I am confused....

Edited July 22, 2007 by lightmyfire

[Couch Tomato]

Is this anntherese54's recap? 'Cause it is being posted over at the OFC that she gave details of a "horrible ultimatum" that RCA/Clive gave Clay (no longer a mandate) of "three years"...??? I am confused....

I have no idea what's being reported on OFC...

ETA because I'm hungry and was being judgemental. heee.

as usual, interpret of everything will be seen through filters. My filter is it's all business.

[lightmyfire]

Is this anntherese54's recap? 'Cause it is being posted over at the OFC that she gave details of a "horrible ultimatum" that RCA/Clive gave Clay (no longer a mandate) of "three years"...??? I am confused....

I have no idea what's being reported on OFC... seems to me that instead of moving forward people are so intent on being stuck in the past or being right. That's her official report and don't see anything even remotely like that. I mean what does that mean anyway..put out a covers CD or nothing for three years? This version says nothing like that. God this fandom likes to be bogged down in tiny tiny details. Everything Clay has been saying should have busted bubbles on every side but people can't let go. I hope Clay continues to do this.

Thanks ... I was confused...and it wouldn't be the first time and I am certain it won't be the last...HA!

GEEEEEEEEEEEZE!!!!

It was posted over at the OFC that she was on the CH cellcert last night giving details of a "horrible ultimatum" and that she would be posting a recap...

It was later stated that she posted a recap and it stated "three years"..

So...when I read the recap here...I was naturally confused...HA!

[Couch Tomato]

ETA again... but like this part soleaving it.

From now on I need 2 sources from the meet & greet before I even start to think people were somewhere even close to the vicinity of what Clay is saying...even if it's as simple as what he likes on his hotdog.

I'm still laughing over uptempo verses gritty ballad. Of course uptempo is being spread every where I go.

[JennaZ]

I can imagine something along the lines of Couchie's scenario, that RCA evaluated what Clay had in 2005, decided that it needed more work, and proposed a cover album so he could get something out in 2006. If he chose, he could have kept on looking for more material, but it would have made a release date of 2007 more likely, a release date three years after the release of his last album. Was this a "horrible ultimatum"? Maybe to some. However, it does still seem like Clay had a choice.

And if he was only "meh" on songs like "Back For More," perhaps he wasn't as committed to the material he had at the time.

My guess is that he really has struggled to find the right songs for him. He's not a standard pop singer, and he's not Josh Groban or Michael Buble. However, perhaps the right producer can find him what he needs. He does seem fairly excited with this new one, so hopefully, the search will not be as lengthy.

[YSRN]

Is this anntherese54's recap? 'Cause it is being posted over at the OFC that she gave details of a "horrible ultimatum" that RCA/Clive gave Clay (no longer a mandate) of "three years"...??? I am confused....

I have no idea what's being reported on OFC... seems to me that instead of moving forward people are so intent on being stuck in the past or being right. That's her official report and don't see anything even remotely like that. I mean what does that mean anyway..put out a covers CD or nothing for three years? This version says nothing like that. God this fandom likes to be bogged down in tiny tiny details. Everything Clay has been saying should have busted bubbles on every side but people can't let go. I hope Clay continues to do this.

Thanks ... I was confused...and it wouldn't be the first time and I am certain it won't be the last...HA!

GEEEEEEEEEEEZE!!!!

It was posted over at the OFC that she was on the CH cellcert last night giving details of a "horrible ultimatum" and that she would be posting a recap...

It was later stated that she posted a recap and it stated "three years"..

So...when I read the recap here...I was naturally confused...HA!

Last night in chat anntherese said that Clay was given the choice to put out the cd of covers then or to wait 3 years to put out that sophomore cd. Today in her recap, she chose to say what she was posted above. She said she was paraphrasing both times so I presume she was, uh, paraphrasing. I also presumed "3 years" was just an "amount of time", since it was paraphrasing and she decided to not be so specific in her recap. On the CH, anntherese was asked for clarification from the chat comments (er, I imagine if she wanted them public she would have posted them in public) I guess because it supported the "horrible ultimatum" comment elsewhere. Dunno. My feeling in the chat at the time was that it was covers or back to the drawing board and Clay chose covers because he didn't want another x amount of time to go by before releasing a CD.

Not really any new news there IMO.

[Couch Tomato]

Jenna.... but that only makes sense. This isn't some new horrible information. If Clive didn't like the CD then it would have required more work..either replace songs which involved finding them, recording them etc. That could have taken up to 6 more months to a year. And yeah and in fact it does sound to me more like Clay had a choice to do that or not do that. I understand how thinking taking more time was a bad idea because people are ficke.

Maybe my reading comprehension isn't as good as I think because I'm getting a do the covers or you can't put out anything for 3 years vibe which is a slightly different spin. It goes without saying IMO if Clay had chosen to fix whatever they wanted fixed it would have taken time to do.

But it's not a big deal..don't see much discussion on it so thankfully I take back my original post that people are bogged down. It's not the case at all. The good news is that people are moving forward and Clay is moving forward and he and RCA are moving forward together with some idea of how the other operates.

YSRN..agreed NOTHING NEW so I just deleted my comment at CH so I don't get bogged down in the not important.

[luckiest1]

I have no idea what's being reported on OFC... seems to me that instead of moving forward people are so intent on being stuck in the past or being right. That's her official report and don't see anything even remotely like that. I mean what does that mean anyway..put out a covers CD or nothing for three years? This version says nothing like that. God this fandom likes to be bogged down in tiny tiny details. Everything Clay has been saying should have busted bubbles on every side but people can't let go. I hope Clay continues to do this.

It's amazing how certain little words or phrases that Clay may or may not have said get latched onto and extrapolated to death, isn't it? While he can say things plain as day in his blog or in an interview and they can be just as easily ignored. Never ceases to amaze me.

I have no idea. I asked for clarification, not that I care but it just seems silly and why nobody else heard this during the meet and greet I have no idea. From now on I need 2 sources from the meet & greet before I even start to think people were somewhere even close to the vicinity of what Clay is saying...even if it's as simple as what he likes on his hotdog.

I'm still laughing over uptempo verses gritty ballad. Of course uptempo is being spread every where I go.

Yep, and it seems to me that nothing much has changed, even though, IMO, he's been shattering some of the more popular "poddie" theories left, right and centre lately. I'm with you, unless at least two people can come up with the same version of what he said, or until he says it to the fandom directly, I am just gonna take it all with a huge grain of salt.

But I loved anntherese54's m&g recap. It was very detailed and it seemed to me that she tried very hard to express what she remembered in great detail, all the while asking people to realize that it was coming through her own filters.

I've been busy watching clack. I love the ClayFaninVA videos from Canandaigua. They are very clear. Her LAA is gorgeous and you can hear the rain falling as well. I have yet to find one that really captures Clay's surprise entrance all the way down. I am not sure that there really was any good vantage point for that. It was just so thrilling to be there in person to witness it - kind of like our own little "Kyrie" moment. He did it again in Chautauqua but it wasn't nearly as dramatic, mostly because the venue wasn't as large and spread out, and of course because he'd done it the night before. It'll be interesting to see what he does tomorrow in Sterling Heights! :TourExcite:

ETA: Has anyone figured out what he was referring to when he was introducing LAA in Canandaigua and he said Jaymes was allowed to call him Clayton....then everyone ooh'ed and aah'ed and he said something like "she's not allowed to call me that!.....dirty, dirty, dirty". I was there and I still have no idea what was going on.

Edited July 23, 2007 by lickiest1

[lightmyfire]

YSRN and Couch Tomato Thanks for the clarification.