#57: Oh yeah, he really is just. that. good.

[cagney1950]

Billboard Review...sounds like someone actually listened to the CD and gets it!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100521/review_nm/us_music_albums_1

Thanks Kim! Now that I know that Alex Christensen produced Right Said Fred, I'm looking forward to hearing Clay sing, "I'm too sexy for my shirt" -- 'cause God knows he is!

It's clear Billboard likes this CD better than anything that came before, and YAY for terms such as "authoritative," "relaxed vibe," and "summons a swagger he never previously displayed."

In addition to those choice words and phrases, may I throw in the word "exudes" which precedes the "relaxed vibe" description? The word "exudes" suggests something that you just can't hold back- is its own force-I love that the reviewer used that word. I see some themes in the two reviews (AMG and BB).

Clays voice has not been captured well doing modern pop.

Clay is totally at ease with this type of material and it shows.

This is clay's best work yet (as keepingfaith pointed out on the BB review).

I sometimes think there is a template for the reviews about Clay's albums-I really noticed this for OMWH. The end of most reviews, even when they slanted towards positive, indicated that he would not win new fans with OMWH and it was a product that really, only his diehard fans would love.

I look forward (with some trepidation) to the forthcoming reviews. I think that most reviewers (not all) listen to the albums they are asked to review and I think that has been true with the first two reviews we have received.

[ldyjocelyn]

Someone at the OFC message board just posted that Clay will be on GMA June 1. No link though, so I'll have a margarita this time of the morning...

[merrieeee]

Someone at the OFC message board just posted that Clay will be on GMA June 1. No link though, so I'll have a margarita this time of the morning...

Make sure you add salt!!!

[ldyjocelyn]

Someone at the OFC message board just posted that Clay will be on GMA June 1. No link though, so I'll have a margarita this time of the morning...

Make sure you add salt!!!

Yep....

[keepingfaith]

No salt for me, literally. And, dammit, no tequila either! Maybe some Rose's Lime Juice on the Rocks? I'll call it a Rosarita and pretend. My meds are making me dizzy enough anyway.

The other kind of salt may be safe however, until there's a confirmation.

[Carolina Clay]

Happy Birthday, claymatron! :04:

Hope the June 1 GMA date is for real. It does make sense being the day the CD drops and the reason Clay couldn't appear on QVC. **crossing digits**

I just added Fountaindawg's "Anomaly + 7" wallpaper to the Carolina blog on the topic. Thank you for your visits and comments.

Have a great weekend, all!

Caro

[preden]

Beautiful day but allergies driving me crazy, eyes so itchy! Working this weekend but off Monday! might work overtime Monday if they ask as it would help with expenses this August! one more week for cd, don't know if I'll be able to wait for amazon delivery, might run over at Walmart to see if they have it and pick one up there June 1st! oops!

[FearofH2O]

preden, one can never have enough copies of a Clay Aiken cd.

[preden]

preden, one can never have enough copies of a Clay Aiken cd.

So true!

[00lsee]

preden, have you tried those antihistamine eyedrops yet? They work for me. Alaway is one brand I've had success with.

Afternoon, All!

[keepingfaith]

cablegirl at CV posted this:

Someone on an email list I'm on is on Faye's daily email list and she listed in her email today that

"Clay would be on GMA on June 1st and The View on June 2nd and that was all she knew right now."

I'll keep the salt shaker handy until it's OFC official, but this is the first semi-tangible confirmation of GMA that I've seen so far.

I know GMA is in NY, and The View is also in NY isn't it? Looks like it would be impossible for him to be on Kimmel on the 1st.

[treenuts]

Ok, so regarding the GMA rumor, here is what cablegirl posted at CV -

Someone on an email list I'm on is on Faye's daily email list and she listed in her email today that

"Clay would be on GMA on June 1st and The View on June 2nd and that was all she knew right now."

I asked her if I could pass it on; she said YES... and so here it is. I imagine at some point the OFC will list something.... right?

Could be. If so, great. But I really did want to see him as one of the Summer Concert Series performers but oh well.

Yeah, I know....never satisfied!

[jmh123]

But I really did want to see him as one of the Summer Concert Series performers but oh well.

That could come later in the summer. There are still some open dates. Remember, they're going to publicize the album when it drops, but they also want to publicize the PBS special that won't be shown until later. I think there might actually be much more promo then than now. JMO.

[keepingfaith]

Totally OTT, but I found these two stories worth sharing ...

Kevin Costner may hold key to oil spill cleanup

The " Kevin Costner solution" to the worsening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may actually work, and none too soon for the president of Plaquemines Parish.

Costner has invested 15 years and about $24 million in a novel way of sifting oil spills that he began working on while making his own maritime film, "Waterworld," released in 1995. Two decades later, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard plan to test six of his massive, stainless steel centrifugal oil separators next week.

The Los Angeles Times

Sen. Al Franken introduces bill to protect LGBT students from bullying

Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation on Thursday that would protect LGBT students from bullying in America’s public schools. The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) is in response to a series of incidents where students have been bullied to death — either murdered at the hands of their attackers or having committed suicide as a result of bullying.

“It’s time that we extend the protections of our nation’s civil right laws to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students across the country,” Franken said in a statement. “No student should be subjected to the ridicule and physical violence that LGBT students so often experience in school. It’s time we demanded equal treatment for all of our children under the law.”

The Minnesota Independent

[FearofH2O]

They actually passed an antibullying program in the NC Public Schools. Each school district is required to come up with a program to prevent this from occurring. I haven't heard of the plan in our district and I volunteer in one of the schools. I need to look this up and see what our county has proposed. The NC law came about as a result of a proposal from a certain political party which we voted on in each political district. It was the first time that GBLT terminology was used in a law in NC. Interesting to me.

[Lotus]

I just checked the GMA thread on OFC and found this posted by cja

Quote:

Originally Posted by cja View Post

A friend of mine who is friends with Faye, got a email this morning and she clued all of us in. I am sure she asked if she could pass this along to the Ohio fans and she said yes. She only tells me things that really are true or gonna happen, so set your DVRs. It's a happening thing!

So maybe, just maybe, it is true.

keepingfaith Thank you for those stories. If Kevin Costner's solution to cleaning up the oil spill works it would be wonderful but I hope it won't mean that deep water oil drilling will be allowed to continue.

Good for Al Franken...I just wonder how the legislation will be enforced.

[cindilu2]

So after all these years we still have to hear about alleged appearances - appearances just over a week away mind you - third hand from Clay's mother? So that either means once again the OFC/Team Clay needs to get with the program, or Faye needs to keep insider info to herself. (Yes, I edited that sentence because it was rude.)

Sighhhhh. I so want to be happy right now.

You know, before Clay was my Clay? Kevin Costner was my Clay.

I think it would be some kind of delicious irony if Waterworld, the most maligned film of his career (and possibly one of the most maligned films ever) was responsible for something so monumental as this. Ha!

[jmh123]

Message from couchie--she spilled something on her laptop and it's all screwed up. She can read but can't post. She's working on it. to couchie.

[keepingfaith]

OMGoodness, Clay Aiken is the best singer. Again listening to the end portion of SM, when he sings "trap" with his exquisite, subtle ornamentation I am in awe. The second "trap" is clearly five blended notes over and under so I guess it's officially a turn, anyway I love that SO MUCH! On the headphones it's amazing. I really do understand why he wants to sing music where he can do his thing. Anybody can sing contemporary music these days, or record it I should say, with all the gimmicks and technical assistance, but only Clay has the phenomenal control to do this. His artistry would be wasted on crap-pop. Good God he's something else.

[FearofH2O]

Good morning FCA!

What a great post to wake up to:

OMGoodness, Clay Aiken is the best singer. Again listening to the end portion of SM, when he sings "trap" with his exquisite, subtle ornamentation I am in awe. The second "trap" is clearly five blended notes over and under so I guess it's officially a turn, anyway I love that SO MUCH! On the headphones it's amazing. I really do understand why he wants to sing music where he can do his thing. Anybody can sing contemporary music these days, or record it I should say, with all the gimmicks and technical assistance, but only Clay has the phenomenal control to do this. His artistry would be wasted on crap-pop. Good God he's something else.

Good luck with your laptop couchie. I'll bet we'll get a little Clay promo next week. I still have to order my cds but I did order 2 downloads so far. Looking forward to a little Clay Aiken singing in my car soon.

[aikim]

8 Days until June 1st and The New CD and Possible GMA Appearance!

:04:

9 Days until Clay is Singing on The View!

19 Days Until The PBS Special Airs in Chicago!

28 Days until Clay is Bringing Broadway Home to NC!

45 Days until Clay Addresses The Key Club Convention!

60 Days until The Timeless Tour Begins! :09:

Happy Birthday to all celebrating!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[claygalsal]

Please pardon the interruption of any discussion at this time, but I would like to post a fun and exciting update.

HERE IS AN UPDATE ON THE RALEIGH CD RELEASE PARTY!

We are very excited about the upcoming Tried and True CD Release party, being celebrated as a Picnic in the Woods while also raising funds for the National Inclusion Project. The party will take place on Monday, May 31st in the New Community Church's Community Hall. The church is located at 9621 Six Forks Rd. in Raleigh, NC.

The cost of the party is $35; a portion of the admission price will be donated directly to the National Inclusion Project. Dinner will be provided by the Backyard BBQ Pit of Durham, NC. Our picnic menu includes BBQ chicken, BBQ brisket (and yes, we heard your grumbling) so we will also include BBQ pork. This will be accompanied by macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens, and hush puppies. Sweet and unsweet tea, along with coffee, and an array of homemade desserts will also be served.

The celebration will begin at 7pm, with dinner beginning at 7:30pm. An exciting evening is planned to include live music and clack, interactive games and line dancing, and raffles and silent auctions. Plans are still being negotiated to have Clay's new CD (regular and deluxe versions) available for purchase at the church at 12am.

12 of the ClayBears from the Nomads Talking/Singing ClayBears Project will be decorating the venue, and they will be available for purchase. This is the Beginning of the End of the project; the bears will be gracing the center of our tables, and this will be the largest Gathering of ClayBears ever. Don't miss this one-time-only opportunity to see them up-close and in-person.

Deadline for registration is Tuesday, May 25th. Paypal and questions should go to Margi at specialprojects2@nc.rr.com .

Please come and share the fun. It will be a great night, filled with laughter, fun and fellowship. Looking forward to seeing all of you.

Hugs,

Margi and the NC Nomads for Inclusion

[keepingfaith]

How neat that Clay has the composer of Suspicious Minds, Mark James (of Houston BTW), playing guitar on the T&T track!

I read that Mark James started out with BJ Thomas in the early days. When I was in my mid-teens I would see BJ Thomas & The Triumphs at a teen dance club in SoHo (South Houston), but he wasn't one of my favorites because I didn't like his looks and he was too old! James' claims to fame are writing two monster hits, SM of course, and Always on My Mind, which Elvis also recorded, but turned out to be Willie's song (and Johnny Carson's ^ha ).

[KAndre]

You thought BJ was too old? You heathen! Of course, I don't think I ever saw him live but on the radio he sounded young!

I am being good (of course, I make love to GMA Suspicious Minds repeatedly as a holder...I just hate iTunes so very much...

[keepingfaith]

Hey, KA, why is it being good to deny Clay some additional money from LiveNation that he wouldn't otherwise get so I can do some obsessing? Parker may need a new pair of shoes! And, if Clay didn't want me to buy it, it wouldn't be available for download now, would it? To listen exclusively to one track for two weeks is a bargain for $8.99. You see, now that I'm on medical leave I'm saving all that gas money not commuting 60 miles every day! Yes, I'm a rationalizing fool. Or maybe just a plain fool, but I'm cool with it.

Back to the day, when I was 14 and BJ Thomas was 22, he WAS old and my friends and I laughed at how he acted like he was God's Gift. Then when I was 15 and Paul McCartney was 22, things changed dramatically because he actually was God's Gift and my SOULMATE!

(Speaking to Beatles fans here, Martin Scorsese announced at the Cannes Film Festival last week that he has completed the first 2/3 of a comprehensive George Harrison documentary that will be released in 2011. Olivia is the producer. http://www.georgeharrison.com/ )

Back to Taylor Hall in the 60's, not only were BJ Thomas & The Triumphs a staple there, but so were Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs. Wooly Bully was a big song, and also ... "Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are lookin' good, you're everything a big bad wolf could want ...." Now "Sam" looked old enough to be my daddy at the time, but I loved that song! The 13th Floor Elevators played there (adored Roki) and The Moving Sidewalks (ZZ Top). This was at the same time that Janis Joplin was waiting tables and singing for tips at Sand Mountain in The Montrose. We went to La Carafe in Market Square, and it is still there and will probably be there in another 100 years. We had no idea how good we had it back then. Yet we thought most everything was so lame, and maybe it was, until the black light clubs hit and we all got s-m-a-a-a-l-l-l-l.

ETA: One more historical note about Sand Mountain Coffeehouse ... Jerry Jeff Walker wrote Mr. Bojangles about a guy he met in the New Orleans jail, and first sang it at Sand Mountain. Jerry Jeff was born in New York as Ron Crosby, but grew into his new name when he came to Texas. Clay content: Jerry Jeff Walker now owns "Tried & True Records" in Austin - how's that for bringing it all back home!