#61: Eight years of freakishly fun tours...and yes, he's still the one!

[aikim]

I LOVE this board - so angst-free, and positive!

Nice to see you! Yep.. it is great to have a safe haven where you can come and just celebrate Clay (and vent now and then, LOL!)

Kim

[lilyshine]

On a totally different topic -- Clay's singing!

I just downloaded a new compilation of AI Clay. I've found it fascinating to hear how much his voice improved over that time, especially his breath control. I don't know jack about music, but even I can hear his voice getting smoother and richer. Working with professional vocal coaches must have been exciting for him. I'm sure he learned tons, being such a sponge.

I'm going to have to listen to some of the newer stuff to compare it, although I find there's so much more production it interferes with listening to just the voice. Don't misunderstand, I love the horns and cellos etc., but the minimal and rather boring background on AI really showcased his voice.

Hope did the Sendspace and if anyone is interested, I'll try to find the link.

[merrieeee]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

[gbmifan]

I also have been a fan since 03 and I am not leaving. I do not need the communication that others are proclaiming he must do. I went to lunch today with my concert buddy who is not on the boards and we discussed just that. We both agree no matter what he would blog he would be criticised by some. Sometimes when it starts, with all the comments that he should be doing this and that, I shake my head and wonder why do they think they know it all. Nobody really knows what is going on. I hope he will surprise us and then it will quiet people again.

[aikim]

Another "fan from 03" and not going anywhere.

Kim

[keepingfaith]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

Drank? Why are you going all past tense, as if it were ancient history ... didn't I see you chugging a tall glass of strawberry koolaid on February 14th?

[ldyjocelyn]

[merrieeee]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

Drank? Why are you going all past tense, as if it were ancient history ... didn't I see you chugging a tall glass of strawberry koolaid on February 14th?

Oops!

[Couch Tomato]

Well I totally agree that no matter what he does he will be criticized. I just thought most were trying to ask in a good way. The thing is about the unreleased song -- does he own any of them? That's the one thing he probably can't give right now. But what do I know.

I'm off to WW. Almost talked myself out of it because I'm not sure I lost any weight last week. I better have though considering I cooked easter dinner and didn't get to eat two of the side dishes. LOL But hey gotta stick with it.

KF --- loved your post.

[shortyjill]

Well I totally agree that no matter what he does he will be criticized. I just thought most were trying to ask in a good way. The thing is about the unreleased song -- does he own any of them? That's the one thing he probably can't give right now. But what do I know.

I'd say 5 albums worth. Isn't that about the amount of stuff he said he'd recorded, before it all got scrapped and ATDW came to be? And then again, even if he did have it, would he be allowed to release it? Like wasn't he technically not supposed to give us Just You? Or have I made things up in my head again?

[Desertrose]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

Yep, it was mighty fine koolaide! I got on this roller coaster in 03 and plan on staying on for the duration of this mighty fine ride. I think of the conversation Keeping, you and I had in the Biloxi, Beau Rivage elevator often. It is a good cult! Heh

[Desertrose]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

Drank? Why are you going all past tense, as if it were ancient history ... didn't I see you chugging a tall glass of strawberry koolaid on February 14th?

I was there to testify that a lot of us chugged on the Koolaide that night. Keeping, yours was especially tasty.

[jmh123]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

I have found that worrying seldom makes anything better, so I strive to be worry-free in my life. (Not always easy, mind you.) Although I can be a worrier about some things, I don't worry about Clay nor do I expect him to consult with me about his career. I'm not his mama or his lover or his friend or his family member or a member of his "Team," so I don't feel a need for him to keep in touch all the damn time. If someone didn't get enough love on this last tour it sure isn't Clay's fault, because he was giving it away in great abundance every single night.

I almost left the boards and the intense fandom they nurture over these issues back in 2006. And then I found FCA. I FCA.

[FearofH2O]

"Just You" always loved that song. I appreciated Clay offering it to us. I thought he had said that he paid for it so it was okay to give it away. I think that caused another kerfuffle.

Lilyshine, I downloaded the mp3 from the CH vault but haven't had a chance to listen yet. I think one of the big differences in his voice is the phrasing and the emotion he wrings out of a song now. I think life's experiences have taught him this.

[Couch Tomato]

I have found that worrying seldom makes anything better, so I strive to be worry-free in my life. (Not always easy, mind you.) Although I can be a worrier about some things, I don't worry about Clay nor do I expect him to consult with me about his career. I'm not his mama or his lover or his friend or his family member or a member of his "Team," so I don't feel a need for him to keep in touch all the damn time. If someone didn't get enough love on this last tour it sure isn't Clay's fault, because he was giving it away in great abundance every single night. :twinklewhore:

I almost left the boards and the intense fandom they nurture over these issues back in 2006. And then I found FCA. I FCA.

JMH I hear you. does nobody else have a 72 year old mother with a long distance lover to worry about like me LOL.

Yeah shortyjill..I was referring to who holds the rights to all those songs Clay recorded. He certainly can't hand them out like candy. I would think record company a and record company b owns them. And since I think he is without a record company right now they would have no incentive to give his fans something for free. But again - I have no knowledge of how these things work.

Ok so it's been 8 years... what is your favorite Clay memorabilia be in official or not.

I have several things that I will never part with... one is a large collection of pins that I collected and have in a beautiful display case ..well the case was beautiful ... the glass broke so I need to replace it. The print of Clay in Good News pose by what's her name (the memory does goes first)...and my Learning to sing in the leather bound cover.

Off topic: I've been thinking about my childhood best friend a lot lately. We were basically inseparable from second grade through our first year in college. We moved to Los Angeles together but went to different schools. In our second year she moved closer to her school and I moved closer to mine and our lives then went in wildly different directions. She was murdered about 15 years ago. We grew up across the street from each other and she had 9 brothers and sisters. And I've basically lost touch with all of them. So I started looking for them tonight on the internet and did manage to locate one of her brothers who runs a non-profit here in town. Every year that goes by I think about her usually on her birthday but for some reason this year I just can't get her out of my mind. I'm hoping to find her sister who was one year behind us and used to follow us around. ha ha.

[luckiest1]

Good luck couchie, I hope you can locate her sister.

I have a 'clack keeper' under my bed filled with print memorabilia I refuse to part with....tour programs, magazines, articles, 8x10 glossies, etc. And I have a few things up on a shelf above my bed, like the Charlotte bobblehead, a really cute clock with Clay as Sir Robin, etc. And all my pins attached to a couple of Clay related lanyards hanging on my mirror. I also have a few large framed items on the walls in the living room - an ATDW mosaic and an autographed Spamalot poster with an autographed playbill beside it. I have a spare room that is papered with Clay posters and magazine covers. Oh, let's not forget my dresser drawer that is designated for Clay shirts only! Don't ask me to pick a favourite piece of memorbilia, it's impossible.

[FearofH2O]

Most of my Clay stuff is in two plastic bins. I'm hoping some day to go through them and offer up duplicates to newer fans. I have the really big "I love Clay" cup, the candle with Clay and Raleigh in silhouette. I have every tour book, a few foreign cds as well as the "Ugly Duckling" cd. And I still haven't opened my lip balm. Okay, who do I put in my will?

So sorry about your friend couchie. Horrible when things like that happen. I hope your mom gets to visit her boyfriend soon.

Today is the volunteer breakfast at the elementary school where I help out. The last day with my kindergartner. In the fall she'll be a first grader. I was kind of shocked to see those temporary tatoos on the side of her neck last week. I thought they were gang symbols but are probably fashion now. She's outgrown her Tinkerbell phase and now tells me the brands of clothing she wears. She is a real cutie but I'd rather hear her tell me about her favorite book. I'm so old fashioned.

Have a great day all!

[aikim]

Clay memorabilia...I have my stash tucked away in a cupboard in my room..probably not as much as others have..mostly DVD's of all the shows I have been too, Rolling Stone and TV Guides, playbill from Spamalot and I still have about a dozen videos of all his early appearances. I keep thinking I should get rid of them because I never watch them anymore. In the beginning I taped everything, now I pretty much download what I want. My OFC shirts are put away in a drawer, I have never worn them, just not the type to wear a t-shirt with a celebrity's face on them. But my favorite piece of Clay memorabilia is my signed copy of the post he responded to at the OFC that I got this summer thanks to my dear friend Fear.

FOD Video Premier in May!

75 Days until Clay is on DDD!

Happy Birthday to all celebrating!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

I have most of my Clay magazine collection in archival boxes. The rest of it is in different containers in my office closet. I really can't pick a favorite, per se. However, when I travel to shows, I usually wear a Clay t-shirt, and I've gotten more compliments from fans with the long sleeve t-shirt sold at the 2005 Christmas show. I personally LOVE long sleeved t-shirts, and I've always dearly loved the picture that it has one it.

[Couch Tomato]

You guys are weenies. Like I don't have a stash?

Fear, don't be an enabler but she's going end of June.

[shortyjill]

Favorite Clay memorabilia... well I'm not a pin collector, but I do have one pin that I'll never part with. It's a Michigan license plate fashioned to add all the Michigan locations Clay had toured at up to JBT. I was fortunate that at the ATDW CD release party a woman (claybearlady I think?) had a whole bag of them and I said how much I loved them and she gave one to me.

I think besides that the only other really treasured pieces I have are the promo posters from ATDW and OMWH, the tour posters (I'm only missing JNT and it's been SO hard to find one! I didn't get to that tour so I don't have much from it), probably my one JNT05 ornament and my most recent, the set list from the Ft. Wayne show. I have most of my stuff in a storage bin, but I think I need a bigger one.

ETA: Oh and a couple more! We got wine glasses at the ATDW and OMWH CD release parties etched with Clay's name, the CD names and their release dates. Love those too.

Couchie good luck on your search.

[keepingfaith]

I hopped on this ride in ought 3 and I'm not getting off!

Love love love the guy! Whatever he does is ok by me..........and yes I say quite proudly........I drank the koolaid and it was mighty fine.

Drank? Why are you going all past tense, as if it were ancient history ... didn't I see you chugging a tall glass of strawberry koolaid on February 14th?

I was there to testify that a lot of us chugged on the Koolaide that night. Keeping, yours was especially tasty.

And do you remember the name of the liqueur in my martini? .... X-RATED, of course, and it is all hot pink and koolaidey!

I have memorabilia everywhere. In plastic bins, under the bed in boxes, on the walls, hanging in the closet, sitting on a shelf in a kitchen cabinet, draped over an etagere, sitting on a dresser, and, at Christmas, hanging on the tree. I live in Clay World. And I'm not moving.

[FearofH2O]

You guys are weenies. Like I don't have a stash?

Fear, don't be an enabler but she's going end of June.

Go mama couchie, live your life.

Anybody but me have the Clay thong! Which I never wore. Probably couldn't fit in it.

[luckiest1]

I live in Clay World. And I'm not moving.

Thread title?

Who are you calling a weenie??? Ok, my favourite piece of clack is my autographed Rolling Stone magazine (never ending thanks to cindilu2 who got it for me)!!!

[ldyjocelyn]

I live in Clay World. And I'm not moving.

Thread title?

I had the same thought. Hee.

What, do I have a Clay Aiken hotdog, with all this talk of weenies?

Please don't go there.