Clay Melton

Today’s guest is Clay Melton and he makes me want to do a blues deep dive. We actually start off talking about the weather. After discussing the effects of bitterly cold, southern humid winters, we talk about Clay’s influences and the lasting importance of his father’s cassette collection. He started playing guitar on a classic Toy ‘R Us model with a built in speaker and two missing strings. But he got serious about music soon enough and started playing live at the age of twelve or thirteen. 

His love is the blues but when he got into high school, he started playing in a metal band, which comes up a few times here. By the time Clay finished high school (and truly, some time before that) he knew music was his future. So after he graduated, he studied jazz in college. But live music kept pulling on him. So he left to focus on playing live blues. And that’s what he’s been doing ever since!

His first album, Burn The Ships, is schizophrenic. And I mean that as a compliment. It is SO varied in style and sound. Clay discusses his approach to the LP and practicing his singing as much as his guitar playing. 

Clay has a great Covid lockdown story about recording in an Air B&B that had a strange connection to his session. Once things opened back up, Clay recorded a live album where his drummer brings back the drum solo! He has released two singles and is looking forward to a new full length in the near future. That’s the beauty of DIY recording! Follow CLay @claymeltonmusic on social media. Tour dates, music, & merch are available at claymelton.com. The podcast is supported by the amazing listeners by sending us coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety and by merch purchases at performanceanx.threadless.com. Now sit back and enjoy a heap of blues with Clay Melton on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. 

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