CLAY PARKER & JODI JAMES / VERLON THOMPSON / ERIC SCHMITT
https://clayparkerandjodijames.com/
https://verlonthompson.com/news
https://ericschmittmusic.com/
THE OLD QUARTER IS A LISTENING ROOM. LOUD CONVERSATION DURING ARTIST'S PERFORMANCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. PLEASE CONSIDER THIS WHEN PURCHASING TICKETS TO SHOWS.
Clay Parker and Jodi James create worlds within their records by populating each song with points of view that are archetypical yet unique. With their third official release, Your Very Own Dream, the pair hone this technique to a razor’s edge. Even while having abandoned the traditional acoustic arrangements of their previous releases The Lonesomest Sound That Can Sound (2018) and their self-titled debut EP (2016), the concoction is equal parts plaintive folk existentialism, blue-note bluster, prairie-fire idealism, and fever-dream ballad. They have again delivered compelling songs that solicit repeated listens to decode -- the kind where everyone ciphers a separate conclusion and every supposition is correct. With Your Very Own Dream, Parker and James cast a spell with lyrical riddles distilled into poignant realism. The listener is invited to pull at the thread of each story told without the promise of finding a tidy bow when they get to the end. In Parker’s own words, “...a tune can be worth singing or a rhyme worth landing without linearity being a necessity." It's these puzzles -- these sleight-of-hand mysteries -- that have captivated audiences all across the country and even piqued the curiosity of Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna): “In a world where artistry would be predictably honored, Clay Parker and Jodi James would be right up there at the top of the list. I love everything about them…songs, music, harmony…everything.”
Thirty years as a professional songwriter and traveling troubadour serve as credentials. As a solo performer, and as the trusted sidekick of Texas Americana songwriting icon Guy Clark, Verlon has viewed the world from stages everywhere from Barcelona to Binger (his hometown in Oklahoma).
“Anyone can write a song, but to do it well, that takes talent. Eric Schmitt, an English instructor and former member of the roots band Flatbed Honeymoon, has that talent. His latest solo album is neither pretentious nor fluffy. It's an example of what you should think of when you hear the term ‘singer-songwriter.’"
