Rising Stars: Meet Cass Clayton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cass Clayton.

Hi Cass, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I never planned on being a musician or even thought of it as a possibility. Then about ten years ago, a friend of mine randomly asked me if I could sing. They needed someone to replace the female front-person in their band. It was a pretty random occurrence, and I really didn’t want to do it, but for some reason, I said yes. That landed me in a cover band singing soul and blues tunes for a few years, and I learned a lot.

A couple of years in, I started getting this inkling that I wanted to write songs. I had very specific things I wanted to say that weren’t being said in other music I was hearing. So I started to practice writing lyrics without doing anything with them. I wrote at least a hundred songs before I thought I had a decent one.

When I met Taylor Scott (our producer/co-writer/guitar player), he suggested we write a couple of songs together and see how it goes. We were both surprised at how well it went in the studio, so we just kept on writing together. He’s an amazing composer and arranger. On May 17th we release our 3rd full-length studio album release, and I feel more excited about the music than ever!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wish I could say that the road has been smooth and easy, but what fun would that be? Overall, it’s been phenomenally smooth on the artistic side and in my day-to-day business. It’s been a tremendous amount of work, but I like this type of work. I use whatever challenges come up to grow as a musician and business person. I love the creativity, the community, the challenge of writing a song, and the feeling of peace when I’m finally satisfied with it.

That said, I don’t like the music industry as a whole. It’s designed to capture the imagination and energy of artists and harvest that energy so a few people, not artists themselves, gain all of the financial resources from that endeavor. All of this is done through contract trickery. I’ve spent a few years studying and syntaxing these contracts and have found all of them to be fraudulent. That’s all I can say about that for now.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a musician and the front-woman for a funk, soul, and rock band playing mostly original music. I think we have a beautiful thread and continued the story through the Cass Clayton Band music, especially now that I can listen back through three albums. I love writing lyrics, and the story is really important to me.

In a song, that story has to come out in 3 minutes or so. Our co-writer/producer, Taylor Scott, is also a phenomenal songwriter who puts the lyrics first. Taylor and I have never tried to write a specific type of song, for example, a rock song or a ballad. The genre comes out based on the lyrics, and what we feel is best for the song.

Taylor is brilliant at intuiting the right feel for a song, and I also tend to trust my voice. That keeps us honest, and I think people know when they’ve run into something honest. This is why AI will never measure up to a real live person’s creativity. You can’t algorithmically touch people’s souls. Only people can do that for each other.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Haha! That’s a dangerous question for someone like me. I almost always say yes before I can even think because if I’m feeling a strong yes, I’ll go for it even if I’m terrified. It gets me in trouble once in a while, but mostly it’s a great way to get out of the cookie cutter. The cookie-cutter life is more terrifying to me than death itself.

Pricing:

• $22 + ticket fee – Album Release Party – MIDNIGHT IN A BOTTLE – May 17 at Ophelias Denver
• $30 – Ltd Edition Vinyl Album – www.cassclayton.com
• FREE – Follow Cass Clayton on Spotify

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cassclayton.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassclaytonband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassclayton1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cassclayton1?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiJRu4gyhx9yqjDkW8uRMSw
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2PnMcrUNMLoi5tuED6BjhY?si=iRmfL7yjSimlxmS0rob3GQ