About J. D. Clark

            At almost twenty-one years old, J. D. Clark is already displaying a wit and wisdom in his songwriting that most people only attain after many years of living.  He’s quickly growing in popularity for his honest, insightful songwriting and his unique blend of styles into something completely his own.
            When asked how long he has been writing, Clark answers, “For as long as I can remember.”  However, he didn’t pick up a guitar and start writing songs until he was nineteen.
            “I don’t know where the songwriting came from.  Music has always been very important to me, and I think I just naturally evolved into a songwriter,” he explains.  “With that first song, I saw it bring tears to some people’s eyes, and it changed me.  I realized that I could help people deal with things by tackling my own life’s issues in lyrics.”
            Since then, Clark has continued to mature both musically and lyrically, while along the way drawing comparisons to musicians ranging from Cody Canada to Bob Dylan.  It is a sound that is difficult to categorize, something Clark himself is the first to admit.  “I don’t really know what to call it,” he laughs.  “I call it folk rock a lot lately.  It’s alternative country, roots rock, Texas country, Americana.   I don’t care what people call it as long as they listen to it.”
            The ambiguity in genre is a result of Clark’s many musical influences, which range from Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash to Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jack Ingram, Randy Rogers, and Stoney LaRue.
            “I don’t set out trying to write songs that sound like one person or another.  I just have all these influences jumbled in my head, and whatever comes out somehow works.  I just write what is inside me.  I write whatever I’m living at the time,” he explains.
            Clark’s songs have even resulted in praise from Jack Ingram, one of Clark’s heroes, and in December, the track“Hangover for Christmas” from his debut album reached the #1 spot on the online radio station RadioFreeTexas.org.  The nationally-known Eli Young Band has also become a close friend and supporter of Clark’s.  Since listening to his first album, the band has asked Clark to open for them on multiple occasions and even had him join them on-stage at Billy Bob’s Texas, the legendary honky-tonk in the Forth Worth Stockyards.
            “What I am hearing more and more from people after they listen to my songs is that they appreciate the honesty,” Clark says.  “If I’m writing a song, then you can be sure it’s about something that I am feeling very passionately about, and I don’t hold anything back when I’m writing a song.  It’s the cheapest form of therapy I know, and it really lets people inside my head.  My goal is that when they leave a show, they’ll not only feel like they know me but also like they know more about themselves.”
            Currently, Clark is attending college at the University of North Texas, where he is an English major with a concentration in creative writing.  He is also busy recording Bare Feet and Broken Hearts, a new full-length album of original material produced by Scott Horner of Bellwether Productions. 
            “I am so proud of the songs I’ve written for this album, and I’m lucky to be working with someone like Scott who is good enough to make them happen,” Clark says.  “He knows what he’s doing in the studio, and he’s able to take what I hear in my head and make it happen.  Then he brings in all his own ideas and techniques to implement with mine, and the end result is just a damn good sound.  I’m really looking forward to releasing this record.  I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.”