Musician, producer and Delta student Jason Clark is ready to say goodbye to winter and hello to a productive summer.
What began as a collection of funny songs about two years ago turned into something more when Clark experienced a classic motivator for artists — heartbreak.
Now at 22, the indie hip-hop/pop artist has recorded two mixes and gained performance experience with a live band.
In his writing, Clark strives to capture the large spectrum of human emotion and convey personal experiences, all the while maintaining a sound as down-to-earth and laid back as himself.
“I talk about what’s close to me, what’s relatable,” said Clark.
He has a wide variety of bands and artists contribute to his inspiration, including City and Color, Coconut Records, Travie McCoy and Shwayze.
He also possesses a wide variety of artistic skills.
Along with writing, composing music and beats, and performing, Clark is responsible for his own recording, production and the creation of the videos that accompany some of his songs.
Though he enjoys the creative freedom that comes with self-production, songs on both his “Whoa, Easy Tiger!” and “The Lone Ranger” mixes feature friends and fellow musicians providing guest vocals.
Other than a rather random feature on a college radio show in Russia, Clark’s music has stayed fairly close to his home of Manteca.
His performance spaces have included Modesto Virtual and Fresno State University, and he has been featured on KWIN’s “Unsigned at 9” segment.
Clark plans to “get serious” this year, aiming to record a summer EP and an album in the future.
“My goal is to get exposure,” said Clark. “During the summertime, I’ll be doing more shows.”
A week ago, Clark released a video for his song “2 A.M.” (produced by Me Gusta) on YouTube, getting viewers into a summery, party-season mood.
All of Clark’s music is available for free.
For him, it’s not about the money, but about the opportunity for self-expression.
“Be yourself,” he said, as advice to other artists. “Have fun with it. People take art and music too seriously. You might as well enjoy it. Do what brings joy to you.”
For music by Jason Clark, visit purevolume.com/JasonClark. Follow @JasonClarkDude on Twitter for updates.