Coley
Coley
(INTERVIEW BY: ANGELA STURRUP)
This eclectic young artist, only 24, pulls passion and emotion from each note he sings, moving audiences with his melodies and ballads. His age in years contradict with his music, romance and a girl being the center of his inspiration. The powerfully smooth lyrics grab you from the beginning, combining romance and intrigue with his raspy eloquence.
He pretty much keeps to himself. But give him a guitar and a microphone and an alternative rock/blues/love-song-singing wanderer is awakened. The young man, with his shoulder length blonde locks, rarely parts with his guitar, even at the grocery store, and can be found singing cover tunes five nights a week, at bars in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Clay Coley and the band, “Coley”, are right on point to finish his debut album, tentatively named “Come what May”, and his fans are anxious for the new release.
In between gigs, the front man of the band, “Coley”, took time out and opened up to The MusicShelf Magazine about what inspires and motivates his music and upcoming album.
TMS: Good Evening Clay, please introduce yourself & tell us a little about where are you from?
I’m Clay Coley, from the band, “Coley”. I’m originally from California. I was born in California but I’ve lived in Georgia and Atlanta for most of my life since I was in first grade.
TMS: I was looking at your MySpace page. Are you Native American?
I’m part Cherokee. I’m very into it. My ex-girlfriend – which is the girl I sing all the songs about, the one I kind of let get away – her dad is a Cherokee shaman and he was part of a tribe— they’re not called tribes anymore, they’re called clans. He taught me a lot about just the culture and the spirituality and everything.
TMS: Who or what inspired you to become a musician?
Have you ever seen the movie The Crow with Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee’s son? Him playing guitar on the rooftop at one point, it was just so awesome. It was just one of those things where you’re like ‘I want to be that.’
TMS: How did Coley, the band, come about?
I got hooked up with a friend of mine, a friend through a friend that I went to high school with and I started working with him. His name is Patrick [Hoydar]. He’s my guitar player. My last name is Coley and he was like ‘Why don’t we call the band Coley?’… So I just decided to do that and it kind of caught on.
TMS: Do you write all your music – the lyrics and the actual music?
Yeah.
TMS: Why is love such a common theme in your music?A lot of the songs came from my past relationship with [name removed] and I think that’s when my music blossomed the most. And I’ve always been very romantic, even when I was really little.
TMS: Does she know that all of your songs are about her?
(Laughs). Yeah.
TMS: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Very powerful, I’m a very balladry writer, and to simplify it, I would say my music is modern rock – pop rock, I guess. So I write a lot of love songs and I mostly play acoustic guitar.
TMS: Are you working on an album right now?
Yes. The album’s going to be called “Come What May.” This will be my first official album that will be released this summer. The producers’ names are Daniel Gardner & Rob Dyson, and they run a studio called Wizkid Sound.
TMS: 67 is all over your MySpace and Face book pages. What does it mean?
67 is a dream I had….the six is my fate. It’s what will kind of destroy me if I make the wrong decisions and live life and music selfishly. Seven is kind of the righteous man in me. It’s pretty much God to me—my inner conscious.
Thank you for your time Clay, it was a pleasure to sit down and talk with you tonight. For all the readers out there, check out www.coleyrocks.com or www.myspace.com/claycoley, to view more on “Coley”.
