Happy New Year

CDD wishes all its visitors and subscribers a happy New Year. This is going to be an exciting year, with Clay's sophomore release due out before May. Stay tuned to CDD for the latest Clay news, and much much more!

Here's a fantastic recap of the year by the CH's Calliek:

The year began with Clay beaming from his perch on the Ronald McDonald House float in the Rose Bowl Parade, but this was a far cry from the journey on which he was about to embark. Traveling to the tsunami zone in the Far East took him to a place that has always been in his heart--a place that needs to feel who he is will never be as important as what he can do. A place where his voice takes him beyond a stage, to a higher calling...to the outer banks of life in the spotlight. With his now solid celebrity, he can give more than "just a little bit." But soon he is back playing the slots, pulling the lever and watching the cherries snap into line...prime-time television calls him before four cameras to woo a whole new demographic. Wasn't he lovely? But once again, it's his Voice for Change that emerges in the Pacific Rim, speaking out so eloquently for those who cannot and for those who care for them. And again, the call of the wild world draws him away from us...to children whose eyes will always find him and tell him stories he could never know, so he can take their songs and make the world listen. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow...but someday, in his own way. In the meantime, he continues to herald the voices of change, in Florida, and talks to Dr. Phil about being bullied, about believing, about bravura. He now has an "official fan club" and a Mastercard for his foundation, has moved onto new management, is an A-list celebrity that the late-night talk shows look to for a numbers-spike and the magazines splash on their covers for a sales-hike. TV Guide is growing fond of his face, Jimmy Kimmel keeps an open space. He becomes a "special correspondent" and a Red Carpet darling, the clothes off his back fetch five-digit bids. Autumn breaks out a new jukebox hero who channels Elvis and seduces Iris...and once again, no song will ever be the same after it has exhaled from his lungs and tickled across his tongue, been tasted and savored and branded with his whole new flavor. Winter revives Joyful Noise from pages of his past and present and...if we look close enough...maybe his future. Because his future is a blinding blaze of sunlight through the windshield of a very fast, very powerful car. But it likes to turn down unmarked roads...he's a fearless driver, a curious traveler.

2005 has been a year of grinding gears for Clay. He likes to feel the buck of the engine in his drive. If he has a secret passion...I think that's it. He's a maverick spirit in the shell of a maestro. On the outside, everything must be orchestrated and controlled. Underneath, he lusts for the wild ride that teases the outer bands of the hurricane. Because he wants to lasso the power and see how far he can take it on his own terms.

My industry acquaintance who said the Jukebox Tour was a brilliant move was certainly right, on so many levels. Clay wasn't just doing covers...he was redefining sounds of the decades that most artists could never begin to replicate, let alone fire new life into them in a way that ached for the past to become present and future once again. He was showing a jaded pop promenade that he could stand alone and draw the spotlight to him while they continue to crowd in the stagnating haze of urban banality. While they danced and pranced and contorted to fit the mainstream mold, he was popping the clutch and taking off in his own direction. He threw out the maps right after MoaM. Hang on in 2006...we're probably in for a bumpy ride. But you know what? It's always going to be interesting and exciting. The wind blasting by the windows is going to blow our hair back and lift us off our seats. There will be some roadside stops that will be a little questionable, but he's got his eye on a superhighway that's still being built. He's content to let his contemporaries fly by in their sleek rides, racing to that dazzling but pitted speedway. Because the place he's headed...the place he's going...is a little off the beaten track. But the surface being poured is solid and it's never been ridden. His tires are pumped and tight, his hand is firmly on the gearshift. The engine's revving...how hard and fast and far can he go? Well, this superhighway doesn't seem to have milestones. Looks like he's going to make them as he goes.

Pretty much par for the course, isn't it? Hold on, don't let the doors spring open...then again, you might be flung into a rapturous place. That's the way it is with Clay. You don't know where you're going, you just feel it when you get there. Ready?

Wishing a you all a beautiful, joyous, healthy, loving, and prosperous 2006...with fondness and affection for the treasured friends I've met, spent time with, and shared the warmth of reunion...and the awe of the one who drew us together; special gratitude and appreciation for the diligent, dedicated, and generous Clack-gatherers, the incredibly talented photographers, wallpaper- and montage-makers, the wise and wonderful wits, the *creative and enthusiastic* skit-writers, the uplifting and the thought-provoking, the number-crunchers and data-analysts, to the tireless efforts of our admins and mods, and just all the rest of this unique fandom that is its own celebration of home and family each and every day. Clay knows he is lucky to have this most loyal following and it reflects, not only in his vocal dynamics, but also in his smiles, his smirks, his eye-twinkles, his cheek crinkles, his toe-taps, his hip swivels, his snarks and his barks...it reflects in his ability to rise above all preconceived notions and all self-levied benchmarks, to feel free to be the man he wants to be and know that he will be embraced for that, even when he doesn't necessarily please all of us all the time. It just gives him more to challenge in himself and more miles to log on his amazing journey. I'm glad we're with him.

Here's to an abundance of Good News in 2006...Happy New Year, Clackhouse! 2005 has been an incredible ride...but next year...well, next year will be...like Clay...uncategorical. We will just go with it. In joy.