Syracuse Post Standard Interview

Ahead of Clay's date in New York this week, the Syracuse Post Standard conducted a short interview with Clay by phone from Raleigh:

Clay Aiken just spent a week relaxing at home in Raleigh, N.C., between shows in his summer tour. There was a thunderstorm while he was home, and it rained so much that the yard flooded, Aiken, 29, says during a phone interview from Raleigh. Then his cellular phone rings, and he excuses himself to answer it. He tells the caller that he can't talk and will call back later. "That was my family," Aiken says. "I even got rid of them to talk to you." After some much-needed rest and a dispute on an airplane that made news headlines earlier this month, Aiken is getting ready for the rest of his 23-city tour, "An Evening With Clay Aiken."

Q. What is like to work with orchestras from all over?
A. With this concept, we go in, and the orchestra is new every day. We meet the orchestra for the first time, and they rehearse 2 1/2 hours, and they're done. They're all set to go. We're talking amazing musicians. I like it more. I think it keeps it new every day. I think it keeps it fresh, and so I like that.

Q. What can the "Claymates" or other fans expect from this show?
A. This time we decided to something a little different ... I decided, well, let's go with some songs that would be completely wrong for an orchestra. So, we do a medley of songs you wouldn't expect to hear with an orchestra. It has songs like "Like a Virgin," "Sexy Back" and "Beat It," "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." ... not your typical symphony show songs. That's been a lot of fun for us.

Q. You've been to Central New York a couple times; what do you like about the area?
A. You don't realize that Central New York is American. Does it make any sense at all? It's very, very middle-American in a way. It's clean. It's so green up there ... I kind of think it's a breath of fresh air to go through an area like that. It's misunderstood so often, and people assume that it's gritty like the city is, but it's so green and beautiful. It's so America. That's my main memory of the first few times I've been to CNY."

Q. So, what really happened on the airplane?
A. Read my comment, my statement, and that's what you can have. It's online. It's everywhere. I think "Entertainment Tonight" has it.