People.com Clay's New Spamalot Bio Winner

Of course we already knew this thanks to Clay and the OFC, but it has been officially announced in People.com today that ClayBella a.k.a. Jo-Anne Lopez was the winner of the Spamalot Playbill biography contest. WTG ClayBella!

Clay Aiken Announces Winning Writer of His Official Bio
By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Tuesday October 21, 2008 10:45 AM EDT

His latest accomplishment is the announcement of the winner of the "Write Clay's Playbill Biography Contest," which provided members of the singer's fan club the opportunity to pen his official bio for program of the Tony-winning musical.

And the winner is: Jo-Anne Lopez of Carlsbad, Calif. Her publication-worthy prose (which takes into consideration the musical spoof's humorous reference to Finland):

CLAY AIKEN was born southwest of Finland, in Raleigh, N.C., a little more than 29 years ago. Although his younger years were spent belting out tunes from atop piles of Sears carpet samples, his mature teenage years saw him cast in musical theater roles such as Singer #2 in his high school production of The Music Man, which was met with enough success not to get him cast in his final high school production. His ego thus bolstered, he had more than enough incentive to audition for American Idol Season 2, the outcome of which (in the prophetic #2 spot) has made him arguably the most beloved and successful contestant ever to have irritated Simon Cowell. A bestselling book, UNICEF Ambassadorship and multiple platinum recordings later, six or seven sold-out nationwide tours notwithstanding, and after a first very successful run in Spamalot early this year, Clay is currently finding his second grail, on Broadway, right here at the Shubert [Theatre]. For his next project, he plans to teach a modern Torah class.

For her efforts, Lopez will receive two tickets to the show, a backstage tour hosted by Aiken and an autographed copy of the Playbill, says a show rep.

A Visit To Spamalot, Pre-Clay Show

Have you ever wondered what Spamalot was like from the time Clay left until now? Well, now we can get an idea about this. The Clayboard's imsnoqueen went to see the show Thursday night, sans Clay. Here is her review. I think you'll enjoy it very much. I've bolded a few parts that I especially found interesting.

I went to see Spamalot last night, to evaluate the show pre-Clay Return.

The new king, who recently joined the cast, plays the role as a more goofy character. The comedic timing on a few of the jokes was a bit off, as he didn't give the audience time to laugh. In addition, he talks a bit fast, so some of the lines were not discernible. But, overall, he gave a good performance. I liked his "I'm All Alone" performance very much.

David is back as Patsy...I love him!

The outgoing Sir Robin did a nice job, particularly on "You Won't Succeed on Broadway." The actor who played Sir Robin did not flip up the back of his tunic, when he sat down at the piano. He played the piano quite well, and included a section from the song "I will Survive." He enunciates very clearly and talks slower than Clay. He's smaller and more "bouncy" than Clay. I feel Clay plays the role with a stronger English accent, more comical, and as more of a "chicken."

The Knights Who Say Ni joke was that he was the father of Sarah Palin's daughter's baby. His exit line was, "I have to go now and check on my AIG stock."

Sir Galahad did a great job, particularly in the role of Prince Herbert's father, and his presence seemed to outshine Sir Robin, as a starring character.

The Lady of the Lake was a smash with the Diva song. She doesn't have the operatic voice, like Hannah's, but added her own spin. There was a line in the song, where she said they were going to replace her with Britney Spears, rather than Posh Spice. During the part, where they are searching for the Grail, she somehow incorporates part of Rihanna's umbrella song...ella...ella...ella.

The peasant seat was B101 last night. There are a lot more lines from the cast, speculating on what the meaning of B101 is. The peasant brought onstage was an older man, who was completely surprised.

As has been mentioned before, the "Idol of My Age" and "Spam Spam Wonderful Spam" singing parts were not in the show. I expect that those will return tonight.

During the "Run Away" song, the girls in the chorus seemed to be grabbing Sir Robin's butt more, so we (and Clay) should be looking forward to that.

I think Prince Herbert got a new wig.

Overall, the show was excellent, and the audience was enthusiastic, although there were no standing ovations, even at the end. The cast is so good, and the show is so colorful and energetic. It's almost exhausting to watch. The orchestra was full. I'd put the mezzanine at 25% full. I couldn't see the balcony, other than to see that here were people up there.

There were 5 people at the stage door. The King signed autographs, and Tom Deckman and Bradley Dean came out while I was there.

We spoke with one of the cast members, who said that the cast was very happy about Clay's return. He said they'd been at about 60% in sales, since Labor Day, and that the expectation is that Clay's return will increase sales. He said that tonight is close to being sold out, and that sales are good for the first weekend and next week.

That's all folks!

Tidbits 9/6

• Via cuddles4clay03 at The Clayboard - Clay will be in the September 22 issue of People Magazine. Sarah Palin will be on the cover, and Clay will be in the Mailbag section. Here is the quote from the magazine:

  Congratulations to Clay Aiken. I always believed that he would make a wonderful father. It's just like Clay to march to the beat of his own drum.
  
  Vickie Davie
  Starke, Fla

• Broadway Cares Ebay.com Auction - The Broadway Spamalot Clay Aiken lobby board name slider is being auctioned in this Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS auction. The bid as of this writing is up to $265.00 Here is the description and picture of the item:
  
  

  LOT #9 - With AMERICAN IDOL SENSATION CLAY AIKEN’S name printed in white on a blue background, this authentic Broadway lobby slider let audience members know that Clay (rather than his understudy) would be playing Sir Robin in SPAMALOT, the long-running Broadway sensation now in its fourth year. Taking over a role originally performed on Broadway by David Hyde Pierce, Aiken played Sir Robin form Jan 18 through May 4 of this year, receiving rave reviews. Going, going…

New Spamalot Pictures of Clay at Hannah Waddingham's Website

Just in time to rain on our drought...new pictures of Clay!!! These came from Hannah Waddingham's website. So for your viewing pleasure.....new Clay pictures!!!


Clay & Hannah...possibly after her last performance in Spamalot...love his dreamy eyes in this one!


Clay and the whole cast of Spamalot....possibly taken on his last day in Spamalot


Part of the cast members posing for a picture

Go to Hannah's website to see more Spamalot pictures with others. You can also leave a note in her guest book.

Remembering Spamalot I Via YouTube

Here at Clay's Daily Double, we will differentiate between "Spamalots" by calling them Spamalot I and Spamalot II. So, as we wait for Spamalot II to start in 19 days...that's less than 3 weeks everyone...let's think back on Spamalot I. Today we'll do that via a few YouTube videos. Thank goodness for modern technology!!

This first YouTube video is entitled "Clay Aiken Spamalot News Clip" and was posted by marhaven. It includes scenes from Clay's Spamalot debut and interviews with Clay.




Oh, and you're gonna love this one. This is a montage of Spamalot scenes from various news shows and is called "Clay Aiken-Spamalot Silly Montage" by Yollie950. Check out Clay at the end of the video! Funny!




And we can't have a series of Spamalot YouTube videos without having one from The Clay Channel. This one is called "Clay Spamalot Trailer". Oooo, this one has me chomping at the bit for Spamalot II!!




Let's end our memory lane via YouTube with a 3-1/2 minute interview with Clay by CW 11 called "Clay Aiken: In Broadway show 'Spamalot'" posted by wpix.




Hope yall enjoyed that. More Spamalot memories to come!!

Spamalot - A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Ahhhh, just thinking about Spamalot makes me chuckle. Guard 1 and the coconut, Not dead Fred, Sir Robin's Russian bottle dance, Guard 1 braiding ribbons as he tries to figure out just how is he supposed to guard Herbert. And on and on it goes. But I'll stop there and let these pictures do the talking. These should get you excited about going to see Spamalot again!

No Clay News To Report?? Well, This Time Last Year...

So its hard to find any Clay news to report on these days. Spamalot is over and our next Clay appearance apparently isn't until August. In fact, here are the next three appearances that we are aware of:

• August - Paula Deen's Party (Food Network)
  This series is scheduled to be shown on Friday Nights at 10:00pm EDT
• October 18 - Champions of Change Gala (Raleigh) - Marriott
  
• Monday, January 26, 2009 - 2nd Annual Golfing for Inclusion
  Mirasol Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

We do expect to receive another UNICEF blog from Clay, but meanwhile, I thought it would be fun to look back at what was happening this time last year. Of course!! Clay's 2007 Summer Tour, The Soft Rock and a Hard Place Tour, was going on. He had already been to three different cities:

Wednesday July 4...Pizza Hut Park, Frisco Texas
Friday July 6...Jones Hall, Houston TX
Saturday July 7...The Brady Theater, Tulsa OK

Being from Texas I was, of course, beside myself, as were countless other Texas fans. And Oklahoma being just around the corner made for a nice trio of concerts! the weather even cooperated for the outdoor Frisco concert. It was somewhat cooler than normal July 4 weather in Dallas.

To think back on these three awesome concerts, here are some pictures and videos from each one. Enjoy and reminisce Clay's great summer tour of 2007.

FRISCO, TX, PIZZA HUT PARK - JULY 4








HOUSTON, TX, JONES HALL - JULY 6








TULSA, OK, The Brady Theater - July 7

Korean Magazine Interviews Clay

A Korean magazine, The Dosirak Web Magazine, has interviewed Clay. Bloomingclay at The Clayboard, has tanslated the interview into English for us. Many thanks to her for doing that! Here is what she posts for us:

Dosirak is legal music download site in Korea and each week they publish the webzine(web magazine) which have artist interview every week.
It seems that the interview was done as similar time period as the Singapore magazine interview was taken.Anyway,I translated the interview.As it was translated English->Korean first and I translated the Korean article into English, it is NOT exactly what Clay said.

Anyway,enjoy!

Here is the link(just click 'No' if pop up asks about installing the program.Ignore!) It talks about his journey before/during/after Idol and interview and then review which was attached to licensed CD here(I will translate them later).I only tranlated the interview part.

http://www.dosirak.com/Webzine/Webzine/WebzinePaper.asp?vol=31&paper=15&SSO=f

dosirak: Congratulations on your new album.You must have been busy with working on your album.Tell us what you have been doing recently.
Clay Aiken: We just finished the musical on Broadway recently and we are now spending our time mainly on promoting the new album with TV appearances and interviews.
dosirak: Your new album debuted at No.4 at Billboard chart.Congratulations.You must have a special feeling when you have a success with your every album.How do you feel?
Clay Aiken: Who would not be glad about it? I feel already previledged to be able to keep doing the music and I'm so happy that people keep support me.
dosirak: When I listen to the lyrics of your single 'On My Way Here', it seems like it is about your story last a few years. What does the song mean to you?
Clay Aiken: We are educated at school but that is just a small part.We rather learn more from the experience in our lives. There is a saying 'If you give someone a fish,you're just giving him a meal for a day but if you teach him how to fish,you are giving him meals for rest of his life.' Every person you meet and every experience we go through in your life makes you who you are. This song is about learning from experience and becoming a wiser person.
dosirak: Let's talk more about your album.Is there a favorite song on this album?
Clay Aiken: I love most of the songs so it's hard to pick, but if I have to choose one, I want to choose 'As long as we're here'. This is the first song that made it for this album. Three years ago when tsunami hit Indonesia, I went there for the Unicef trip,the song was recorded after that. It talks about 'Do not worry about small things and let's just care about important things and people you love as there is limited time for us in the world'.
dosirak: We heard that before the release of the album, everytime Claymates have parties.Did your fans hold the party this time?And what your fans mean to Clay?
Clay Aiken: Claymates hold parties to celebrate the album release,not for me.Also,parties are held in various cities so I couldn't go there.I heard that many fans gather and have a great time. Of course,they mean a lot to me.Had it not been fans' support since American Idol,I would have not been here.
dosirak: You're working as Unicef goodwill ambassador.Is there the most memorable moment as a Unicef ambassador?
Clay Aiken: There are many.One of them is that when I went to Indonesia, people quickly restored their environments and had postivie attitudes despite dire situation.It was really touching.They are strong and brave people.It gave me an opportunity to reflect myself.I thought how blessed we are for being able to live day by day safely.
Also,the most impressive one is when I visited Afganistan.It was shocking to see people living without all the energy facilities for a long time and above all I felt really sad when I saw children suffering.However,they showed the power not to give up despite their situation.
dosirak: Along with Unicef,you also established the Bubel/Aiken Foundation.What is your plan for the foundation this year?
Clay Aiken: We try to make programs for children with disabilities to get along with children without disabilities so that they can experience the childhood that children without disabilities go through. This year,we plan to start summer camps and prepare a fund for future summer camps.
dosirak: What do you think of 2008 American Idol? Is there a contestant that can be as successful as you are?
Clay Aiken: Unfortunately,I haven't watched American Idol for three years,so I don't know anything about contestants.
dosirak: I guess you will tour after the album release,is there a plan?Plus,is there any plan to visit Korea.
Clay Aiken: Personally, Korea is the country which I really want to visit.However,right now,there is no plan for the tour.We don't have a plan even for the US.I think that if I promote the album now,people will get interested and then other countries will get interested in me.So right now we try to concentrate on promoting the album.
dosirak: Last request,please say hi to your fans in Korea
Clay Aiken: It's always amazing and thankful that people listen to my song far away in Korea.Thank you so much to fans for likiing the music I like and
for continuing to support me since American Idol. But it's only a small part of me that was shown on American Idol. I want to show other parts of me more when I visit Korea.Until then,please keep listening to my music. Oh! Please spread words about me!

Hannah Waddingham Sends Message to Clay Fans

NYCITYCLAYFAN at The Clayboard had a chance to talk with Hannah Waddingham this weekend in New York at Spamalot. Hannah sent a really nice message to all of Clay's fans and here, along with some additional comments from NYCITYCLAYFAN, is that message:

Yesterday I took my daughter with me to see Spamalot since we knew it was Hannah's last weekend (and next week David Hibbard and Jonathan Hadary leave). Anyway, we were waiting for some of my friends from work who were also attending and ran into Hannah on her way into Shubert Alley. We had met her earlier this Spring and she always stopped to talk to us. She was touched that we came to see one of her last performances and we told her she would be missed. We got to talking about her run on Broadway and her time here in New York and how much she missed Clay and his fans and the "energy" that we had as an audience.

She also asked me to post on whichever fan board that I post on and thank you, the fans, for voting for her for the Broadway.com award for Best Female Replacement! It really touched her that we voted for her and she was touched that we went out of our way to make sure she won. She also wanted to thank the fans for all of our suppport for her during her run in Spamalot and making her feel so welcomed and loved and she said she will miss us all and she wanted to send all her love to you, the fans, for that support.

Hannah and the whole cast of Spamalot were so talented. Though we went to see Clay in the musical, we found ourselves with a bond with the whole cast. Best wishes to Hannah in her future endeavors.

Clay at Spamalot Sunday Night

According to Notacanuck at the Clackhouse, Clay was in the audience at Spamalot on Sunday night. Here is what she said:

OMG!!!!! I'm on the phone with BJ & BFS!!!!! Clay was at the show tonight!!!!! He was sitting in row T in the center....Jamie was sitting with him and they also saw Jerome! Clay was wearing a plaid shirt and shorts....sunglasses in the V of his shirt!!!!!! His hair is a little darker!!!!!

They are outside taking pictures and Rick and David and Brad and the guy who plays Mrs. Galahad and Tom and some of the other cast have been out! They're still waiting for Hannah!!!!

brb with more update!!!!!!

ETA: Hannah was crying at the end!!!!! Chris Sieber brought out her roses!!!! BFS is getting lots of pictures!!!!

THIS POST MAY TRAVEL!!!!!

Here is another report from Okclayhoman at The Clayboard:

From butterflyshine at the OFC:

there was no press there....

Okay, back to recap the Clay sighting...my friend and I had been in standing room, at intermission we sat down in the last row, row t....the seats across from us were empty...all the sudden my friend nudged me, and said something i couldn't understand...i then realized it was Clay and Jamie...apparently they had arrived at intermission....and i guess he stood in SRO right behind me and my friend for a few minutes before taking the seats....So, SRO got a treat...Tyra from Tara was standing there, two of the McVargas girls and ConEd....He sat there watching the show until right after the King kisses the LOL in the wedding scene...and then he was gone...when we were at stage door....Jerome came out looking for one of the cast members who had just left and called him back...

I was so happy that Clay was able to see Hannah's performance...she was crying ....and Chris Seiber gave her roses....

Tom Deckman told us at the matinée that he would be a hot mess tonight...Hannah was truly loved and part of the Spamalot family...she will be so missed...she has such amazing stage presence and charisma.....

be back with some photos of the Steve Rosen....Bevedere...it was his last night as well, Tom, Rick, and David....

This was Hannah Waddingham's last night in Spamalot, so apparently he went to see her last show. No pictures have been released yet, but if there are any, we'll post them here at CDD.

Positive News Site Gives Us a Refreshingly Positive Article

Hold on to your seats. You don't see this every day. A media site that calls themselves "Your #1 Positive News Source"!! Did I read that right? Yes I did, and The Happy Herald, "South Florida's Positive Living and Entertainment Guide", stays true to its description with a wonderful article about Clay.

When you take the link to this article, be sure to click on the "Zoom" button at the top right of the page. This will enlarge the article so you can read it. And you will be glad you did. In addition to talking about Clay's appearance in Spamalot, his new CD, On My Way Here, and his philanthropy efforts, there are many mentions of Clay's positive spirit. Clay talks about the importance of having faith in yourself and, "when faith wains, it is important to have a strong group of family and friends to draw upon." The article also mentions Clay's strong resilience and how people with positive spirits help get him through the day. In addition, Clay says he "trusts his gut" when determining what to "invest in emotionally, spiritually, and energetically". "If something smells like fish, it probably is," Clay says.

This is not only a must read article about Clay, but if "The Happy Herald" truly is "Your #1 Positive News Source", then this is a must read site to lift our spirits!

Spamalot Wins Three 2008 Audience Awards, Including One For Clay

The results of the voting for the 2008 Broadway Audience Awards has been announced at Broadway.com, and Spamalot won three of these awards! The awards won are as follows:

• Favorite Replacement (Male)
  Clay Aiken, Spamalot
  
  
• Favorite Replacement (Female)
  Hannah Waddingham, Spamalot
  
  
• Favorite Long-Running Broadway Show
  Spamalot

Theatergoers vote for these awards. Young Frankenstein won five awards and Spamalot came in second place with three awards.

Big congratulations to Clay, Hannah, and Spamalot!

Rachael Ray Gives a Great Interview To Clay Today on Her Show

As an interviewer, Rachael Ray gave Clay one of the best interviews he's had in a while. There was no cooking of macaroni and cheese or pineapple salad...there was no singing from the new CD, however, Rachel was able to squeeze in lots of questions in the 10 minutes or so that she talked with Clay.

The audience was fairly quiet, which means there weren't very many Clay fans there. However, when the audience was on camera, they really seemed to be enjoying Clay. Rachel covered all the best of topics...AI2, Spamalot,Clay's fans, Clay's new CD, and UNICEF. It was a fun lighthearted interview.

At Rachael Ray's online site, you can watch a portion of the show as well as see Clay answer questions from the fans. You can also download the entire show at Clack Unlimited.

In addition, SmittenwithClay from The Clayboard has taken on the tedious and much appreciated task of transcribing the entire show for us. Wow, what an awesome thing to do!! Here is the transcript of the show:

Rachel Ray Transcript:

Rachel: ya gotta calm it down, your gonna wanna keep on cheering for our first guest. American idol is probably the most watched show on the planet, and definitely one of the most talked about contestants is this guy.
voice over: From teacher to double platinum selling singer in less than a year we all know him from American Idol, of course Im talking about Clay Aiken. Clays got an army of dedicated fans that follow his every move. Theyre known of course as the claymates. With a stint on broadway in the show spamalot, a best selling book and his work with unicef and other charities, Clay has been very busy, but not to busy to debut a brand new album On My Way Here.
Rachel: please welcome Clay Aiken. I told you you were going to want to save some of your hooting and your hollering for him, and I mean, isnt it amazing, has it really been 5 years.
Clay: Oh yes
Rachel: 5 years since the American Idol.
Clay: and I feel so old.
Rachel: You? Im like, it feels like wasnt that last Thursday?
Clay: Ill be in like a grocery store, something like that, or on a plane and a parent will come up to me with there with their 7 year old, and the mother will go "oh my goodness do you know who that is?" to the kid and Ill be like "yeah..no, they dont, they were 2 when I was on idol". They have no clue, I feel like a grandpa now to these little kids.
When I was there we were still singing to tracks ya know, singing to tapes and we had like three cameras and a set about the size of this little area right here and now its like this huge production. Its really gotten so big now.
Rachel: yeah its a whole different world now, you forget how the look of the show has changed.
Clay: yeah, kelly clarkson and I used to joke with newer contestants about how they have a band, and we had a tape we had to sing to. We were such the guinea pigs, and we had nothing, we had to walk 10 miles to school in the snow ya know, and they get all these perks.
Rachel: it is, its a tough...but you dont realize that as a viewer, cause its such an intimate experience, and you get so involved with the people, and certainly for you, that must have been life changing when you saw how the fans, your fans especially..they are..theyre literally

Clay: they must be confused! I mean really though
Rachel: Its fabulous though, the devotion and the loyalty
Clay: yeah they are, absolutely wonderful. And obviously we wouldnt be here without that, but I never quite understand exactly why theyre interested ya know.
Rachel: its overwhelming still
Clay: it is, I mean..I grew up in, you didnt show pictures of me as a kid thank you jesus, but I used to be, I know its hard to believe now the stunning specimen that I am now, but I used to be this really geeky kid...wait a second, I think I still am. I mean, nobody even knew my name at that point, and now people are screaming it, its really odd.
Rachel: so you were just wrapping up in spamalot. You just finished your run, a hugely successful, very well loved by the audience and the critics alike, which doesnt happen a lot. I love that show, how much fun did you have?

Clay: ya know, I didnt expect that I would, not that I didnt expect I would have fun, I figured it would be fun, but I didnt expect it to be as amazing as it was. And its one of those shows thats different every night. Theres a scene where I fall dead on the floor and i get to watch this one scene, and I would still laugh every single night at how funny it is cause the actors and everyone on the show is so great, that they change things up, they changed things up on me, and I just got to the point, I finished two weeks ago, and I just got to the point that I was finally getting used to it, finally comfortable, and then they told me to leave. So I was just finally figuring out my part.
Rachel: so, how was New York City for you though? I mean you seem like such a lovely, kind of small town person at heart, how was working and living in New York City
Clay: very different. Very Very different. I thought that it would scare me to death, and it did scare me, but not to death, but the nice thing is that things are open. like, thats crazy. And back home in North Carolina.
Rachel: and they deliver anything
Clay: everything! food, its great since I cant cook, ya know, some of us cant even pour cereal, I was able to actually have food brought to me at any hour of the day, and if I couldnt I could walk down the street. Im not running away from New York City when I leave it now, Im just running to North Carolina, cause I actually enjoyed myself.
Rachel: You know what, I wanted to ask you, New Yorkers, they can be really warm people to right?
Clay: yeah, they can, ya know what thats another thing that scared me, I was afraid that people were going to be...but honestly some of the nicest people Ive ever met, I mean I really..I really was mostly in contact with the people I work with, but many of them have been in New York for years and years, and everyone I came in contact with, its really been a great experience.
Rachel: see, New Yorkers can be sweethearts to
Clay: ya talk kind of funny
Rachel: Oh WE talk funny? You dont have no accent at all.
Clay: I dont have an accent are you kidding me? I had some cousins who came up to visit and (rich NC accent) they talk just like this, and all the people who came and met them thought they were joking when they talked, cause they just really talked country. So I dont have an accent compared to them. Now people over here are laughing 'you think I have an accent'? She's like 'yes!'
Rachel: well, it may be news to you, but just a little, just a smidge, just a smattering of an accent.
Clay: ok
Rachel: but its lovely! So I want you to tell everybody a little bit about the new album, this is the new album, first of all great shot on the cover.
Clay: oh lots of airbrushing
Rachel: Its not that much! im looking at you, it looks just like you.
Clay: who knows! my hair color changes every third day, theres no way to tell..I think its all grey at this point
Rachel: me to, I havent looked in awhile but Im guessing.
Clay: its the first time weve been able to do new stuff in 5 years now, we did an album of new stuff right after idol, and then we did a christmas album and something else, so we did our best to try to find songs that said something, and over 5 years of getting older, and hopefully wiser and more mature, ya know I think you learn more about yourself through experiencing things then you do with being told something, ya know my mom used to tell me a whole bunch of stuff when I was a kid and I never listened to her and now ive learned through experiences what she says is kinda true. And this kinda talks about that, the title song On My Way Here talks about experiences make you who you are.
Rachel: so, its not so much a coming of age thing but, aging well.
Clay: Aging well, oh my god I never thought Id be saying I was aging, but I am.
Rachel: we all have to, but your doing it very well, and very successful. Its all going really well now. Before I let Clay go though, I dont know if you guys know how much he does with unicef and charities, can you talk a little bit about that.
Clay: yeah, I got hooked up with unicef right after idol actually I was a teacher before idol and they have ambassadors that work in different areas, and they needed someone to talk about education around the countries, so they sent me a number of places and this picture is actually in uganda, where I witnessed children in situations of a 20 year war, and I went to afghanistan last year and watched unicef programs in afghanistan and saw the things they are doing in schools there to kind of help rebuild that country, so its been an amazing opportunity. and the organization, I think a lot of people realize that, i mean they know the name, but I dont think you know exactly what it does, I mean it works in 156 countries all around the world, I mean they save more childrens lives in the world then any other organization, and its true because its the most successful.
Rachel: now we'll make sure we have a link up on our site to unicef cause it is an organization we should all be involved in I think. So I commend you on your great work and your success. Ya know Clay isnt just a nice guy and he came by to say hello but he is a very generous sort, he brought cd's for everybody. We'll see if he can let a few more fall off the truck, we'll give a few away online.