Upcoming 100: What inspired you to start making music, and what keeps you passionate about it?
Clark Ford: I have been a music lover my entire life (pop/rock, jazz, classical, musical theater) and the time came in my life, about 16 years ago when I just decided to start writing music. What an outpouring!
Upcoming 100: Can you tell us about your latest project or album? What was the creative process like for this one?
Clark Ford: A project that is still underway, but almost complete is a soundtrack album for a musical that I wrote (book, music, and lyrics) set in 1961. All the songs are period, but from different genres, depending on the character(s) who sing them, including classic rock, doo-wop, 50s traditional pop (Frank Sinatra style), blues, jazz, and more. All the kinds of music that I love from that era were emulated.
Upcoming 100: How do you balance your creative vision with the demands of the music industry?
Clark Ford: So far, I have been an independent artist and not subject to direct demands of the music industry. Of course, if my music is not commercial it will not sell, I understand that! Still, I have tried to write what I like, hoping to attract an audience of like-minded people, rather than to chase after popular styles…
Upcoming 100: Who are some of your biggest influences, and how do they impact your music?
Clark Ford: We can start with all the classical composers, Bach, Handle, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelsohn, Brahms, Rossini, Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Ravel, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Shostakovich, Bartok. Then the musical theater composers Rogers, Porter, Bernstein, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Meridith Willson, Irving Berlin, and the jazz band writers Dorsey, Basie, Kenton, Coltrane, Ellington, Monk, Mingus, Mancini, the film score writers Williams, Newman, Barry, Elfman, Horner, Zimmer, the jazz singers Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Holiday, Cole, Clooney, Krall, Nora Jones. Then the rock singers/groups Chuck Berry, Elvis, Ray Charles, Dylan, Beatles, Stones, Carole King, Neil Young, CSNY, Cream, Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Carpenters, Adele. And country music from Dolly, Patsy Cline, Cash, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, and many more in every genre up to the present. The influence of all of these was subliminal: my connection to the artist through the music.
Upcoming 100: What's the most important message or theme you want your music to convey to your audience?
Clark Ford: Lots of things: joy, love, passion, fun, inspiration, beauty, honesty, a kind of morality.
Upcoming 100: Can you walk us through your songwriting process? Do you have any specific rituals or habits that help you get started?
Clark Ford: I like to start with a concept. Writing for musical theater is easier because you have a character/situation you are writing about. Some of my songs are very personal, others are only marginally so, yet reflect real situations for others. With a concept, usually I will start with some lyrics and then a musical idea to make the lyric work. Then it is back and forth, making the music, chords, and lyrics all work, and crafting the structure of the song. I don’t like to follow rules unless the song demands it. I tend to agree with Duke Ellington who was quoted as saying “if it sounds good, it IS good”
Upcoming 100: How do you approach collaborations or working with other artists? What do you look for in a collaborator?
Clark Ford: I have not made this work successfully at the music writing stage. At the arranging/production stage I very much rely on collaboration!
Upcoming 100: What do you think sets your music apart from others in your genre?
Clark Ford: My music comes from me. I am not trying to be anyone else. I think I am most attracted to other music that is genuine and authentic to the writer – a window to their musical soul, so to speak…
Upcoming 100: How has your music evolved over time, and what do you think are some of the most significant changes you've made?
Clark Ford: With experience writing, I have been able to write in different time signatures, and to tailor the writing to more professional expectations.
Upcoming 100: What's been your favorite experience or moment in your career so far?
Clark Ford: When people love a song I have written – when it touches them. Also when my music is recognized by others in the music industry.
Upcoming 100: How do you stay connected with your fans and build a sense of community around your music?
Clark Ford: I try to respond to fans on social media, and also am responsive to fans of preliminary performances of my musical theater shows.
Upcoming 100: What's next for you – are there any new projects or tours on the horizon?
Clark Ford: No tours. My music is studio recorded. I still have a backlog of songs I would like to have recorded in the studio, and am back to writing songs after my muse got covid and didn’t recover for several years…
Although you did not ask, I will tell you that I am only a songwriter – music and lyrics- and depend on a professional studio in Nashville for arranging and production of my songs. I am involved via collaboration in tweaking the final product, and I do own the final product, but I do not have an active stage presence. My music has gone out to the world primarily by internet through streaming services, but also by radio, and some business overhead radio. Although I have well over a million plays from Spotify, Tiktok, and Youtube combined, as we know that is a proverbial drop in the bucket, and I am still waiting to be “discovered!”
