I know this could sound a little ridiculous, some six weeks after the fact, but hey, better late than never? At the time, soon after September 19th, the release date of Clay's latest CD - A Thousand Different Ways - I wanted to share the fun I had at the CD release party which took place in my city. But as life would have it, that was not possible until now.
We were just under 20 people, which is a nice group size. A few Clay fans had organized the evening, and what a great job they did! A second-floor room was reserved in a popular downtown café, and it was lovely and private. As I climbed the stairs to the second floor, I heard Clay's rich tones, then saw at the top of the stairs, a poster montage in Clay's likeness. I knew I was in the right place, and I realized I was smiling from ear to ear! Finally I was to meet fellow Clay fans in person! G. and H. met everyone at the door with a friendly greeting and a personalized name tag. The table was decorated with blue and silver balloons specially inscribed to celebrate Clay's release of ATDW. Posters, pictures, DVDs and CDs were all around, decorating the room. A recording from Clay's 2005 Jukebox Tour was playing softly in the background.
I chose a seat towards the middle of the long table - I like to be able to be part of any conversation going on around me, on all sides, and being in the middle allows one to do that more easily than being on the end. Not surprisingly to me, the group was almost entirely made up of women (just 2 men), but women of all ages and all walks of life. Two teenagers, a number of twenty-or-thirty-somethings, a few middle-aged women and at least one in her 70s. I enjoyed the company of each and every one I was able to speak with. We shared about our lives, and our experiences with Clay - his music, concerts, his charitable work. We were students, professionals, sales people, artists, businesswomen - all touched, and brought together by the love which comes through Clay.
We played a fun elimination game, where we had to answer multiple choice questions (about what and whom, you wonder?). I knew all the answers but one - something about Clay's appearance on a TV show in 2004 - a show one gets on cable, so I haven't seen it... But like most everyone, I knew all the other answers about Clay's life. We were a touch bunch to stump!
G. and H. had prepared door prizes and much more, which was so sweet of them. I now have a beautiful poster of Clay, a large collection of fridge magnets, a Clay-faced clock and I don't know what else... So unexpected and generous.
And of course, on the way over to the café, I had stopped by the music store to pick up my copy of ATDW, which we played during the evening. Pure Clay, soft and rich! I'll write about the album another time.
-- ClayKat
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