#191 Lloyd M Clarke
Award winning Australian Songwriter Lloyd M Clarke Joins Rae Leigh in a catch up episode after their first podcast was lost to the mysterious world of technology. Both from East Gippsland country Victoria they share a love for Australian country music, history and the importnatce for mental health. In this podcast we discuss his love of Australian history story telling and the war.
Lloyd M Clarke is a mature balladeer raised on easy listening, country and popular folk music which birthed a lifelong love and passion for singing, songwriting and storytelling through music. In his early years, Lloyd was strongly influenced by artists such as John Denver and Neil Diamond, finding his own voice and style among the country/folk genre. Lloyd sang before he played the guitar, but after receiving his Grandfather’s acoustic Spanish guitar and a few lessons, he soon discovered a love for crafting melody and words together. Early songwriting included love songs for his High School sweetheart who soon became his wife. A joy for entertaining family and friends throughout the years kept Lloyd’s enthusiasm as he captivated his audience and gently wandered into their hearts, evoking memories and emotions with the ability to transport the individual to another time and place. In 2007 a turning point in his life brought him to a deeper desire to leave a legacy of all that is dear and important to him. The words courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice gave him the personal goal to have the courage to make a change, endure and learn from the hard times, being proud to be Australian, making time to be there for others and share of himself and his gift in a greater way than first imagined.
Connect with Lloyd:
Transcript
Rae Leigh: Welcome to a Songwriter Tryst with the amazing Lloyd Clark. This is not my first time with you, but it's going to be the first time for everyone else because I made a arrow something happened with your audio. And wasn't meant to be with a private conversation between you and me. Now we get to have the
name is let's start by you introducing yourself. Tell us a little bit about who and where you go.
Yes. Well, my
Lloyd Clarke: Lloyd Clark. I'm a singer songwriter from Melbourne Victoria, a nail restorative residing country. I I sort of grew up both parents love music. They'd never, they both didn't play, but mum was kind of more popular of the T all the time. It was on the radio. Dad was more country and Western, probably more Western than country. They locked
Rae Leigh: wait, what does that mean?
Lloyd Clarke: he kind of liked Cowboys songs, the songs of you know, that, that, you know, probably well for probably johnny Cash, that type of Robbins, zero a few of, that song about, you know, at west, wrangling Yeah, that top of that top of music, he liked those sort of stories where mum was more, anything from folk.
What was popular on that in the day? You know, the secrets was pop music of the sixties and seventies. So I grew up up listening to a lot of that. Grandfather was probably the
The biggest influence Genetically he played quite a few instruments. He sadly passed when I was young fellow, but his legacy in music.
Kind of handed genetically through to me, I feel bad because he was I'm led to believe he often Barrick hotel, way back. He used to sing, play banjo and piano. And he. He probably played a lot of folk, a lot of Scottish folk songs or folk music, Scot.
And, so I got his acoustic guitar when I was around about 12 and my aunt, mother's oldest sister paid for music lessons as to the traveling on the bus to Daniel and get 'em and get music But I didn't last long because I found that the other guys in there. Didn't practice. So we kept going and less over lesson one for about a month. I got bored of that. So I decided to,
Rae Leigh: I bet you would
Lloyd Clarke: check that in and learn myself. So again, back in those days, it was listening to records and then ultimately, you know, cassettes come along. I'm sad, a really old man, cause that's coming out. So you could type stuff. You could tape, radio and you know, it's you know, later on in life I learned about rural.
Pine from your music and not ripping people off. Whoops.
Rae Leigh: you know what? That, that really, yeah. talked about that, but that really was a massive shakeup in the industry of people having cassettes and being able to record their own music. And that was probably the first time that public really had access to anything to record themselves.
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah, that's correct. And probably a casual would probably tell a
similar story. Cause he's been right through that from the start, but yeah, when individuals had the ability to no longer necessarily. Purchase type off the radio or type you know, someone singing like just type, that's when the mechanical royalties for your music, which was what she paid for when you bought her a record.
Rae Leigh: yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: That's when it all started to suffer. Yeah. From that day, but it was a changing world, you know, the technology was changing and this music industry that to try and keep up somehow and think of new ways as of how we market our you know, market and music. yeah. Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And, and how, how we run it as a business, as well as, you know, how licenses work for mechanical royalties versus just a record. You know, it's, it's how it's used
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Not just physically, but also where it's presented online you sort of stuff. And that's, it is just a progression of but also how we, you know, like the cost to go to a live gig.
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: You know, 50 years ago in, in reference or like say a percentage wise of what you would be paying it's, it's astronomical because all of a sudden the pressure performances to be live performances in merchandising.
what keeps music alive
like that, that is where we make money,
that there is really no other way to make money other than live performances and merchandise.
So by someone's hat or shirt or whatever it is, and, and pay, pay a ticket to go to their show.
Because that is the, that's the only way that
original live music is. is really alive
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: You know, listening to the music is great, but
Lloyd Clarke: eh, cause there's so many gigs that that you get now is venues that are not playing much at all the affinity, not expecting you to apply for percentage of BA in my experience. So.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: for new artists up and coming, it's, it's a, it's a rough road of what, you know, one, even just charge of venue because you don't want to undersell yourself.
You'll, a piece of work that and, and something to provide service to provide. So, it's worth it. It's worth the value, but Yeah,
You know, helping them go. You know, new what that's worth is as a whole nother topic.
Rae Leigh: it is. And it is a challenging one because you know, when you are starting out, you want to. You got to get experience, you know, so like that it is a balance and it's all about self-worth and knowing what you're worth and it's, we all learn at the same pace, really. So,
Lloyd Clarke: yeah, we do.
Rae Leigh: But yeah, someone taught me in business that you're you're Anything is only ever is worth as much as someone else it. So, when you go to. Mark. You've just got to negotiate and work it out. what, what was the cause? You know? Okay. So you've got genetics, musical genetics in your genes, you got your grandfather's guitar and he was Scottish.
What, what was the like transition for you becoming self-taught
to pursuing like songwriting? When did you write your first song?
Was that a natural thing? When you
Lloyd Clarke: so. I think I found that I had an
ability to string words together that made sense whether they But I think the first song I ever wrote was of course the love song. and I want to just I don't know what it was called.
I love her. So was now? but I know it was recorded on a cassette and one of it teachers at part school got a handle on it. And the other were raving about it in the day. Went railroad in the staff room and saw the Lord Clark. And this is what he's doing. Is he amazing?
Rae Leigh: Oh,
Lloyd Clarke: early on, didn't do anything it. I had, art my auntie Jean who was instrumental in giving me lessons and, and having the granted. I could tie that up for me. She always wanted me to go and young talent time.
Rae Leigh: Oh,
is that, was that like a reality
Lloyd Clarke: yeah.
it was yeah.
was a set date night a variety show yet where
there a group of young kids and Johnny Young, I think was the host popular songs that I have. I think there were three guests. that they had and they had judges. I think that lasted for quite a number of years when there was longest running sort of variety show we'll, Hey, Hey, sort of come along.
But again, I never did these opportunities, have had a Titan. So, but All along there I was, I was learning. I was as I voice. And, but again, it was really just playing for family and friends until, I married young a girlfriend who I wrote the song for.
We got engaged, we were married, And again, most of the songs at the time were written for about family. I I joined a duo. I had a guy, probably in the eighties. We had a, just a Juul. We used to play wedding singer.
Rae Leigh: All right.
Lloyd Clarke: So that was my first foray into entertaining others. for money. And that went very well. He was a guy that never needed to practice. I needed to rehearse because I needed to learn new songs. He was just, he could listen to a song away, or one of those,
one of those
people
and I admire them, I admire them dearly
But anyway so I did that for a while and then that just sort of ran its course and kind of broke up, but then probably. 15, maybe 15 years I did a I was going through a bad patch at work. Not knowing whether I'd stay or go or what could I do with them. I know music. I can do music. Maybe I could pay my own way in music or learn more about. I knew I could write songs, and I did course. But at the end of the course, you wrote a during the course. And if it was good enough in record producers would allow to record that. They didn't enter you in the Australian songwriters association competition.
If they felt the sun was good enough.
We'd been away to central Australia a few years before I wrote a song about this great and ancient land. It is recorded as a, as a single one on the album. I've got a that's up on Spotify and All the websites, great nights and yeah, it was recorded. So um, that was my first foray into one learning the craft of songwriting.
Going through the recording process Having the song mastered, I had the soul mastered by David Briggs. He used to be a lead still working. It's amazing. If you ever need anything master, so I could put you in contact with fantastic guy. anyway, Yeah. So from getting granddad's guitar, mostly through high school and, and early married life was just singing to and friends in barbecues. I finally plucked up enough courage and, you know, committed and did a songwriting course which we learned about.
how popular are crafted, not just any song. So you learn about song structure. You learned about, you know, the three choruses, lot of at three chords and the truth you learn about copyright production, a whole lot of really, really good. Yeah, I had a way to find titles and then, you know, how.
Rae Leigh: So
who was
Lloyd Clarke: was my fellow board. You know him. Mario Genty Jack Jack Shantia is one quarter of awards at the Australian songwriters association. He runs a music school called MEJ songs or niche school, and has produced, few guys that that I know that the, that have done fairly doing that. A lot of us knew how to write songs before we did it, but we might not have known market them or how how to pitch them to to record labels and stuff
Rae Leigh: skillset.
Lloyd Clarke: Man, it's
just, yeah, it's tough. And anyone will tell you, you know,
you've been doing it?
too. Now you're getting your stuff out there and it's.
not easy. And so yeah, And then since then I ended a few more competitions just for validation, just to say, look is what I'm doing okay. For industry, because I know your family always love you, good, bad, or indifferent. But.
Rae Leigh: Alan will
tell you
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah. Did the grid biggest?
It sounded my wife species is probably the biggest critic, but
she's often so right in what she thinks works and what doesn't. But anyway,
Rae Leigh: I have the biggest fights with my husband when my on creative differences. Like I've learned not to go to him when I'm in the middle of writing a song, because he obviously just doesn't get my thought process of creative expression.
And I have to finish it first before I can show him because otherwise we just have this argument.
He's like,
well, what does that mean? And I'm like, I don't know yet
Lloyd Clarke: know the, I feel your pain,
Or I'll get, yeah, it'll be a sense or, and I think it does at the time and, So does that, so, Yeah.
sorry to do a few more comps and,
Did fairly well in the Tamworth.
Associational awards. I've done very well with them. I've won the novice one year, a year later, I won, I won the lyrics only section twice, two years apart.
So for me, winning only in Tamworth is huge for a songwriter because they're not hearing any production. They just reading the song and seeing whether the song was. Yeah, commercially. And does this song make sense as a song? Does it tell a story? So I've won that twice.
My odds are probably up there on the Honda mantle place.
And I got up and guitars yet, but, we'll work toward one of those. Yeah, so I've done fairly well. There had been a 10 with four years straight on it didn't go the last two mainly because of COVID. There and look quite possibly. But I'm going to focus a lot of the energy year and next In my local area in Gibsland.
I think there's down here. It's a
Rae Leigh: heard a few, few festivals
down that way. I'd love to get down there cause you know, that's
where
Lloyd Clarke: yeah, yeah, yeah,
Rae Leigh: Mr. Pham and yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: from about that way.
Yep. Yep.
Rae Leigh: Good old bands. Now I'd love to be able to get down there and actually I don't think most of my family, no, one's actually seen me perform.
Lloyd Clarke: really?
Rae Leigh: No, because I haven't
performed in, in Kingsland or
Lloyd Clarke: Oh, wow.
I have to organize something.
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
honestly, that's actually what I've been planning for this
year. So it's it's yeah. Hopefully going to happen. I'll take that up, but yeah. it's like, that's a goal of mine, so we, maybe we
should do. something together storytelling
Lloyd Clarke: yeah. Yeah. Well, they do. They quite popular
down here, the writer's rounds. I've
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Are they?
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah. There've been a few where you get, you know,
guy for song, for song. They'd tell a bit of a story about, you know,
it. I
Locked the what, the, what the songs about what might've into. And Many times people come up after I look, I really love that song about the Lockhart ship disaster, you know, I've been there. I know what you're talking about and yeah. that's all great. So yeah. So, moving right along.
Rae Leigh: I know we get we'll talk
about
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah, yeah, so I feel you know, invested you know expense And time into, into sunrise.
I know I can do it. I know I can do it in my, in my opinion, in the eyes of others, well, enough to have songs that are radio friendly and, and, and work. So was my first goal to be able to do that. Now it For me I'd love to be able to bright and, you know, start riding above myself, you know what I mean?
And pitched for and get something cut on my own else's album. that would be that would be the penultimate for me. If I could do that.
Rae Leigh: ever written for anyone else or had that as
a, like a goal. I
Lloyd Clarke: goal, definitely a goal. But not the closest I've ever had to being. Right.
Sorry. Having an issue with any
notoriety is
Rae Leigh: Right.
What was that? What
Lloyd Clarke: somewhere. So the song was
quite introspective as quite personal. It was really about your and even though that we've we've after, after a lot of a lot of pain and forgiveness in song sort of speaks for itself, but it was really the hook that Ellen gave me, you know, That cat for, which he actually saw the two of us on?
a river back efficient.
He said some of his best times or quiet times, wasn't necessarily about the fishing, more about conversation while you're fishing. You know, when you talk about a lot of stuff that you're away from the maddening gets there. So, I had this image of, you know, over river river, somewhere where, you know, that night or whoever it is that you'd be husband and wife.
Yeah. nephew, it could be anybody where, you know, you're travel away and that there's, you know, there there's forgiveness So that was kind hook line. And he gave me the, the lawn. There's a rod on the line, down a river somewhere. So I had already had the title, but he had the, you know, there's a rod in the line, meaning that his, his ambition or this You know, a future or doing something together albeit the metaphor is fishing. You know, it could be dinner, it could be a picnic, it could be a drive in the car, you know, that could be the river somewhere for some people. So that at work that they've got a little bit of radio play, didn't get a number one, but I think I got to about it.
Might've been at
Rae Leigh: not about that though.
Lloyd Clarke: No, that's not. It might've been 10. I mean, that's all great. It makes you feel good
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: to have.
Rae Leigh: you feel good when you know that it's connecting with someone
Lloyd Clarke: Absolutely.
Rae Leigh: that, that is just like, for me, I don't know about you, but that's
like, that's
the ultimate goal really?
Lloyd Clarke: that makes them exactly the same
Rae Leigh: No, that's beautiful.
Lloyd Clarke: had people come up after
showing and, you know, take the time, not just to disappear or getting merged merge table and bias. I mean, that's all great as well, but when they come up to actually engage and talk. You know how that song touch them may and that's just, yes, that's a, that's what I do it.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And some people. know, they can get embarrassed. So when I, when I was working in, in business and stuff, I learned this rule that like, if you're a coffee shop owner, if one person comes up and complains about the coffee, there's a hundred other people.
Would have complained, but didn't want to say anything.
And the same goes for the other way. If one person comes up and say, they've really loved the coffee, it's hundred other people that said, you know, that loved it, but didn't say it. And I was talking with someone just yesterday about the same concept with music is one person really connected to a song.
There's probably a hundred, at least other people that also connected, but they didn't say it,
Lloyd Clarke: yeah,
Rae Leigh: you know, because that's who we are. Sometimes we just don't. We're in the right place or time or whatever, to, to be able to give feedback to everyone and we've all done. It, we've all had thoughts that we don't give that feedback.
So it's, it's nice when, when one person comes up and says, and so I think that's a good thing to remember when, and that's why I'm. So I like to be able to, if I can say someone who I loved that, because I know that there's probably a hundred other people that have thought that, but not had the time or
space or all the courage to go off and say that to someone.
Lloyd Clarke: I started. Right. Yep. And
Rae Leigh: yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: Sometimes it's something you need to work on. Like, you your first gig, you know, you want to be practicing In your bedroom, in the shower, you know, taking that first step. yeah.
It's always like being naked, you know, that's quite personal you know, it might be introspective about your failed relationship or anything like that, but even, even that a lineup, it might be a popular song.
I'll be doing and yeah As you know, we are some of the worst on ourselves. No one can probably judge us more ourselves as songwriters. And that's the thing I've had that I battled with quite early on as you know, was what I did. Good enough.
Cause I never felt I was, I never felt I was good enough. And I felt like I've heard you talk about that as well. You know, self-esteem sometimes with people over the with the arts where, you know, we don't feel we're good enough and not that we don't want to try. it's just it's just the battle that we have from Tom.
Rae Leigh: do you cope with that?
Lloyd Clarke: It's it's just of what I love doing. Really have to sometimes think hat. You know, why am I feeling this way? the impetus? Is it something that's jogged a memory from, you know, is there a, is there a pain or a bad thought or an unhappy thought that's brought me to this particular place now and, and in trouble.
Why is that? What happened there? Can I replace that with something? We'll do something now that will make And that could be going for a walk, having a cup of coffee and a nice bit of dark chocolate.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: But it's true.
Rae Leigh: Sometimes that's all you need is a bit of
Lloyd Clarke: You don't get a chocolate for the chalky yeah. Or a conversation. I'll just pick up the phone and call someone that you might not have spoken to for a
while.
But Sometimes as is more known now, sometimes your rainy day is just a rainy day
Tomorrow will be sunshine. Tomorrow might be a windy day. It might be a thunderstorm. You know, it's my is like whether they will pass, if they're not passing, that's when you're probably late to seek some help or, or talk to somebody, but it's okay to feel bad because we all have it.
It's it's really okay. Because
I think we all have those days.
Rae Leigh: I actually had that conversation with someone last year as well, where they had lost a parent suicide. And it is, we all have those moments and it's in those moments, knowing like the awareness that it is perfectly fine, like you said, it's okay to not be okay. Absolutely necessary in those moments to seek help even if, and that's why the, you know, lifeline and, and phone call services are so essential to our society because sometimes, and I've done it.
I've called them up. Sometimes I just need to call someone that's completely impartial. You know, it's not, it's not a family member who might bring it back up later or, or delve too much into it. It's just someone who can just listen. And it is perfectly fine because suicide. In some circumstances are just a moment.
We have a bad thought and you feel rotten and you make a bad decision and there's no one there. If there's no one there to help or talk to or, or make you seek. Cause we all think irrationally sometimes like irrational thoughts usually happen when we're emotional. I'm speaking from crazy female awareness, but, you know yeah.
And that's, I think that's okay to talk about and share about as well.
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah, I think
so it's a, there is a
sense to be a groundswell for it. Now when people have it, you know Marvin, we grew up with, you know,
men had to be tough and, you know, we might have United slugs and snails and puppy dogs, tails. You know, the boys might slugs and smells And puppy towels. And girls were sugar and spice.
Girls were sugar and
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: and everything
nice. And you know what a contrast, you know, poles apart it but anyway,
Rae Leigh: I don't think that anyone says that now, though.
Lloyd Clarke: hell no, So, but yeah,
so does sort of come through all that, but you know, I've got children of my own grandchildren of her own that as each generation comes along, it does seem to be a lot more accepting so, you yeah. I think it's a good thing that there's a lot more education around that and the. Organizations, as you said, a black dog beyond blue, all that type of things are great. And the people that set them up and need to be
Rae Leigh: can all play our part in just our own small groups. Cause it is a lot of people doing a few small things makes for library.
Lloyd Clarke: absolutely.
Rae Leigh: That's where the change will happen. So, what are you doing with your music now? I want to know about your, your, your co-writing versus, you know, solo poetry sort of stuff. Was that a natural progression for you? Did you ease into it? Was it really challenging?
Lloyd Clarke: And I really challenge you can still find a still find it challenging. I think any co-writing session I've done some with, with Allen, group, I've done it with a few other people. Often there'll be a strong person in the party, never in my experiences. Equally yoked. My experience with, collaborating today. it, hasn't been fruitful enough to have anything cut or. And people have had songs that they do play that we've written together. There's nothing that's out there in public at The the process for me is always odd, fruitful, it's not being fruitless has been fruitful in that something always comes, but I've never been in a session where we've come away with nothing.
Taken one or two because either we've felt and we haven't been able to, to to finish it then and there, but it's been finished in the next day later. So written with people remotely. That's just as fun too, because you know, That's deionized luck we're doing now.
It's just, you know, over the internet and there wouldn't be zoom or. That I find that a lot better when you kind of face-to-face with the person, because you can see they face on, have headache kind of feeling about, you know, with they screw the corner of the Emmy. I thought we think, oh, that didn't quite work so well, we'll move on to something else.
But when we're just talking, you can't get those facial expressions sometimes, or body. that's important to me to, to know that it connecting or working but telephone calls fine. Yeah often, I've got a what I call my hook book, although electronic version a electronic, pad it's called, lilac writer.
And tool that has it does have a thesaurus and a, and a word finder in it. If he ever gets stuck. I try not to use that often because I don't want to often be given a word that I feel that I have to use it, because it rhymes. I'd rather try and find something myself from my. Experiences and, you know, you ever get stuck on a, on a Friday and you think, oh, on, I want to feel what going to be something to be you guys, that whole price of what's kind of wrong with that.
The drawn finished the next, the next lawn. And I'll jump into thesaurus. I'll jump into the, the, the dictionary. And sometimes that will take the song in a different direction that you don't want it to go. so,
Rae Leigh: Interesting.
Lloyd Clarke: Although it is there, the And then a lot of songwriting, software tools do have a thesaurus, or they do have a dictionary just to give you just an extra part of the tool chest to decide, you know, to use or not.
Rae Leigh: I use them all the time. I am the first person say I'm quite
Lloyd Clarke: yeah.
that's fine. That's fine. Yep. That's fine.
Rae Leigh: Cause I I'm quite aware that my vocabulary is not fantastic. You know, I don't, I'm not one of those people that has a huge vocabulary and can just pull on. I mean, I've worked with Alan as well and I mean, he's incredible.
Lloyd Clarke: I keep in I'll come a session with that, on my laptop or whatever. Have the, I'll of song titles that I've observed or heard or read that I might like to work on or might just be a of words. It's an idea, the table. generally how is I've been writing a lot more without the guitar. I've been writing the lyric and, for me at the moment, but probably more than not, it will be.
Again, as a single song, right? if we've played, if we play guitar, there'll be you'll be noodling around on a chord progression. And all of a sudden the melody will pop in your head and then some and then off you go I don't know if that's the way you work, but that's the way I,
Rae Leigh: Well everyone's
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah. I have worked where it's been with. Chord progression and trying to steer away from that. Cause often the chord progression will dictate the melody goes. and then you get in fear of is this melody meeting used somewhere before? Sounds familiar. Not quite sure.
Rae Leigh: And sometimes that happens. And as long as you that's a bit, like, I think that's probably the, the good peer reviews is that like I've had people send me songs before and they're like, oh, you know, what do you think of this? And I'd be like, it's great, but it's also this song, you know? And then they're like, oh, you're so right.
And they had no idea, you know, That's why, like, you know, as much as keeping things close, you've got to find people that you can trust. But to also not just trust, as in, they're going to tell you the truth, but trust to give you feedback. Cause there are a lot of people out there, like you said, your family members and stuff, they'd be like, yeah, that's and they weren't actually giving you genuine feedback and that's why consulting and people Like, Alan and that, you know, they, they, a lot of them do have that service where you can. Get feedback and actually pay for
Lloyd Clarke: yep.
Yeah. So, I, haven't done a great amount of collaborating something I want to get into and in group I did join a, a Nashville songwriters. What's the most central group. It was a songwriting. not a contest. It was it was like write five songs in five, but you had to write a song for five days straight. lady would give you she'd give you a word palette. So look you know, These five words the song. And that was challenging. found that I felt I felt really challenged with that because it pressure on a little bit. But at the end of new songs.
Rae Leigh: yeah.
Lloyd Clarke: I mean, rubbish, but it's just, you just don't know what gems come though. Some of them weren't too bad though in my own, my own opinion, but that was a bit of fun. That was a woman that runs from songwriting. Writing workshops had a natural.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. That's
Lloyd Clarke: yeah. I'd love to do that too. I'd love to try to connect with people over there and then maybe clever write and write some stuff, because that's where you can get some big bucks. If you connect with the right people at the right time and everything, it was the right car. Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. I
Lloyd Clarke: not all about that for me. Just the money. I mean, I'm semi retired now. I bet almost go work again, but but I'll be working but I'll have still have time to to and write stuff. But this year I hope to be able to get out and perform more on weekends at a little coffee places or wine bars, or maybe per chance to get to a festival or, Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. that'd be nice. So tell me, like, with all the courses and the, you know, your auntie and everything that you've, you've accumulated in your musical songwriting career,
what would you say is the best advice that you've ever been given
Lloyd Clarke: Be yourself. I think. I'm
Rae Leigh: easy to say than do,
Lloyd Clarke: exactly this one, I said being kind of, individually unique, so many times you'll watch what currently you'll watch the voice. And this for any particular show. You'll seek almost cardboard copies of other artists, whether they using the same vocal technique. As a Christian, Christina Lira does, or Brittany, I'm going to think, you know, and I'll often seen the judges say you want to see the, you w where, where are you? We haven't seen. Yes, you're great. Technically, but you, what are you like? And I didn't really sort of understand that years ago until Casey chambers first launched.
And there wasn't, there was an individual that she was country at the time and come out of a dad's bed. But she had a no one else had. I think there's more of a song, the of the earliest songs. So I love artists that are that, that have something unique, it's familiar and safe and, and.
You like the Santa, but there's something about it that you like and you love, whether it be the lyrical, the melody or whatever, but there's something about them that's a little bit more quirky bit different. So, I think that,
Rae Leigh: like it. When you can tell who's singing
Lloyd Clarke: The best advice was you, Not try to copy it and we all do. We all get it. We're all got our, you know, our favorites and we're all good out, you know, our idols. That's how we start mimicking or copying. Yeah. Influence. That's a word. Yeah. By different people. And that's, there's nothing wrong with it. A lot of us start
Rae Leigh: natural.
Lloyd Clarke: It's natural. And but it's I think the biggest year now is yeah. One of the tools is, is learning to be yourself and be with that. I mean comfortable in being, know, for yourself being really there's no one else like you, so, you know, it'd be no, no,
Rae Leigh: I know what you
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah. And to be yourself because we are all different. Thank God, and just being comfortable in that and that once you've understood that, you know, you, you are who you are and and, people happy. Yeah. Keep rocking on.
Rae Leigh: yeah. And there, there is like a, and this isn't just songwriting, but it kind of relates to what you're talking about. And it's something that I have, I've talked to children about as well. You know, we all are raised by a mom and a dad, or maybe we have just one of those parents, but
Lloyd Clarke: Yup.
Rae Leigh: whatever, however we're raised. We in implants into who we are as, as a human being, as a parent and our core values, all of that stuff is influenced by the people that were around when my children and that's, that is something you can't change, maybe it's genetic. And then there's some things that are just environmental, but what, but what we do have control over is the way we choose to be.
So we can choose to. Following a parents' footsteps, you know, and, and become an and, and follow like the things that they've done, because we agree with it or we can choose not to. And you know, sometimes our parents have different mental or challenges that we don't want to have to struggle with.
And sometimes it's easy to pull away from, and sometimes it's not, but it is a choice and everything in life is a choice. And I think Oprah talked about this in her last show where it's like, if we all take more self responsibility, For the fact that no matter what we have experienced in our lives, whoever we have been or what we've experienced or what we've been through, we are not, we are know what happened to us.
We are who we choose to be, and that does, it's hard to a hard pill to swallow the responsibility of we are where we are because of our own choices. But as soon as, and the sooner I think that we accept that about ourselves. The sooner we can actually take control of the rest of our lives and the future, the stuff that is an unwritten, because if we don't accept that we're going to continue to be victim to anything else that we choose to allow ourselves to become victim to.
Lloyd Clarke: yeah,
Rae Leigh: And that's, you know, I think that that was one of the most sobering lessons I've ever but it's a beautiful thing
to, to ponder.
Lloyd Clarke: I think I think as a younger, younger person you know, I was, my idols were like John Denver, diamond popular, recognized dates. So to, sing songs in a, in way that they did. And try to imitate the voices. I thought, well, that's the way to success.
I've got to be able to do that. That's the way it was, people like that. And they pay money for that and the data. Yeah. So it didn't really enter my head that, you know, you know, I could do ride. And you know, I had my own voice and own inflection and own timber and all that type of stuff. So when I've, yeah, when I realized that I am who I am, and I'm quite comfortable with, through that my own songs. I don't play many covers own material. that's connects and, I'm gonna have you made doing that? yeah, yup.
Rae Leigh: that's good. And I like, you know, you get to choose what part of, sort of an artist you want to be. But, and like, I love Beyonce and I definitely think she's influenced my voice, but I'm not trying to be Beyonce. I I'm definitely way too white to do that.
Lloyd Clarke: Well, I guess the good
Rae Leigh: know,
Lloyd Clarke: some good plans happening.
Rae Leigh: but you can't help, but what you like be influenced in what you do and that, and that's fine.
You can choose that. And there's it's art. That is the beautiful thing about, so let's talk about and, and there's two other questions I want to ask you. One is to do with, Anzac day song, but I also want to get this question out of the way. could work with anyone in the world,
dead or alive, who would it be?
Lloyd Clarke: I don't think it will change. I think a that lost lots of respect. It was a fellow by the name of Jason Isabel, and I think Michael Ward might've mentioned the same Americana artist to be in the room with him and see his thought process or even riding with him would be, yeah, it would be?
great. He's much around active. So you'd probably be Jason and. It just so happens. My son school, Jason, there's a sign. no, it's no, he he and his wife makes some great music. Jason is bill. Yeah. Yup.
Rae Leigh: All right. maybe after her, see if he wants to jump on the podcast with me and
Lloyd Clarke: Wow. That would be exactly. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Rae Leigh: All right. Tell us about your Anzac day songs. Is your biscuits from home. was
Lloyd Clarke: from home. Yeah. Cause from home it recorded like last think anyway we're just sitting around a table in the lunchroom back. Because COVID now. And when I was talking about Anzac day and the subject of Anzac biscuits sort of come up and, you know, recipes and who made them and how they meant to, you know, what they meant to Australians and whatever, and just his idea popped into my head about that.
And just imagine this, a young guy in a Gullapalli trenches and he receives. At what they call it a care package a Billy tin with biscuits that his mum had biked him. And as he's opening up the 10, you get to smell from Australia, smell from home that just floods in and love.
So, really crafted around, world war. Globally. And there was one a laugh because in a couple of my songs, a lot of these war songs or songs like and the band played waltzing, Matilda, you know, often the soldiers end up wounded maimed or dead or whatever.
And my wife, Sherry, God bless us. She said, can you please make sure he comes
Rae Leigh: oh yeah,
Lloyd Clarke: And So so, I you know, at the end of the song you know, he's sitting by the tele and he watches the Anzac parades. And then down from the kitchen, something he thought he'd had grown, you smell of biscuits from home, you know, made by boy made with love by his wife. So the girl, he lifted the dock when to war, he ended up marrying and he come home and they, he gets to watch the exec parades and, and So,
Rae Leigh: he gave him a happy
Lloyd Clarke: Guy with a happy ending,
Rae Leigh: which is nice because I mean, the reality is a lot of people didn't get the happy ending.
Lloyd Clarke: yeah. Others, mothers lost all their sons, tragically,
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
Lloyd Clarke: town, whole towns lost most of the men, young, young men that just, yeah. Horrific.
Rae Leigh: why we have to never forget the sacrifices that were made and we never will
Lloyd Clarke: So, yeah, it was really just the lunchtime discussions about but the ticked me off on on, on crafting a story it's fictitious, it's not about Jack is not a problem for many jacks that went away to war, but this Jack was, was wasn't anyone in my family or family that I, that I know it was just a a lovely story. And that's
Rae Leigh: The truth ingrained
Lloyd Clarke: yeah, it's fortunate enough to record it. Now sits on an album on a compilation album for guitars, for vets. profit that that give free guitar lessons and guitars to vets that have suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Rae Leigh: That's awesome. Like my dad does that and it's, it's, it's a challenging, like I grew up with a dad with PTSD and it is, it's not it's not something that ever goes away and it to find something that you know, is going to help. And so whenever anyone does anything like that, that is to of life for people that. They essentially, even if they didn't die, they've sacrificed their
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: because their lives will never be the same because of what they've witnessed and what they've had to do and where they've been. And that's why we have the M you know, memory days that we do And the respect that because we wouldn't have the world that we have without them. and so, I think that's beautiful that you're able to
Lloyd Clarke: summer,
Rae Leigh: song
Lloyd Clarke: ambassador for them. And it's a great organization,
not for profit
Rae Leigh: That's great. Well, we'll put a link. We'll put their link in the description of your podcast and on the website, as all of the ways that people can listen to a music and connect with you. And
Lloyd Clarke: of them, major ones or, you know, apple and Spotify and
Rae Leigh: Yup. Yup. Good. I'll I'll find a little links and how, you know, people in your socials and that so people can connect with you.
Lloyd Clarke: give me a tinkle. Anything you.
need,
Rae Leigh: Brilliant. Thank you.
Well, let's hope the audio works this time.
Lloyd Clarke: that's wonderful. One, one, we'll talk to you. And I, and again, I must commend you. on
what you're doing with this. this has just been amazing and said I've listened to most, if not, not all of them, but. And you have your favorites with people that, you know, in the buyer last listened to that one.
But again, congratulations on, on your work, on this, on the podcast and also on your singles. from
Rae Leigh: really kind of you to
Lloyd Clarke: Yeah. from where I sorta met you, when, you.
know, in the very early days, when you're thinking about putting music out and
you. sort of just spin up
the Mundell and the way you are now, you've done an amazing job.
So.
Rae Leigh: Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's a journey. Isn't
Lloyd Clarke: it? is a journey.
Rae Leigh: things that he's got to keep doing it. I I'd say, say to people it's, for me, it's a compulsion. Like I can't do anything else. I don't have an option to go back to full-time work because that would be completely useless because I just be sitting behind the cash register, writing songs.
Lloyd Clarke: yeah.
Rae Leigh: But yeah, I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like to say before we finish out the podcast is yours? Is there something that you'd like to share with the audience,
Lloyd Clarke: All up again. It's it said, you, if you feel that you've got an ability to string words together, that that makes sense, and please people it to be that a poem or keep, keep doing it and be brave enough to, to practice that for your family Branch yet and fond little coffee house or a writer's round or a local music group, or a, you know, a jamming group that will get together in the community. And, and that just build and courage. There's plenty of places online. You don't have to search too hard on Google to find either workshops that again, to expand your knowledge and encourage people to do that. I mean, as we know, there's a lot of ourselves. Just gifted to be able to do that. And you can teach to write songs that is a I'm a, I'm a expanded of that I felt that I knew how to write. There were certain techniques of what friendly song,
Rae Leigh: and that
Lloyd Clarke: That changes two years as, as tastes for people's music, four minute songs, songs. Now that the songs, they're two and a half minutes and they're over, on radio, no. So yeah be yourself, in your own skin you know, always be you know, and trial. For the aircraft in either riding with other people joining a group just practice, practice, practice, as I always say.Yep.
Rae Leigh: I love that I was, I literally was telling someone yesterday, it's like, unfortunately, the only way to get over your fear of something is to do it.
Lloyd Clarke: Correct? Yeah. It's repetition.
Rae Leigh: yeah, it's repetition, but honestly, open mikes with the was where I started. And that was the scariest thing I've ever done. Like you get over that fear, everything else becomes null and void.
Lloyd Clarke: You do enough for them? You're right. You get a thicker skin forsure.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, and and it's space. Usually there's open mikes and stuff. So, everyone needs it and there's, I'm so grateful to people who run the open mics because it it's, it's a very thankless job. I think it's, you know, they get paid from the venue and it's like doing a cover gig really. And they get paid, which is great, but it's actually providing such a service to what we do.
So yeah, it's, it's a good thing. All right. Well, thank you so much. I've had a really and I'll look forward to sharing it. thank you
Lloyd Clarke: is for.
Rae Leigh: All right, I'll the recording.
