Life & Work with Dave Clark

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Clark. He and his team share their story with us below:

Dave Clark picked up a guitar at age 14 and hasn’t put it down since. His is a tale of two musical personalities. One is an acoustic singer/guitarist that performs classic rock favorites all over the State of Arizona. Two, an accomplished songwriter with a full-length album to his credit and a follow-up in the works.

Originally from Cleveland, OH, Clark became interested in music early on, and his love for music always superseded all other hobbies. Performing in the local scene in Northeast Ohio, Clark played in several notable bands, including Dreamer, Auntie Social, Rough House, and Dia Pason, the latter releasing a full-length record in 1990.

Clark left band life in 1992 with the release of his first solo single If You Only Knew.

After arriving in Arizona in 2014, Clark continued his solo music work, this time as a performer. Playing anywhere from concert stages to bars, restaurants, resorts, and anywhere else, he honed his craft performing hits from bands such as The Beatles, Journey, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, ELO, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Bon-Jovi and so many more.

Currently performing about 4-5 days per week throughout Arizona (but mostly in the Phoenix area), Clark splits his time between live performances and work on his upcoming album,will be called Arizona. After the success of his debut 11-song album, Rock City, Clark returned to Full Well Studios in Phoenix and is currently working on the new album. Arizona will feature Clark handling all vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards, with former Keel Stickster, Dwain Miller handling the drumming duties. Arizona is set for a late 2022 release.

Clark describes his original sound as “melodic hard rock,” radio-friendly with big harmony vocals and catchy melodies. Three different tracks from Rock City were featured on regular rotation on RockMelodicRadio.com of Athens, Greece. Rock City can be heard on all the major music services including Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Deezer, YouTube, and countless others.

Catch a live performance anywhere in the Phoenix area, as Clark performs heavily in the Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Gold Canyon, and Fountain Hills areas. Or make a weekend trip and catch him when he performs in Sedona and the surrounding areas a few times each year. All shows can be found on his website and/or his Facebook page.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When Covid struck, it initially seemed like, “what now?”

But pivoting quickly, Clark took the downtime of not performing live to build up his playlist, adding 47 new songs to his repertoire, while also working on a unique new tool – a harmonizer – which has become his performance signature.

“Now with the click of a button, I can perform perfect three-part harmonies live without having to rely on any fake backing tracks,” said Clark. “This allows me to perform songs from bands such as Boston, Journey, or Queen and be able to do the songs justice.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Besides being a full-time musician, I am a part-time writer and beer connoisseur. In fact, I am currently the second-highest-rated beer judge in all of Arizona according to the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program). I’m also a Certified Cicerone and a former professional brewer, having brewed for Hoppin’ Frog Brewery of Akron, OH back in the day.

This beer knowledge, along with my other former life as a writer/editor has enabled me to become not only a monthly columnist for Brew Your Own Magazine, the premier magazine about all things beer learning but also to become a published author. I wrote and released Phoenix Beer: A History Rising To New Peaks in 2019 (the same year I released Rock City).

So when I get a chance to perform in breweries, craft beer bars, or beer events, it’s a confluence of my worlds coming together. I’ve been called “Brewsician” which kind of stuck, and that’s actually the website where you can find all of my written work (www.Brewsician.com).

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Keep moving forward. Take nothing personally. Be better than you were yesterday. Patience. (All still works in progress).

Contact Info:

• Email: DaveClarkMusician@gmail.com
• Website: DaveClarkMusician.com
• Instagram: @DaveClarkMusician
• Facebook: Facebook.com/DaveClarkMusician

Image Credits:
Laura Rosch Photography and Melody Myers