No one to entertain

The worst thing you can do to a singer besides booing is not having anyone to entertain.I just fininshed a show and although i had a great time, there was no one there. The place was empty i invited my friends and they came. They are the best , but i had to let them go ,cause they looked tired and incoherant. It was like i was punishing some of them as they sat in the chair looking at me like zombies. Sometimes, i dont know why i even try but its my job and the show must go on people or not.
Of course inside i feel horrible, because we as performers thrive off of the audience support an when there is just no one there to even make a joke with you have to wonder, whats the point.
What happens is i become a jokester and just try to make light of the situation but sometimes i lose all interest and just dont put any effort in singing good. I know i know you are saying why lucius, you must always try your best. That is bullshit.. i mean exscuse my french but who honestly will do iam doing bad but me and the band. Its not that i try to be bad, its just that my mind shuts down and become forgetful.To say iam performing 100% at that time would be a lie and i am sure there are many performers who would say such crap. But i will tell you, tonight i felt like i wasnt even there, because the truth is i wasnt.
Where are you people,? come back come back
I miss my aric and magda's who would show up with great energy no matter what. So tonight i drank an i danced like it was 1999. Thats me turning lemon into lemonade.
When i was young i imagined there were big audiences to sing to and tonight i was that 8 yrs old boy with the broom singing in the laundry room to a empty crowd .I will take it as a sign of things that keep me humble. When i am old i will say remember the time when i was singing and not a soul was there not even a mouse. too be continued...

A quick change of wardrobe.

So the life of a artist consist of a lot of ups and downs, sometimes, you work a lot sometimes you don't work for days. Last Saturday i had 2 shows in 1 day. Very different shows .I met my client the day before who i was doing the show for at there place. When i walked in i could feel such a great energy inside, they were like a family, she was a amazing interior designer, Taiwanese older lady with a great laugh an something that made me just want to hug her an her husband was Japanese an a lover of vodka. His motto being a half a bottle of vodka a day keeps him young and energetic . He tried his best to get me drunk, and he almost succeeded but i know my cut of limit. Jean Baptiste who is a interesting and mysterious guy is the fellow who contacted me for the performance. An he is a character himself, someone who is hard to read and also hard to pin down for precise answers of who he is .I decided to let my guard down and when i do that , it consist of a lot of laughing ,hugging and smiles all around. They welcomed me in there place and was automatically hounding me to sing, sing sing. I wanted them to wait. Its better when you make someone wait for what you do , its like the perfect magic trick. They treated me like a star, and everyone loves to be treated this way. They wanted music that was slow and emotional , and anyone who knows me , its what i love the best. We saw eye to eye and the ideas flowed on how to set it up for me. From there i rushed to my rehearsal of my second show , which was at mural bar. My friend Dane and Scott created a funk band a while back called pharaoh and asked me to join as there singer. So i was more then happy to try something new. This time around Dane renamed the band and added more musicians and i must say its sounds beautiful. After rehearsal its a night of nervousness and waiting for me. trying to remember 30 songs and what key they are in is quit a challenge.
The day finally arrived an usually when i wake up i make sure i drink lots of warm water an lemon to clear my throat. I chose my 2 outfits to wear to each performance. Since the one in the nice villa was first i chose something white , (khaki white pants and nice white and brown striped shirt) and for the funk performance i chose a t-shirt with a monkey singing on the front an my tight fitting jeans.
Time for the shows.
1st show starts at 8:30 and second starts at 10:30 so i need to make sure driver is ready for me ,cause when i am done singing i need to get back into town which is 45 minutes away.I start my first performance and the first thing i noticed is people are eating, and if you don't know a little about Chinese, they are noisy eaters an they can be quit rude trying to talk over you singing making enough noise to distract a bear from hibernating i am sure. It bothered me so while singing i make a mental note, never sing here if they are eating dinner. I finish my last song an automatically feels things didn't go so well as i had hoped,crowd applause was minor and although some people came up to me and complimented on my singing i didn't feel it was the best crowd to continue with more. I rushed to get in van and i began to change clothes,of course the driver is weired out by that ,but i am sure it will give him something to talk about to his friends.
I get to next performance and i need a glass of whiskey, it always calms me down.
My second glass in and its time to funk up the place. Its amazing no mistakes we are going and going and i am feeling good. Thank you Jack Daniels!!! not many people at concert but i think we as a band had so much fun we didn't care. Show finishes at 2a.m an i am tired and my voice is exhausted, 1 more glass of whiskey an i push past the people who want to tell me how good we are.Love you love you but i need to lay down .i have a show the next day and if i don't sleep enough my voice will shut off. I woke up the next day sounding very much like Barry white and most of you know i am a tenor . All in a days work!!!

A man of many talents!!

I try to keep myself open to opportunities. I was a model for a while, but as a black male model, didn't get as much work as one would hope, so agency ended up dropping me to replace me with 2 more white male models.That's the business. Occasionally , i get asked to do some photos and i jump at those chances to be glamours for a few minutes. I know its a bit vain but we all want to look sexy for a few minutes in our lives.I don't own a camera and never have, not cause i don't like taken photos just cause it doesn't cross my mind to do so. When i was in New york, i did very few fashion shows but the ones i did do i learned a lot from.Its not a easy job as everyone thinks you have to be on your best all time. Skin, hair,toenails beautiful kind of job . It was a great experience for me and when i came to china in 2005, i did a bit more modeling, working with local designers and big brands like Reebok in fashion shows. Was a great time for my modeling career. My face i must admit has changed so much in the last few years and so has my body. In the modeling business its best to try to stay within your measurements. When i was in NYC i was very thin, no butt, no chest almost weight nothing hahaha. Ok that a little to much but you get my idea. But things changed for me at 25 i just kinda filled out(which i am very happy about)
My face changed i seemed to look younger now then when i was 19, strange but very true. Right now in my career i am wanting to do a bit more modeling as well, especially cause those things get your unknown face out into the public an can boost my singing career. Keep a look out for me i might just be on the next cover of homme or people hahaha.( or a local rag)

News Articles!!!

http://life.globaltimes.cn./expat/2009-05/432505.html
www.chinadaily.com.cn/cityguide/2009-07/20/content8449547.htm
www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/events/29451/
www.prolightsound.com/indexen.asp?id=3
www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/shanghai-come-together-1737636
www.myspace.com/luciusclark
www.shanghaiist.com/tags/rb

Whats my sound?

I have been asked this question so many times and it always makes me confused. The reason is ,is because i have no clue myself. Sometimes i feel like a r&b artist sometimes, i feel like a folk singer,rocker,etc. I just cant identify as one type of artist. Its a box that so many put themselves into, that i cant really relate to .
My music over time and traveling internationally changes accordingly. Since i have been in Asia, it has changed a lot. I find that by playing with, french, Chinese ,Spanish individuals who all play my songs differently i just kinda go with the flow. So me and manager came up with soul fusion. I think it fits, because no matter what is playing in the background i find my singing style is still quit soulful, even overpowering over rock guitars an loud drummers. I love to sing an the idea of not being able to play around with different sounds kind of frustrates me. Its a freedom that most people don't have in the music industry.I guess the best thing to do is for you to listen to the music yourself and relate it to whatever you feel.

The is the hardest thing when you are trying to send music to record labels and sponsors. What to put on the front of c.d. r&b ,folk,rock,funk. hmmmmmm.... decision , decisions...

Introducing....Lucius Clark!!! YAY

So hmmmmmm... where to start? i guess at the very beginning a perfect place to start...

Born into a family of six children in a small town in Mississippi, Lucius knew that making it big wasn’t going to be easy. “I was completely driven by music - it inspired me and moved me in a way that nothing else can.” From humble beginnings, Lucius’ passion and talent have enabled him to travel extensively throughout the world, performing with a wide range of artists across multiple genres. Lucius has been singing and dancing since he can remember, following and idolizing artists such as Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye, and many other classic R&B performers. Since the age of 10 he has participated in 20 national singing competitions - placing 1st 11 times and 2nd 6 times. Meanwhile, he began singing with his high school choir where he quickly rose to the position of lead singer. At the time, he gained a very unique reputation...his friends from school knew him as "the skinny boy with a fat man's voice." Since these early days, Lucius has participated in many music groups and choirs. It was at the Mississippi State University Jazz and Classical Choir where he learned to control his large voice – by fuelling it with emotion. Lucius has had extensive training in multiple genres of music since then, including everything from classical works to R&B. As his talent grew as powerful as his voice, he was ready to move beyond Mississippi, and he chose New York City as his launch pad. In NYC he started modeling professionally whilst continuing his voice training with Broadway professional Phil Campernara of the NYC Singers' Studio. Eventually, Lucius started a professional singing career as well, initially at Caberts in Manhattan and, soon after, abroad, where he decided to pursue even bigger opportunities. Coming to Shanghai gave him a taste of the fresh and experimental, it was here that he was able to try new sounds and to dabble in Rock 'n' Roll. Soon after arriving, he formed a band called LX with friend Maxime Lenik, and together they played big venues in Shanghai as well as touring across China, leading Shanghaiist to conclude that Lucius 'can sing like nobody's business'. Lucius also sent an audition tape back to NYC, and soon he had word that he would be touring with the Broadway tour of the musical Rent throughout Europe and back to the States. After the tour, Lucius then sang backing vocals for Indian artist Majit Lovelight in NYC. Within a few months, he decided that it was time to step out again on his own, to re-initiate his trip to Shanghai, and to finish what he had started... Right now Lucius is in the studio recording songs for his debut album which will be released by the end of this year. Beside the studio work Lucius is having regular performances in Shanghai, together with his band Pharaoh. Apart from singing, Lucius is a top-tier trained dancer, having studied under world-reknowned professionals including Luam (www.luam.net), a dancer for artists like Missy Elliot and Ciara. In New York City he studied in the Dancers Studio and at Djoniba Dance School, where he learned Katherine Dunham ballet, hip hop, jazz etc. Music is in Lucius' soul and he loves every aspect of it. Look out for him.