Joey Clarkson

Wednesday Night: Joey Clarkson—Old Nicks had a special treat on
Wednesday when the highly talented young Joey Clarkson ably assisted by
Jesse and Breanne delighted a good size audience with a fine performance of
showmanship. Including a diverse selection of songs and some banter the
sort a raconteur would be proud of. Given that the weather was again awful
we were pleased to see how stoic the trio were, making little fuss and fulfilling
the night even though Joey was clearly unwell and Jesse had been under
the doctor. Touring in mid winter is not for the faint hearted. Joey and the
gang are from the Canadian West coast, Vancouver Island and British Columbia
so the adverse weather was also uncommon to them as well, as Joey
informed a galvanised gathering. Her compositions were well delivered and
had a unique punch with superb clarity of voice. Lyrically the songs were
both funny and informative giving an insight into the world of Joey from
many years ago to the present day. Harmonies by Breanne brought an emphasis
in the quality of writing and performance while Jesse accompanied
along on a sometimes errant mandolin and
well behaved guitar. Shoot to Kill, If This
Ends plus The Stroodle Song were stand
out numbers but the jewel in the crown had
to be Changes which was requested again.
A magnificent number that truly showcased
Joey’s silky voice and panache in delivery.
Many thanks to Joey, Jesse and Breanne
for a fabulous evening and we hope
that when they return again to the UK
they will factor Old Nicks into their itinery. - Old Nick's Newsletter

/ October 2010 35
How was your summer? Mine was
excellent, thanks. Susan and I pootled
about the island, as you do, indulging in
seasonal adventures ranging from noshing
on frozen bananas to being moved to the
core of our souls by an Inuit throat singer.
One satisfying event we attended was a
Comox art show in a beautiful garden
belonging to friends. As at their first such
show last year, a live soundtrack was
provided by a local musician, further
enhancing the relaxing experience of
ambling around the garden, gazing at the art.
This year it was the turn of Joey Clarkson, a
20-year old singer-songwriter from Merville.
It was a hot day, so relief from the blazing
sun was found in the shade of the garden’s
trees, listening to her play. And what
extraordinary songs this young lady writes,
two in particular serving to demonstrate
the emotional extremes she is capable of
inducing in the listener. One concerns an
elephant and an inchworm; so affecting
a tale it is that Clarkson’s performance
provoked tears in Susan and others listening.
In direct contrast, The Strudel Song is one of
the wittiest and most lyrically imaginative
songs I’ve heard in quite some time. It is not
every day, after all, that one encounters a
song with an opening line like: In Grade 7 I
had a science project where I had to make a
model of the earth, including all the layers,
and I chose to make mine out of pastry!
This great song and others Clarkson
performed that sunny Saturday are taken
from her 6-song, eponymous debut EP, just
one plate this driven individual has had
spinning recently. (It is indicative of her
work ethic, incidentally, that she took the
trouble to travel to The Outback Kangaroo
Farm in Arlington, WA, in order to have her
photograph taken with a baby kangaroo – a
joey – for the EP’s cover shot.)
Listening to her music it genuinely is
difficult to tell from whom she may draw
inspiration, so I asked her recently what
she listened to growing up, and if she has
any particularly strong influences. “I was a
huge fan of classic rock, meaning from the
50s and 60s,” she begins. “I used to listen to
a lot of musical theatre stuff, and the only
popular band I was into when growing up
was the Spice Girls! And I don’t know if
‘influence’ is quite the right word, because
I don’t sound anything like her, but one of
my role models, who I aspire to be more
like, is Ani DiFranco. I’ve spent a lot of time
listening to her and I like how she’s been
successful, but done it in her own way. I find
that she never sacrifices her music to the
‘rules’ of songwriting, not worrying about if
it rhymes or contains the ‘right’ amount of
syllables. It’s probably why her songs aren’t
successful on the radio, but she commits to
the feeling she wants in the song. There’s no
compromise.”
As Clarkson herself acknowledges, I was
quite surprised to hear this from a musical
perspective, but considering American
folk-rocker DiFranco is a feminist icon
whose creative fruitfulness yielded 17 studio
albums before reaching the age of 40 last
month, it’s easy to understand why any
musician, female or male, would admire all
that she is and does. So looking back now
at The Strudel Song’s opening line, thinking
on what Clarkson says about DiFranco’s
approach to songwriting, the inspiration
fuelling the fearlessness with which she
tackles her craft becomes apparent.
In respect of the “musical theatre stuff”
Clarkson mentions enjoying, it is a huge
part of her life. She conducts classes and
workshops in musical theatre for children,
and has been an instructor and musical
director on many productions for the
TheatreWorks Centre for Performing Arts in
Courtenay. She tells me that her experiences
in this regard have shaped her into the
engaging performer we witnessed playing
in that garden. “I credit a lot of my ability
to get up on stage to TheatreWorks,” she
says. “It did so much in boosting my selfconfidence
and training me in my ability to
publicly speak. It was never easy for me. I
started with this when I was about 11, I guess, and it really got
me into doing directing and the theatre I love.”
All things considered thus far, it is unsurprising to learn that
Clarkson, in collaboration with her dear friend, Breanne Larson,
has written a musical. Already staged locally this year, she
describes it as “a glimpse into the life of baristas and their
interactions with customers in a coffee shop, while focusing,
well…it’s got a hint of an Internet dating relationship in it! It’s a
little love story based in a coffee shop!”
Does this award-winning young woman never sleep? Apparently
not, as the next step in her hopeful rise to stardom is currently
being organized, albeit an ambitious one to present her
sometimes beautiful and sometimes quirky pop songs to an
overseas audience. Accompanied by Larson and guitarist Jesse
McCloy, Clarkson is headed to the UK for a string of s - The Beacon Magazine

/ October 2010 35
How was your summer? Mine was
excellent, thanks. Susan and I pootled
about the island, as you do, indulging in
seasonal adventures ranging from noshing
on frozen bananas to being moved to the
core of our souls by an Inuit throat singer.
One satisfying event we attended was a
Comox art show in a beautiful garden
belonging to friends. As at their first such
show last year, a live soundtrack was
provided by a local musician, further
enhancing the relaxing experience of
ambling around the garden, gazing at the art.
This year it was the turn of Joey Clarkson, a
20-year old singer-songwriter from Merville.
It was a hot day, so relief from the blazing
sun was found in the shade of the garden’s
trees, listening to her play. And what
extraordinary songs this young lady writes,
two in particular serving to demonstrate
the emotional extremes she is capable of
inducing in the listener. One concerns an
elephant and an inchworm; so affecting
a tale it is that Clarkson’s performance
provoked tears in Susan and others listening.
In direct contrast, The Strudel Song is one of
the wittiest and most lyrically imaginative
songs I’ve heard in quite some time. It is not
every day, after all, that one encounters a
song with an opening line like: In Grade 7 I
had a science project where I had to make a
model of the earth, including all the layers,
and I chose to make mine out of pastry!
This great song and others Clarkson
performed that sunny Saturday are taken
from her 6-song, eponymous debut EP, just
one plate this driven individual has had
spinning recently. (It is indicative of her
work ethic, incidentally, that she took the
trouble to travel to The Outback Kangaroo
Farm in Arlington, WA, in order to have her
photograph taken with a baby kangaroo – a
joey – for the EP’s cover shot.)
Listening to her music it genuinely is
difficult to tell from whom she may draw
inspiration, so I asked her recently what
she listened to growing up, and if she has
any particularly strong influences. “I was a
huge fan of classic rock, meaning from the
50s and 60s,” she begins. “I used to listen to
a lot of musical theatre stuff, and the only
popular band I was into when growing up
was the Spice Girls! And I don’t know if
‘influence’ is quite the right word, because
I don’t sound anything like her, but one of
my role models, who I aspire to be more
like, is Ani DiFranco. I’ve spent a lot of time
listening to her and I like how she’s been
successful, but done it in her own way. I find
that she never sacrifices her music to the
‘rules’ of songwriting, not worrying about if
it rhymes or contains the ‘right’ amount of
syllables. It’s probably why her songs aren’t
successful on the radio, but she commits to
the feeling she wants in the song. There’s no
compromise.”
As Clarkson herself acknowledges, I was
quite surprised to hear this from a musical
perspective, but considering American
folk-rocker DiFranco is a feminist icon
whose creative fruitfulness yielded 17 studio
albums before reaching the age of 40 last
month, it’s easy to understand why any
musician, female or male, would admire all
that she is and does. So looking back now
at The Strudel Song’s opening line, thinking
on what Clarkson says about DiFranco’s
approach to songwriting, the inspiration
fuelling the fearlessness with which she
tackles her craft becomes apparent.
In respect of the “musical theatre stuff”
Clarkson mentions enjoying, it is a huge
part of her life. She conducts classes and
workshops in musical theatre for children,
and has been an instructor and musical
director on many productions for the
TheatreWorks Centre for Performing Arts in
Courtenay. She tells me that her experiences
in this regard have shaped her into the
engaging performer we witnessed playing
in that garden. “I credit a lot of my ability
to get up on stage to TheatreWorks,” she
says. “It did so much in boosting my selfconfidence
and training me in my ability to
publicly speak. It was never easy for me. I
started with this when I was about 11, I guess, and it really got
me into doing directing and the theatre I love.”
All things considered thus far, it is unsurprising to learn that
Clarkson, in collaboration with her dear friend, Breanne Larson,
has written a musical. Already staged locally this year, she
describes it as “a glimpse into the life of baristas and their
interactions with customers in a coffee shop, while focusing,
well…it’s got a hint of an Internet dating relationship in it! It’s a
little love story based in a coffee shop!”
Does this award-winning young woman never sleep? Apparently
not, as the next step in her hopeful rise to stardom is currently
being organized, albeit an ambitious one to present her
sometimes beautiful and sometimes quirky pop songs to an
overseas audience. Accompanied by Larson and guitarist Jesse
McCloy, Clarkson is headed to the UK for a string of s - The Beacon Magazine