The first time Gary Clark Jr. walked past Radio City Music Hall, he fantasized about having his name on the marquee in front of the venerable 6000-seat venue.
Clark’s breakthrough single “Bright Lights,” the lyrics of which boast “you’re gonna know my name,” is set in New York, so conquering this town as a metaphor for success is deeply rooted for the artist who first drew attention playing Austin clubs as a high school student.
Last month, the Radio City dream came true for the 40-year-old musician, and on the afternoon of the show, I sat down with Gary backstage where the Rockettes check their appearance before performing.
Gary spoke about his time living in New York and the haunts he inhabited. He discussed how he imagines cinematic scenarios to drive his guitar solos and on hanging out with Stevie Wonder and George Clinton.
The most surprising thing that Clark said in our conversation was that he considered not playing any guitar at all on his album of this year, JPEG RAW. As an accomplished singer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger, Clark may get a little frustrated when people focus only on his virtuosity on guitar but — despite that being the case — he delivered some of the most compelling and commanding leads of his career on the new record.
