Spotlight: Michaela Clarke

Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com

Webpage: http://www.michaelaclarke.ca

Location: Whitecourt, AB, Canada

Description: 18 year old singer/songwriter who loves to create and perform country music!

Biography: Country music has always been a mirror of sorts, reflecting real life with all its ups and downs. That may be truer today than ever, as a generation of artists has emerged for whom crafting the message - songwriting - and delivering it in performance are inseparable parts of a single creative drive. Canada's own Michaela Clarke takes her place in that passionate fold with her debut release, "Long Gone." Featuring all original songs, the Nashville-produced CD is a glowing introduction to a significant talent. Michaela comes by her country roots honestly, thanks to her guitar-playing grandfather (Doering) and a mother who brought her along, even as an infant, to concerts and festivals. "I've always cherished spending time with my grandfather," says the Whitecourt native. "I don't know exactly how old I was, but I was pretty young when I decided I wanted to play guitar like him. So at this point, it's just a part of me. I write with it, and of course it's with me on stage. I think that connection with him, along with a mom and dad who've always been incredibly supportive, made writing and performing seem like really natural, home-grown things." Michaela's on-stage ease has been put to the test in a whirlwind year, a period that's had her on a fast track. She admits to a few pre-show jitters at a gig opening for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band but, she says, "Once I got out on stage, it just felt like home. " She needn't have been concerned; back at her Grade 12 graduation, she sang a self-penned song for (and about) her class without a hint of trepidation. But while the pretty teen finds performing a "glide," she's known all along that making it in music would take a lot of hard work. Before beginning her career in earnest, she'd see favorites like Keith Urban or Miranda Lambert in concert or on TV, and imagine a day when she could share a stage with them: "I always said to myself, if I want to be up there with them, I've just got to work my tail off like they did. I've always believed that I could reach any goal I set for myself if I just keep my mind on it and work hard - I'm Canadian." Like much of Michaela's career to date, "Long Gone" came about quickly. After recording her guitar/vocal demos in Edmonton with Barry Allen and Josh Gwilliam, Nashville was her very next step. Recorded at the same studio where Taylor Swift has cut her hits (and working with Swift's tracking engineer Chad Carlson and several musicians who play on Taylor's tracks), the new project shimmers with the confidence, power and sensitivity of a much more "seasoned" artist. And the song craft is first-rate: "You Will Be Mine" rocks with the exuberance of a first crush and the expectant optimism that things can work out the way we hope they will. The subtle steel guitar fills and tight harmonies of "Don't Have Time" bolster the song's time-honoured theme of the independent (but still vulnerable) woman. Michaela takes a sad/sweet turn on "Long Gone," a mid-tempo lament ("I know where I went wrong/I guess that's why I'm writing you this song/Now I know it was you that did me wrong/And that's why I'm long gone") The made-for-sing-along chorus of "I Found You" is another surprisingly strong lyrical turn for a young writer. This gem likely owes its weight to the "hard work" ethic Michaela follows, along with the support she's received since choosing her musical path: "I remember walking with my boyfriend, holding hands, and he dropped my hand when we ran into his old girlfriend. That hurt! I talked to my parents about it later, and they said I should write a song about it. The crazy thing is that it helps - it really does. So it's just been natural for me, for a long time, to put the happiness or sadness I'm feeling at a given time into a song. The work comes in when you dig in and try to make it a good song." "Je T'aime" finds Michaela a bit west of Nashville, with its funky acoustic Memphis intro giving way to a straight-ahead new-country backbeat. (She does give away her north-country roots, though: "I even sat through all your hockey games.") "Sorry" rounds out the set, a look at the other side of love, where a girl wonders if there isn't just a bit more to a relationship than she's being shown. Again, strong writing for an artist at any level, let alone something you'd expect from a debut project. The writing, Michaela reminds, is an essential ingredient for her: "If I was only to sing other artists' songs, I probably wouldn't be pursuing my music career. Everyone enjoys cover songs, but if I couldn't express myself through the material I've created, I just don't think I would have as much feeling as I do when I am singing an original. The best part of this for me is the idea that my songs can make people feel better, that I can give words and a voice to what they're experiencing." The words, the voice of "Long Gone" mark the arrival of an exciting addition to the newest generation of country's creative spirits - ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michaela Clarke!

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