Singer-songwriter and noted guitarist Gary Clark Jr. is no stranger to the annual Grammy Awards ceremony. The 32-year-old Austin, Texas, native scored his very first trophy in 2014 in the traditional R&B performance category with “Please Come Home.”
“I was super stoked, but there’s always that reality that you might not win,” Clark said Saturday night at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. “When they called my name and I won, I was kind of frozen. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. I should have probably been a little more prepared. It was one of those things where I was in the moment and it felt great.”
Clark, in town to perform at the Grammys at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday alongside soul singer William Bell, played a special, intimate VIP party Saturday night at the Lincoln Experience Center, which is nestled within Fashion Island. It was all part of the Lincoln Motor Co.’s Lincoln Sessions concert series, and the hour-long performance was also streamed live on the company’s official Facebook page.
The 75-capacity crowd was treated to some of Clark’s best, including the rockin’ “When My Train Pulls In,” on which he let loose on his guitar, extending the track as he let his fingers fly over the strings, seemingly lost in his own world. “Sorry,” he said afterward. “I got a little carried away.”
His sweet vocals soared through the softer, “Our Love,” and he got back after it hard and heavy with “Numb.” The short set ended with his bluesy rock cut “Shake.” off of his critically acclaimed 2015 record, “The Story of Sonny Boy Slim.”
“The Lincoln folks have been really cool and it’s not a bad warm-up gig for the Grammys,” Clark said, adding that knowing fans from all over would be tuning in via Facebook Live was a cool concept. “I would have been to a whole bunch of concerts at my house if they had this a long time ago.”
Clark performed live with country singer-songwriter Keith Urban at the 2014 Grammy ceremony. The duo sang Urban’s hit “Cop Car,” and Clark said he was so nervous that he messed up the lyrics.
“I was freaking out the whole time,” he said. “It seemed to go a bit unnoticed but I messed up the words and I was kind of freaked out that I would mess up the words for like how many ever people are watching the Grammys. So, yeah, I was a bit disappointed but it was fun.”
He redeemed himself last year when he was asked to join county artist Chris Stapleton and blues legend Bonnie Raitt to pay tribute to the late B.B. King during the Grammys with King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.”
“I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing if it weren’t for guys like B.B. King. He paved the way,” he said.
Clark shared that he’ll be dropping a live album on March 17, “Live in North America,” however he admitted that he hasn’t heard the record yet.
“I didn’t want to go through the process of going back and judging myself and figuring out things that I could change,” he said. “I just accepted those moments for the moments and let my sound guy, Mark Corbin, and my manager, Scooter, go through it. So I don’t know where the songs are from, but I’m excited to hear it one day myself.”
In 2015, Clark was introduced to rowdy rock audiences when he served as the opening act on a leg of the Foo Fighters’ tour. It was fitting since one of the first songs he taught himself to play on guitar was the Foos’ hit “Monkey Wrench,” and the tour was an experience he said he’d do again without hesitation.
“It was random days, like we’d get off stage and I’d be greeted by Dave Grohl in his underwear,” he said with a laugh. “He’d hug me and tell me I had a great show. He made me feel very awkward, and through all those awkward moments and hard times those guys gave me there’s a lot of love. They’re just cool. … To me, when I think about rock stars of a generation, I see those guys’ faces.”
Clark has numerous gigs lined up this year, including serving as one of the opening acts for Eric Clapton’s shows at the Forum in Inglewood on March 25 and 26 and when he returns to the venue Sept. 15 and 16.
Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com
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