JAMIE CLARK UP CLOSE By Nancy Nunziati
Music has been a constant in Jamie Clark’s life since he was a small child growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His natural gift emerged early at age 11, when inspired by his first crush, Jamie wrote a song called “What Do You Think When You Fall In Love".
He already knew that he was meant to fill the world with his music. Drawn to artists with “big voices”, he would sit in his room for hours, singing along with the radio and dreaming of having the world’s largest PA system so that the entire Bay Area could hear his voice.
Using wind instruments that his musician father brought home, Jamie began to experiment with music and gradually taught himself to play piano. As he moved into his teenage years, he continued writing songs and formed his first band, “Tensity” with his high school classmates. Drawn to music and lyrics about life, love, and relationships, he gravitated toward musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams and Luther Vandross for inspiration.
Jamie’s childhood and teen years were plagued with hardship and tragedy, including the loss of his father. Leaving home at age 18, Jamie found his way in the world, putting himself through college -- the first in his extended family to have graduated from a university -- majoring in Sociology with a Psychology minor.
At this time, Jamie was asked to lead a professional cover band called “Sharp Shooter” that played numerous venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and opened for prominent artists such as Eddie Money. The band’s success enabled Jamie to begin realizing what has turned out to be his lifelong commitment to music and charitable work.
During college, Jamie began a career as a Social Worker, dedicated to helping the homeless. He started playing guitar and singing songs for homeless youth, and formed his first all original band called “East Avenue Angel” specifically to raise money for charity. He was also instrumental in founding the “Northern California Center Starlight Program” for runaway youth.
Still engaged in social work, but realizing that he wanted to touch people with his music, Jamie continued to write songs, develop his voice and his own unique sound. He recorded his first album “11:11” in San Francisco and Chicago with band members from Journey and Santana. Jamie then continued recording and performing live, opening for artists such as Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and John Lee Hooker.
Realizing that bringing his music to the world would require financial resources not generally consistent with social work, Jamie transitioned to a career in sales, focusing on technology, the wine industry, solar and alternative energy technologies.
He continued to record songs in the studio with then band “Jamie Clark And The Refractors”, and in 2006 recorded his live album “The County Q Sessions” with Nashville, Tennessee’s own highly regarded session band, “The Players” with Producer, Jimmy Jackson. All 12 songs were recorded in a remarkable 10 hour session. Both his rapidly growing fan base and the music industry took notice.
In 2013 Jamie assembled a team of music industry veterans to work with him on, “This World”, Produced by John Capek followed by, “Learning To Live” in 2019, Produced by Ron Nevison at East West Studios in Hollywood and “Another Street” in 2022 and 2023 Produced by Matt MacDavid at Sanctuary Sound in Sebastopol and Cotati, mixed by Mark Needham.
For Jamie Clark, music is not just in his blood, it is his blood. His life experiences and ongoing dedication to his music have come together to create relevant yet timeless music. Jamie Clark is here to stay.