MICHAEL
MCCLOUD REFLECTS ON HIS CRAFT
Key West Citizen and the
Associated Press
March 14, 2001
Music: He says
it’s
not a
job for timid egos.
Songwriting is not an exact art. The fickle
finger of fate makes and breaks plenty of men and women with
musical talent, ambition, good timing or serious mentors.
Michael McCloud, a 30-year music veteran in the Keys, said
even Shel Silverstein was occasionally afflicted with
“hardening of the artistry.”
“That was Shel’s term for the mental block that
stalls a song in progress; a point of diminishing return
when you need another artist,” McCloud said as casually as
he was dressed – denim shirt, blue jeans. “We worked
together on several songs, but nothing came of them.
Songwriting is like fishing or mining for gold; when it
works, it’s special.”
So McCloud, who claims he’s one of the few
musicians here who has “never been musically unemployed,”
adds mental perspective, priorities and agenda to the blend
of variables that contribute to musical success.
“To make a living, you have to learn how to
control your ego – working on stage is not for timid egos –
and the most important person is the customer, who often has
incredibly bad taste in music,” McCloud said.
McCloud is a master of the request format because
“I have no particular style. This forced me to appreciate
all kinds of music,” he said, “and it’s my job to entertain
customers, even with requests I don’t like. You see, out
there somewhere is a guy working on a rooftop who wants my
job.”
McCloud’s regular “house gig” is at Schooner Wharf
Bar from noon to 5 p.m. He’s been a solo guitarist there
for five years, but his success formula includes two gigs.
“Every musician needs a night job similar to the
day job, but you have to keep the two different enough to
look forward to the other one,” he said.
“Then you have to give back to the community. I
have other local players work with me on weekends at
Schooner Wharf and at Willy T’s.”
McCloud concurs with Evalena Worthington, owner of
Schooner Wharf, who says the bar business and the music
business have a symbiotic relationship.
“I can eyeball a crowd to know if I’m paying for
myself,” McCloud said. “When no one’s listening, I turn the
speakers to myself and try to sound better.
“When my talent brings in customers, I also sell
my CDs. I sell two locally produced CDs, which keep me from
breaking the bank of the people I’m playing for, at the same
time, I’m advertising my products.”
“Gretastits” (his preferred spelling of “greatest
hits”) and “Ain’t Life Grand” are two McCloud CDs that mix
everything from blues to jazz to country ballads.
Recently, McCloud was mulling over a song idea
inspired by “an overachieving, underpaid waitress who
couldn’t afford to live here,” and a customer asked him why
this woman tapped his creative energy.
“She’s a real nice girl playing hard to forget,”
replied McCloud. And a new song was born.
©
Barbara Bowers 2001
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