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Clay Cumbie

BUY MY NEW CD AT WWW.CLAYCUMBIE.COM!!

About Me


The southern Alabama cotton town of Opelika is surrounded by the musical heritage of deep-south country soul and southern rock. A short drive south of Florence, Alabama, home of the famed Muscle Shoals sound, and a stone’s throw east of Montgomery, birthplace of Hank Williams, the farms and peanut fields along the back roads echo with the incredibly rich mix of musical flavors. It is among this collage of sounds that Clay Cumbie was born and raised.A self taught guitarist, Cumbie studied the craft of singer/songwriter icons of the 70’s and 80’s such as James Taylor, Jim Croce, Jackson Browne and rock/ soul pioneers Hall and Oates in his youth. "All those guys were my heroes growing up," Cumbie remembers. "They all had such a huge influence on the way I write songs." By the time he was a teenager, Cumbie was playing in local clubs and honing his own songwriting craft.Eventually the Cumbie family moved west to Columbia, MO and Cumbie’s focus shifted to an altogether different skilled craft: baseball. As an up-and-coming player throughout high-school, Cumbie starred on the field while keeping his musical hobby on the side.As Cumbie’s focus shifted between the diamond shape inlays on his guitar and the baseball diamond, music was undergoing a radical shift from the eclectic 80’s to the innovative alternative rock and New Country sound of the early 90’s. Country music was reborn with the "class of ’89" artists such as Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Garth Brooks who brought legions of new fans to the genre and drove sales skyrocketing.Invigorated by the proliferance of accessible country music and the influence of new singer/songwriter artists such as Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow, along with songwriter driven bands like Counting Crows, Cumbie rejuvenated his love for singing and playing. He revitalized his live show and amassed a dedicated local fanbase around Columbia."Eventually I was forced to make a decision between baseball and music," Cumbie laments. "As much as I relished the enjoyment of being part of a winning team on the field, there was a part of me that needed to be on stage in the spotlight."The chance to get his songs heard by the masses and perform on stage triumphed his passion for sports. Leaving home at the age of 19, fresh from graduating High School, Cumbie made his way to Nashville to pursue his dream.Barely four years later, from his 9th floor balcony overlooking the busy downtown Nashville streets, Clay Cumbie puts the finishing touches on another slice-of-life song laden with the soulful harmonies gleaned from the musical mosaic he cut his teeth .. a few rough starts in a business known for its toughness and competitive edge, Cumbie has found his home with Big Loud Shirt Industries, a top independent publishing company run by veteran songwriter/producer Craig Wiseman. "I believe my musical journey led me here for a reason," he says with a smile.Clay Cumbie is currently co-writing with Nashville’s best songwriters with an eye on releasing an album of his own material in the near future. He keeps his current fans happy by touring throughout the country.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/29/2005
Band Website: claycumbie.com
Band Members: Management/Booking Info:Seth England [email protected]
Influences: People that I TOTALLY DIG!! Jim Croce, James Taylor, Dave Matthews, CSNY, The Boss, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, Rodney Crowell, Martin Sexton,CCR (THE REAL CCR),David Grey, Hall & Oates, Jackson Browne, The EAGLES, U2, Van Morrison, America, Marvin Gaye, Counting Crows, Marty Stuart, B-Rad Paisley, AKUS, Pat Green, Bruce Robison, Darrell Scott, Paul Overstreet, Jeffery Steele, Al Anderson, Craig Wiseman, Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, J. Mellencamp, Doobie Bros, Allman Bros, George Strait, Keb Mo, Aerosmith, Alabama, The Hag, Bruce Hornsby, Robert Earl Keen, Eric Clapton, Everley Bros, Tom Petty, ..and the list goes on and on and on....
Sounds Like:


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Buy Clay's New CD Here!

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Record Label: 1111 MUSIC HOUSE
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Rockin N Memphis

We just got back into nashville from being out on the road with Corey Smith--Played in memphis last night at the New Daisy Theatre and had a blast!!! Memphis knows how to come out for a show--and they...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:49:00 PST

From the RoAd

Greeting from rainy Columbia, MO-- Well.....we played our first show last night with Corey Smith in Carbondale, IL at The Copper Dragon....had a blast...and from the time we reached the venue we knew ...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:41:00 PST

GET FREAKIN’ FIRED UP!!!!!

ALRIGHT YA’LL&.TIME TO GET FREAKING FIRED UP!!!!!! DEFINITELY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE A BUNCH OF NEW AND EXCITING THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN AND ARE GOING ON&WELL&.FOR STARTERS&..I JUST CUT A NEW CD IN T...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:59:00 PST

New Videos and More!!

Hey Ya'll! Finally---fall is here---and with the new season....some new stuff added to the myspace page! thought it would be cool to capture a few songs on video--and post them on the world wide web--...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:01:00 PST

2006 DID NOT SUCK!!

Let me just start off this blog by saying Woo-Hoo!!!! What a year it has been~As I sit here and reflect on 2006 I can't help but to feel BLESSED & THANKFUL- Seems like yesterday I was in my room- ...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Tue, 26 Dec 2006 10:51:00 PST

Check Out www.claycumbie.com

Alright...so...the last 3 months of my life have been un-real!! I havent really posted a "real...hey guys look inside my head kinda blog yet" on the ol' myspace...but so much stuff has been goin on la...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Tue, 27 Jun 2006 01:30:00 PST

PLEASE READ (NEW CD)

NEW CD~ hello to all....thanks for dropping by and showing some myspace love. I've had alot of people ask about the "new CD" recently....which made me think it might be best to write a blog and explai...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:05:00 PST

Guitar Chords/Tabs

Ok ya'll...Since I have been on the old myspace site I have had several people comment me or message me about Guitar Tabs or Chords for some of my material...unfortunately I havent been able...
Posted by Clay Cumbie on Tue, 28 Feb 2006 05:31:00 PST