Sebastian Clark profile picture

Sebastian Clark

A Better Combination of Words

About Me



Songs From A Van was my debut self-release (and only official release to date). I recorded the entire thing inside the van I was living in for over 2 1/2 years (pictured on the album cover), but which exploded last X-Mas Eve (along with 99.5% of everything I owned) in the middle of Oklahoma.
During the recording sessions I resorted to hitting the van for percussion, using glass bottles half-filled with my own piss for yet more percussion, and even the theft of electricity from a myriad of sources (and got caught a few times, too). It was an intense labor of love making it, I took aim at the mid/late 60's musical groups I appreciate (see influences/sounds like), it's gotten some nice press and acclaim, check it out, after I sell out of what I have in stock there will be no more made!


SOME QUOTES:
"Clearly destined to go far... 10 out of 10"
-Tom Robinson, BBC6 Music
"...his stage presence is both witty and confident, with an inner flame that easily calms, much like an attractive cult leader without all the bad stuff."
-Bree Kristel Clarke, Santa Monica Observer
"What mostly shines through on this tuneful disc is a breezy fondness for the bright, sunny side of pop radios golden days Lennon/McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, and Jim Croce in particular."
-Music Connection Magazine
"His pop-folk music is like recorded sunshine."
-Emilia Brock, RAVE!
"He lives in his van, urinates in old bottles, and steals electricity to make his CD[s]."
-Lauren Gray, LV Press
"...quite possibly one of the most talented and creative musicians I have ever heard or had a chance to meet and see perform live..."
-The New Acoustic Society
OTHER STUFF
Multiple tracks spun on world-famous "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and "Sounds Eclectic" radio programs of Nic Harcourt/KCRW!
David Bash (International Pop Overthrow) chose 'S.F.A.V.' as Number 76 on his 'Top 100 Albums of 2005'!
I've been on both Kevin & Bean (KROQ) and FOX11NEWS TV (Los Angeles)
I've toured the USA two and a half times and England once, playing many historic clubs such as: The Cavern Club, The Bitter End, CBGB's, McCabe's, The Topic Folk Club, The Roxy, Kenny's Castaway's, The Lighthouse Cafe, The Knitting Factory (LA), Music Millennium, Kramerbooks, The Point, Heartland Cafe, The Mill, Lennon's Bar, and plenty more!


ONE/$10

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/8/2004
Band Website: sebastianclark.com
Band Members: : Sign Up For The Sebastian Clark Newsletter!
Influences: TRULY, anything that's honest has, does, and will have an influence on me.... YES even rap and country and opera!

primary influences for sfav: beach boys (brian wilson), paul simon & garfunkel, david byrne, the beatles, fleetwood mac, paul mccartney solo, old standards, most good songsmiths...

other musical influences: Talking Heads, Weezer, The Who, The Police, The Clash, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Queen, Musicals, etc...

other things I enjoy & do: Improv Comedy, Politics, History and finding all the times, places, and ways in which it has rhymed (and how it's continuing to), quantum physics/manifestation stuff, endurance sports (I've run a marathon, swam 2 miles in the ocean, and am working on a century bike ride... I plan to complete an ironman triathlon when I'm 24), raising/donating money for/toward good causes (i think I'm somewhere in the 6-7,000 range toward my goal of 84,000 in these next few years...)

books I enjoy and read: Guns, Germs, & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, The Beatles Biography by Bob Spitz, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century by Michael Friedman, Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness (Eric Schlosser)

...I like works by Vonnegut, Dickens, Twain, and Steinbeck, but truth be told my passion lies in non-fiction... I very recently finished Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking (it's OK, not great), and This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (pretty good), and The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Mystery, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (really cool and quick).

I'm currently in the midst of The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil, and Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond.
Sounds Like: 'Songs From A Van' - Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Harry Nilsson, and more! Sincerity.
Record Label: The Whatever Project
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

A Blanket Apology and Promise (not a song)

It's been a while since I've released a new tune, played live shows, and been in shape.  I'm sorry to any and all fans of my music and/or live show that have had to wait as long as it's been.&nbs...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:23:00 PST

Arbitrary and Obsolete (I Used To Be Cool)

This is a new one,  with an 80's synth backdrop and synth drums, it's unbeatable!  Gonna shoot a really cool video for it, too- might be our first single!Arbitrary & Obsolete aka 'I Used...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:22:00 PST

A Note I Got From The Universe

One of the most stringent conditions all angels must meet, Sebastian, other than double-advanced harp playing and skydiving abilities (not necessarily at the same time), is that t...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:46:00 PST

New Song: Love'

I wrote a new song!  It's on charango (a ten-stringed South American ukulele, basically)...  It kind of has a 'Ram On' feel to it...LoveLoveLoveLoveI don't know why they all laugh at your na...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:04:00 PST

Tops!

Last night I saw Billy Joel in Anaheim.  I saw this show solo, just as I've seen many many shows that I really wanted to see solo, because the ticket prices were very high and my peers wouldn't r...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:51:00 PST

Now That You’re Gone

I started writing this in february of last year, was an attempt to personify the van, but the chord progressions and lyrics weren't working toward what i wanted to convey regarding.... that.  So ...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:30:00 PST

A song called I Love You, revealed!

I Love YouBy Sebastian ClarkI know you don't need meBut I am what you wantI couldn't be in your lifeAny other wayBut since you're seeking a reasonWell I've got the best oneIt may seem reckless to sayB...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:05:00 PST

The Child is Father of the Man: a poem, a song, and introspection.

MY HEART LEAPS UP WHEN I BEHOLDBy William Wordsworth (1770-1850)My heart leaps up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky:So was it when my life began;So is it now I am a man;So be it when I shall grow old,...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:09:00 PST

’The Zoo’ is gonna come to YOU!

So then I've been producing my friend Normandie Wilson for a bit now, we hatched plans at the tail end of last year for this, and we settled on songs she either hadn't recorded yet, hadn't finished bu...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:14:00 PST

What’s Next

So then I figured I'd provide a little update as to what is next for me and my music career!I'm preparing full-fledged demos for myself and for a talented friend of mine, Normandie Wilson.  The t...
Posted by Sebastian Clark on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:27:00 PST