Solo artist Erin Clare has been wielding the magical tones of the flute since middle school. Based out of Las Vegas, Erin Clare has been building a name for herself in the music scene by playing in different states, outside of venues for fans waiting inline for other artists. She is also no stranger to social media, where posting covers of songs and incorporating her flute playing seamlessly has caught the eyes of fans and other artists. EC's most recent EP titled "Valley Sol", was released June 21st 2023, 6 songs packed with the most playful, romantic, soft, and dreamy vibes. Listening to this EP makes me feel entirely whole and grounded.
Tracks listed in order:
Sol
Opal Oasis
River of Fire (feat. Bobbie Dust)
West Wind Calling
Slot Canyon
Taken By the Mystic
"Valley Sol" starts off strong with the first song "Sol", a beautiful introduction to the wonders of Erin Clare's flute playing. The EP cover features Erin Clare wearing elegant colors and a glittery duster. The desert canyon captures the essence of the aesthetic for the EP perfectly."Opal Oasis", is a very calming & serene song, this would be the perfect time to light your joint if you are enjoying this EP at home. My favorite track on "Valley Sol" would have to be "Slot Canyon", a very bright song but as you get farther into it the pace is taken a bit slower. "Taken By the Mystic", closes out the EP, bringing the musical travels to an end. This track is very delicate, it makes you feel like a feather drifting through the wind at night. Overall the EP gives me strong Stevie Nicks vibes, many free feeling tones. Erin Clare's songs are the type that you would want hear in a movie soundtrack/score, her songs tell a story but it's up to the listener to decide what that story is.
*****
Taking it all the way back to the beginning, how did your musical journey start?
"I started music when I was 6 years old, when Santa brought me a keyboard for Christmas, and my parents shortly after that put me in lessons. But before that (lessons) I would play Beatles' songs on my keyboard and I didn't know how to read music, and at that time there was no Youtube or anything it was just coming off the dome. And I remember dragging my keyboard into my moms bedroom and plugging it in and playing "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", the chords to "Let it Be", and stuff like that. And at the time we didn't realize that it was kinda uncommon to be able to pick up an instrument and just kinda know how to play a song without having any musical training. So thats how we kinda found out that it was my niche that I needed to stick to it. Cause once I started piano lessons I was playing all these songs for my teacher, and she like thought I already knew how to read music. So it kinda made my learning process a bit backwards when it came to sheet music, which is very similar to the Japanese Suzuki method on how to learn, play, and read music. But I moved to a different city, and stopped piano lessons, didn’t pick it back up for about four years. In middle school I was given a sheet of paper to fill out my schedule and pick my electives. I had the choice between choir, art, band, and orchestra. I put orchestra at the top because specifically the song "Eleanor Rigby", had such a huge impact on my life, it was my all-time favorite song. And all I wanted to do was play the cello or the viola or the violin, anything in string quartet, I just wanted to be in string quartet so bad. But then I got slapped into band and the only options I had to pick from were saxophone, clarinet, and flute, and I put flute on the top because my mother played the flute, and to me it was the prettiest out of the three. The next day they said okay you’re playing the flute, and after school that day me and my mom went to the instrument rental place and rented a flute and the rest is history. I picked it up and haven’t put it back down since."
What has been your biggest hardship in the process of putting your own music out?
"I would say that the biggest hardship that I've had to face while putting out my own music is being taken seriously as a independent artist. Going to places and talking to booking agents and trying to get gig when its kind of a niche genre and a very niche discography, it's very hard to get booked. Because it's just something unfamiliar and it's kind of, when you book me it's a little bit of a risk but I promise I deliver, I always make that guarantee that I will deliver. Because it is something captivating and new and different, I think that it kinda draws the audience in, thats why I think I would make a great opening act. But the hardest part is convincing others of that. Playing a flute in rock n' roll today has not been done, great examples in the past are of course Ian Anderson, The Moody Blues had a flute player, lots of other little 60s bands had flute excerpts like "California Dreamin" by The Mamas and the Papas. But that's not quite exactly what I'm doing, that doesn't match my sound. Even Ian Anderson has slight of a jazzier sound than I do, I'm trying to be this Lindsay Buckingham, rhythm guitar, adlibs that kinda float around the music and compliment the lead vocal, that's the goal. But in order to do that I have to be taken seriously so I'm bulking up my discography, and I'm trying to get booked. Trying to be taken seriously as a woman in rock n' roll, but I know that every mountain I climb will only make the prize so much more worth it. I have no issues with these adversities I'm facing because I know in my heart that every follower that I have, every stream that I have, every person that continues to support my music career, is something that I've earned with hard work. I know that my music is not something that is easily digestible, it's very easy to put on in the back round. But someone who actively wants to listen and wants more from me, I'm very grateful for that and that's something I'm working for, is getting in front of as many faces as I can and overcoming these hardships. Again, I just know that the spoils will be much sweeter with the more challenges I have to face. Nothing has been handed to me in that sense, which I am grateful for. Now we just have to wait for the timeline to line up. I will continue putting in the hard work but it's up to me to convince the world that I'm not just a 'fan artist' or a Jethro Tull reboot, I'm here to open a door to the new era of music. P.S. a little bonus hardship is getting people to call me not just Erin, but Erin Clare, I have a double name and my name is Erin Clare. No matter how many times I tell people, they still call me Erin. They're more than welcome to call me EC, all my friends call me EC I love it! But I digress, I digress."
Do you have any advice for other artists that are pretty much doing everything themselves?
"As an independent artist speaking to other independent artists I think the best piece of advice I could offer is, surround yourself with an authentic group of people that are there to support your success. Surrounding yourself with a team of friends who see your success as their success and it is a shared win, and they're there to help you, aid you, give you advice, hype you up, give you constructive criticism, I think that can make a world of difference. When you are overwhelmed with writing your music, composing, producing, mixing, mastering, booking ,and running your social media, having a group of people willing to aid you to take the weight off your shoulders just a small little bit. Not having the constant fear looming behind you that they're in it for the wrong reasons, but they're just simply in it to see you accomplish your dreams. I think that could be the difference between a successful musician and an unsuccessful musician. I know my group of people that I have around me, my team, have helped prevent me from burnout several times. They help me in so many ways and I am beyond grateful for each and every one of them, they help me all the way from 'Hey can you spell check this' and 'Hey what do you think of this idea' and 'Hey I'm thinking about posting this', or just helping me come up with ideas for song titles, album art ideas, and social media posts. All the way to 'Hey can you help me haul my gear to this venue' or 'Can you help me carry my amp', cause when you're doing it by yourself it can feel so overwhelming, and so lonely, and almost frightening. It's approaching a beast that is way too big to take down on your own, but when you have a group of people behind you that are there for you and there to back you up, no questions asked that is something that is so so useful. When you have this team around you, you are not just trying to succeed to accomplish your own dreams, it almost becomes their goals and their mission. So again, it's a shared win for everyone and you're not just working to satiate your own soul, but you're working to see us all succeed as one. I owe everything I have to my team, and I'm so grateful, and I love every single one of them. They all bring something so different to the table, it's all such unique talents combining together to make this work."
Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?
"In 5 years I would like to see myself touring. I love performing it is what fuels and feed say soul. In 5 years I would like to see myself creating a community that is all focused on the ideologies of spreading harmony with one another. And having a fanbase that is willing to spend their hard earned money to buy a ticket, come inside of a venue, and let me come out onstage and perform for them. In 5 years I would also love to see myself collaborating with other musicians, like being in a band and not exactly only being a solo artist. I would love to return back to a solo artist maybe 20 years down the line, but I would really enjoy being in a band so that's something I'm definitely working towards. But yeah I think the main thing I'd really like to be doing is touring, and that might be as an opening act, that might be as a headliner. Either way I would love to travel the world and get to spread my sound across this beautiful earth. And just getting to play to real people there, supporting the live music scene to keep it alive and just get to spread harmony all over the place."
What is your favorite song you've put out, and why?
"This one is a really really hard one because I do have a personal connection with all my tracks I have ever put out. Um, I really really really love 'Opal Oasis' and 'West Wind Calling' and 'Taken By the Mystic'. But I think my favorite song I ever put out was 'Shift to Starlight'. I feel like that's my 'Freebird', my 'Stairway to Heaven', that my song where it's just like, it's got something about it that sets it apart from the other ones. At that point when I wrote that song I had only been writing music for about 10 months, so I listened back to it and I still cannot believe that's something I produced out of my brain, that came from my mind. To this day it shocks me every time, I feel like it was such an out of body experience to write that song like the shift in the middle of the song just happened, it's where the music led me. I think it was just magic to write that song, plus it has flute shredding in middle and who doesn't love some flute rock n' roll shredding? Tell me now. I also got to use some cool guitar effect pedals that I was really excited to implement into my music. So I had this distortion and fuzz pedal, and this reverb delay all the way throughout, and I'm also using this melotron, and an organ, all of my favorite pieces of gear and my favorite musical relics that I got to mash into that song and also now a lot of my other songs, that it just makes me excited to get to pioneer that through my music. I do think that 'Shift to Starlight' has a special place in my heart, because I feel like it was- for lack of a better term please pardon the pun, but it did mark a true shift in my music writing and composition journey."
*****
Erin Clare's music can be found on all streaming platforms. Make sure to follow her instagram to keep up with her musical journey and possible upcoming live shows! If you haven't already, give "Valley Sol" a listen! If you are looking to start a band or are already in a band and want to spice up your sound, don't be afraid to reach out to EC. Thank you to Erin Clare for the wonderful opportunity.
Written by Dakota C.