News Blog

KWFC Anniversary Concert - Clayton Watson, Karen Peck and New River, Triumphant Quartet, Diplomats

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:15:12 GMT

It was a real treat to get to play for the crowd during the KWFC Anniversary concert. All the groups sounded realy good and the crowd showed great response. Despite the stroms and bad weather there was still just over 2000 people. Looking forward to working with the gang from KWFC again.

Concert Announced

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:37:32 GMT

We just added a new concert at West Division Street Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo on April 22nd at 6pm. Looking forward to this great event in my hometown. You do not want to miss out.

Northstar Church, Pryor Oklahoma

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:01:21 GMT

On February 26th, 2012 I was scheduled to play at Northstar Church located in Pryor, Oklahoma. As usual, I arrived the night before and was scheduled to do sound check with the praise band. The address that was given to me ended up being for the Pryor community center. Come to find out, they set up their complete stage, lighting, backdrop, back line, and chairs every week while they are developing their new location they just purchased. All the Sunday School rooms, down to the floor mats, are all packed in weekly. I was given the grand tour by pastor Roy Evans where he shared about his "Family". You see, his although his kids worked in the church with him, he was referring about his church family. This church has grown so much in the few years, single digit, that they have already started a new building process that will house the growing population. I was blown away by all the volunteers that showed up and took pride in their church and to think they do this every week. Two semi trucks fully loaded are packed in and out every Sunday. I was quick to tell pastor Roy that this comes from his leadership. I was so excited and encouraged to see this. It starts at the head in the leadership. I'm really excited to be back down in Pryor on Easter morning. It was a great church and anyone looking for a home church in the Pryor area, be sure to check them out. 1111 S.E. 9th Street (Community Center). Tell pastor Roy I recommended them. Clayton

San Diego Trip

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:05:00 GMT

Well I flew into San Diego on Sunday and will be here till Thursday morning. I have had a great stay and have been treated real nice from the folks from CJFM ministries. Dr. Gary Hedrick and his staff are a great group of people to work with and am very thankful they choose me to work their conference again. Last year I worked with them in Branson at the Hilton Convention Center. Dr. Gary first heard me playing in Branson at The Branson Landing approached me about playing music for there events. I am blessed to have this opportunity and look forward to future events with CJFM.

KWFC Talent Show

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:54:57 GMT

I had a great time running sound for the first KWFC talent show in Springfield, Mo March, 3. Heard a lot of great vocalist and amazing talents. I also had the privilege of warming up the crowd before the evening concert. It was a lot of fun pulling people up on stage to sing improve. Even had a Santa Clause on stage and got him to sing "I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas". Having a hyper active brain can be very dangerous. I'm already looking forward to next years talent show. To the winners and all the entrants, Great Job!!!

Branson Suffers Tornado Damage

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:49:37 GMT

The tourist town of Branson, MO was hit by an early morning Tornado that has damaged and destroyed several homes and business. The town is currently in the recovery mode and starting cleanup. Many roads are still impassable. The ever so popular Branson Landing had a direct hit too. The Landing is where I have been playing piano for the past 5 years now. Last year we suffered from the Spring flood that left the $7.5 million dollar water show effected. As of time of this post I have received any word of theextentt of damage. As you can see by the pictures here there is some damage.

Most of the entertainers got together to help raise funds for the community of Joplin after its terrific tornado and rest assured that we will work together to see Branson taken care of.

My heart and prayers go out to everyone that suffered loss and damage. If we can do anything to help...let us know.

Clayton

Living Blues Magazine Review of Boogie Woogie Man Feb, 2012 issue

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:03:53 GMT

Big Clayton

Boogie Woogie Man

With over 20 years of experience, self-taught pianist Clayton Watson debuts with an impressive collection of boogie-woogie, stride, and early rock ‘n’ roll piano, showcasing the instrument’s foundational role in early popular music, as well as Big Clayton’s command of hip-shaking boogie and mesmerizing improvisation. Boogie Woogie Man is almost entirely instrumental, and the simplicity of a solitary piano on every track emphasizes Clayton’s skill.

Big C Boogie is probably the most purely boogie-woogie track, alluding to innovators like Albert Ammons and even Pinetop Smith. He gets right to the heart of the sound—an infectious groove with exuberant melodies and fills in the treble. No Dimes goes to Chicago, and Clayton sings a little. But it is his command of the piano style that is his strength.

It appears Clayton is deliberately teaching listeners about piano boogie: many of his titles are clear about what he’s attempting. On Striding Along he offers a mid-tempo stride number that suggests innovators like James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith, without getting lost in the expressiveness of the approach.

Amazing Grace, Big Style, and Stepping Out keep a boogie flavor while toying with a West Coast attitude. The former is especially jazzy and improvisational, kicking the album off with nearly ten minutes of dynamic, elegant sound.

Clayton’s forays into early rock ‘n’ roll will educate anybody who wonders exactly how the genre made folks get up and shake things. Old School Rock ‘n’ Roll and Tickling the Ivories each flaunt a boogie-woogie bass line that magnifies exciting piano riffs that tickle and repeat.

The album strolls away on Walking the Landing, inspired by Clayton’s time as a regular on the Branson Landing. The track has a laidback tempo and a New Orleans feel. The melody trickles and leaps all around the beat staying loose and comfortable. It’s a friendly way to say good-bye—fitting after such a devoted and frank articulation of boogie-woogie’s early avatars.

If you’re looking for fresh yet timeless piano CD, definitely check out Boogie Woogie Man

--Katie Lambert

Fan Requested Gospel Album

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:39:22 GMT

Hi everyone, Just finished about 8 hours in the recording studio today working on the song "Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho" for my new Fan Requested album. A year ago I asked my fans for their request and we are getting them down in the studio. This album will feature some great gospel songs, including "I Can Only Imagine". I have also got "Unclouded Day" almost done. Most of the songs are instrumental, but will have one that will feature some guest vocals. Most people know that Gospel is my primary genre even though I play many styles at my show in Branson, Mo. We are shooting for a Spring 2012 release for this new gospel project. We are taking pre-orders on the "Sponsors" page. Sign up to be apart of the "Big Club" and receive a free mp3 download and we will keep you up-to-date on the new project. Thanks again, Big Clayton

The B K Pod cast - Big Clayton and Kesha discuss celebs in the news

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Big Clayton and daughter Kesha discuss some of the celebs that is in the news. Katy Perry and Russel Brand, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, and Lady Gaga. We have special guest cousin Kendra and Meranda, the baby. Visit www.bigclayton.com for more pod cast and blogs along with new music.

Big Clayton Pod cast Episode 1

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:27:01 GMT

Big Clayton and daughter Kesha give some introductory thoughts and comments on their first pod cast. Big Clayton tells about the book he is reading "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" by Bob Baker and Kesha talks about the book she is reading. Some sneak previews of new music right from the pro tools recorder in the studio. New Boogie Woogie sounds.

A New Year Brings New Dreams - Artist Development

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:30:00 GMT

Just a day away from yet another new year and I'm thinking about all the new resolutions. For several years I have not got into doing the whole resolution thing because they generally get broke. I have been reading and studying on this theme of "Artist Development" and reading books like "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" by Bob Baker from St. Louis and listening to his pod cast. This information is opening up a new chapter in my life and music. I have always had this real shy and humble approach to my music but after hearing thousands of compliments from fans, I have finally started to realize that I have been given a wonderful gift. I have decided to share this gift with anyone who wants to hear it. Just as important as practicing our piano skills, our vocal skills, or dancing skills (depending on your band) we must also look at other aspects of the business. That is if your are wanting to do music full-time. As in my case, my music is the only income we have. This includes the recording studio, live gigs, and merchandise sales. If this your situation or somewhere you would like to be, then you must consider your music as a business and start running and thinking of it as a business. Takes some time and look into learning Artist Development. There are many pod cast, blogs, websites, and coaches that can help you learn how to be a better presenter of your business. This is just as important as you practicing your instrument. Learn how to present an image that your client (fans, venues, booking agents, labels) will want to have. Is your website professional? There are many tools that people without web experience can use to achieve this success. I use this site to for my website. It has all the tools bands need to have that professional image on the web, including blogs like this one. I encourage your this year to start taking steps in the right direction to launch your career further than before. Blessings, Big Clayton

New weekly live web show

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:35:00 GMT

Wanted to talk a bit about my new internet web show I am doing now. I had a band director from a major TV show as my guest on my first show. Next week my special guest host will be Jonathan Edwards, a radio DJ from the award winning KWFC radio station. My idea with these shows is to give my viewers an inside look at the Music Industry and to be able to ask questions and join in on the show. Users with webcams can even ask their questions live. For the shy people you can send your message by a special chat feature. Some shows will feature me playing live music and others will be all about the industry. Oh ya, you will have plenty of times to laugh. I don't recall Lindsay Lohan offering this kind of service.

If you are an industry insider (artist,producer,engineer,label,etc) and want to be featured on the show, visit my website at www.bigclayton.com and visit the contact page and fill out the form. Use iShow as the subject.

I will continue to bring in a lot of my stories from the times I spend on the road touring.

Thanks again,
Big Clayton

"Boogie Woogie Man" set to release January 10, 2012

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:50:00 GMT

If you don't want to wait the 3 weeks, you can get a pre-release copy of my new album, "Boogie Woogie Man" from my record label High Tone Music Group. ClickTHIS LINK to go to there site and order from there secure web servers using paypal for the transaction. If you are a true iTunes or Amazon or one of the many digital download sites you can get your copy from that retailer. If you would like to order the disk, you can get that from my website's store at www.bigclayton.com and click the "STORE" button.

These songs are origianl material from Big Clayton and feature the styles of boogie woogie and blues piano, along with one gospel song. Clayton also plays some stride piano in his song "Striding Along". Big Clayton's background in Gospel add's that something special and different to his music. Some call it the soul coming out, but it definatly is felt by all around to hear it. Big Clayton is currently filing up his calendar with summer and fall tours to help promote the new album. He is already a part of a Summer tour that will cover the whole US in a 3 month period with 22 scheduled dates. If you would like to feature this crowd pleasing music at your next event, contact for booking information via the website www.bigclayton.com and visit the "CONTACT" page and fill out the form.

The Lost art of Boogie Woogie

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:30:00 GMT

Take a look around and trying searching for Boogie Woogie artist and you will not find much hype on the lost art. After discovering the proper name for the style I was playing I quickly learned that even though their might not be much hype, there is still a lot of intrest in this style. The most amazing thing is that it is not just the older crowd but actually even the younger generations. Some of most highest revenue from sales and gigs came during spring break when the majority of my crowds were the younger college crowds. Of coarse the older generation might be trying to pinch every penny on there fixed incomes and teens might not know the value of there dollar, so says the standard response. I'm not convinced that is the only answer.

Try this, share this weblink on your facebok (www.bigclayton.com) and send them to the media page to listen to the previews of the "Boogie Woogie Man" album and see how many of them have heard boogie woogie before.

Happy 88's
Big Clayton

Back in the studio again

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:10:00 GMT

Already working on a new gospel CD for 2012. I am realy excited to be working with a great friend on this project and will hope the results will show. I will keep you posted on the progress.

The first song we are doing is "I can only imagine".

It will be my best project ever!

Just added some T-Shirts to the Store

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:10:00 GMT

We had some back stock of the Piano shirts. These are long sleeved and are only in size XL. Great stocking stuffer and can be a great gift for any music lover.

Visit the store page on this site.

2011 Branson Season

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:05:00 GMT

Just a couple weeks left of the 2011 Branson Entertainment season. A lot of the shows are already closing down and I am already making plans for the 2012 season. Not sure what to expect, but I have do several Iron's warming in the fire. I will like always keep you posted on my website.