Clay Hardee (stage name Clay Otis) cranks out more new music than most of the active bands in Memphis, frequently collaborating with the Sheiks, the Vest brothers, and anyone else he can convince to join him in the recording studio. Over the years, Hardee has introduced us to his weird, sometimes inappropriate brand of dream pop with albums like The Overachiever (released on the fictitious F*ck Florida Records) and Citizen Clay, his latest masterpiece with comical song titles like “Friend on Crack” and “Pills at Night” that was released in early 2014. In between those releases, he also found time to record the single “Disco Werewolf” with the Dream Sheiks, a super group of sorts made up of members of local bands Dream Team and the Sheiks.
Clay Otis
Not one to be tied to one group of instrumentalists, Hardee will debut all new material this Friday at Bar DKDC with special guests Luke White (James and the Ultrasounds), Logan Hanna, Greg Faison (Dream Team), Dirk Kitterlin (Marcella & Her Lovers), and Graham Winchester (the Sheiks, Jack Oblivian, Maitre D’s). While all of the players previously mentioned definitely have a lot of gigging under their belts, don’t count on Friday’s show at DKDC to be business as usual. If we’ve learned anything from Hardee over the years, it’s to expect the unexpected. While Hardee didn’t start making music until he was in his 30s, his progression as a local musician has been interesting to watch. In an interview with the Flyer from 2014, Hardee admitted that he had no intention of playing music until a movie he was working on got turned down. As one of the most unpredictable musicians currently playing in Memphis, it’s fair to say that Hardee made the right decision.
