LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
RandB songs tend to be on the emotional side - wronged lovers, sordid affairs, unrequited desire. It's personal stuff. And that's definitely the case on Steven A. Clark's new album, "The Lonely Roller."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOT YOU")
STEVEN A. CLARK: (Singing) Tell me that you love me is all you ever wanted me to do. You want me to promise that I'm never leaving you. Been having doubts about it, got to tell the truth.
WERTHEIMER: Pouring out a confession on stage or on a record is a bit surprising for someone like Steven A. Clark. He says he was voted most quiet in his high school yearbook.
CLARK: I guess, for somebody who's introverted, you know, all the drama takes place in our heads. And you need somewhere to release that energy. And for me, music is just that. I mean, I can sit down and play a song and really just let it all out. And as an introvert, it's hard to ever really truly be free, I guess. And music's the closest thing to it.
(SOUNDBITE OF STEVEN A. CLARK SONG, "CAN'T HAVE")
WERTHEIMER: Let's try some more music. This track is called "Can't Have."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CAN'T HAVE")
CLARK: (Singing) Still loved you, would you still believe me or have you moved on? Did I make it easy? Now you got a real good thing or so it seems. And thought I can't have you, I can always dream.
WERTHEIMER: It sounds almost '80s.
CLARK: Oh, yeah, definitely. It's definitely '80s. That's probably my favorite era for pop music. And, you know, I'm a huge fan of Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Tom Petty - a lot of classic rock, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, stuff like that.
WERTHEIMER: I read one interview in which you cited Kenny G. Now...
CLARK: (Laughter).
WERTHEIMER: ...Kenny G and RandB?
CLARK: I mean, you know, I guess any young person from the '90s would have to know who Kenny G is. I mean, he was a staple. For me, at that age, he was jazz. I didn't know anything else about jazz, and he was that. He was smooth jazz and had great hair.
WERTHEIMER: (Laughter) What about - so is there a track on this recording that - where you can hear some Kenny G influence?
CLARK: Let me tell you, he's such a big part of my youth that his presence is everywhere on the album. It's just - his energy, it's everywhere.
(LAUGHTER)
WERTHEIMER: So you can hear it, but where would I be able to hear it?
CLARK: Maybe on "Time Machine." There's a synthetic kind of saxophone thing going on there or whatever.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIME MACHINE")
CLARK: (Singing) I'll build you a time machine, your very own time machine.
WERTHEIMER: So what is this song about?
CLARK: It's just bad timing, I guess. You know, you're trying to be nice. At the beginning of the song, I'm trying to be nice. And you kind of realize, towards the end of the song, you can't really be so nice when you're trying to get out of things. You know, you're conscious - that tends to let things drag on. And then towards the end, it's just like, you know what? You need to leave me alone because I'm not the guy for you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIME MACHINE")
CLARK: (Singing) And then I heard you say, you say you wish you never met me. You be so (unintelligible) on me. But still the way you could forget me. Girl, if I could I'd build a time machine.
I wish I could make a time machine so I could erase myself from your memory, I guess (laughter).
WERTHEIMER: There are a lot of flawed characters and unhappy relationships on this album.
CLARK: Yeah.
WERTHEIMER: I hate to think that this is all a reflection of you.
CLARK: Well, it is (laughter) unfortunately.
(LAUGHTER)
CLARK: Makes good music though. It helps me write.
WERTHEIMER: A little bit of suffering here and there?
CLARK: Oh, man, years - years of suffering. It's self-imposed, though. It's all 'cause of me.
WERTHEIMER: So let's listen to the title track, which I suspect is a - is like the ultimate biographical title, anyway.
CLARK: Yeah.
WERTHEIMER: It's called "Lonely Roller."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONELY ROLLER")
CLARK: (Singing) Flew out to Vegas for the weekend 'cause she guaranteed a good time. Her body language left me speechless. I couldn't get that fragrance out my mind.
WERTHEIMER: So do you identify with the lonely roller?
CLARK: Yeah, yeah, he's me. I am him, just this guy wandering, running away from something. It's probably something that's good for him. But he enjoys the drama and the trouble and he goes looking for it.
WERTHEIMER: Can we imagine a time when you would - when you would have a very happy period and you would decide to write a concept album about happiness?
CLARK: No, I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
CLARK: I don't think that would ever happen. I don't know. I'm attracted to the darker side of things, you know, the - for a long time I've - fear has been a big part of my life. And it's something that, you know, of course we all change and I can maybe grow out of that. But the fear and the darker side of things kind of always been there for me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONELY ROLLER")
CLARK: (Singing) Although I liked her, I was still all black. I liked her darker still.
WERTHEIMER: Steven A. Clark, his album is called "The Lonely Roller." Thank you very much.
CLARK: Thank you, thank you, appreciate it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONELY ROLLER")
CLARK: (Singing) Lonely Roller, don't you want to take a ride? Roller coaster of love. Mr. Lonely Roller, I'll get you Rocky Mountain high. You ain't going to want to come down, no. She said, you know I want you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
