Sheryl Clapton

This story was published 03/04/2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guitar strings tie past to present Sheryl Clapton makes memories with her acoustic “root” music Singer, songwriter, musician and producer Sheryl Clapton calls music a tool. “It is such an important door for memory, for peace of mind and relaxation,” she says, and Clapton would know the true value of memory. Clapton suffered a brutal attack in 1997 that robbed her of her memories; music is a door to her past. Unconscious for two days, Clapton woke with amnesia. She lost all memory of her family, friends and life events and couldn’t even multiply small numbers. It took government records and FBI help to piece together what used to be Clapton’s life. “The only thing I remembered was to play music,” she says. So she did and still does. Her philosophy of music acting as a door for memory and peace permeates what she calls the “root” music that she and her 12-string bring to Columbia. Clapton describes her eclectic sound as “country, folk, rock — it depends on what you surround it with.” Sometimes Clapton’s music is just her with an acoustic, but her four albums feature steel guitar and mandolin accompaniment. Just like her fans in 50 countries, Columbians soak up her velvety voice and simple idealism like a sponge. You won’t see her slightly graying hair and gentle hazel eyes on any fancy album cover photo, though. Clapton distributes her music free online at her Web site, www.sherylclapton.net. Clapton says all music, including Navajo rap and her favorite, classic rock, captures a statement that is important to hear. After five years in New Mexico, Clapton moved her message of family, peace and respect to Columbia last summer with hopes of working more closely with youth. She wants to include kids in the oneness of spirit and understanding she believes music creates. Although the federal Special Projects of Regional and National Significance grant she was awarded to build a youth recording studio fell through, she still wants to expand her limited Columbia studio into one fully equipped for youth recording. Clapton works at The Intersection, Columbia’s youth and parent after-school center and promotes music as an integral part of growing and learning. She stresses that when children make music it “opens a door of creativity that is vital for them to understand that they have an accomplishment that no one can truly take away.” Besides infecting amateurs with her contagious enthusiasm, Clapton also helped bring back music to those who had lost it. She fondly recalls Music to Remember, an outreach program for Alzheimer’s patients in Albuquerque, N.M. Despite initially short attention spans, Clapton says after a few weekly visits the patients began to recognize her. Clapton says that when she performs and people are smiling, they can’t be upset, and her goal is therefore achieved. Her future then, means making more smiles in Columbia venues, such as Bambino’s, and in the Southwestern United States, where she will tour later this spring. Clapton, a producer and announcer at KOPN/89.5 FM two days a week, will be busy in a new town with her new husband, Carlos, creating music and inspiring children — and making fresh memories. — LYNSY SMITHsON-STANLEY __________________________________________________ Copyright ©2002 Columbia Missourian

--— LYNSY SMITHsON-STANLEY Copyright ©2002 Columbia Missourian - LYNSY SMITHsON-STANLEY Copyright ©2002 Columbia Missourian

Chapman James about Sheryl Clapton:

A voice crying in the wilderness...
Sheryl Clapton has a plan ... total eradication of war and its estuaries.
It is not a new method she has in her arsenal. Music.
But, the way she uses it is quite unique. Besides having a magnetic voice and personality that invites every soul with which she comes into contact to listen, she spends so much time making us feel good about even the little things that are truly important to us, that we have little desire to contemplate fighting with one another. I think she is on to something.

She writes of the "So Sweet"ness of horses, grateful feelings while traveling on the road "North of Sante Fe", and a transfiguring "New Life" when one changes to a more spiritual paradigm. But, among her unique war fighting creations is a piece called "Missing From Our Shores" where Sheryl lays out a simple vista of one openning a book of history and the overpowering images and thoughts it provokes. Through these offerings, and with a bit more attention, she could quell enough storms to realize her plan and in someway truly be revered as a daughter of the creator (Mat 5:9)

Chapman James
Folk Writer
- BeSonic- Germany

A Musical Recovery

Archived NewsFront Story New Search

This story was published 05/02/2004.
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A musical recovery


Folk artist Sheryl Clapton shares music after coping with amnesia


How did you begin creating art?

“I did it as a spiritual healing. I played music all my life, but since 1997, I’ve been recovering from total amnesia. In 1998, I picked up the guitar and it started flowing. I’ve had several albums out since then. I’d start off by meditating, starting to write about beautiful, peaceful things — generally miracles. I’d have pages of words, pick up a guitar or keyboard and music would flow out. The words would fit; it’s so rewarding to create something.

“I’ve been in the top 10 in Australia for the last three years. It’s great when people e-mail you. Our world is a worldwide community and we’re all part of one. I love the direct interaction with people. It’s positive, thought-provoking.”


What is the best part about the process of artistic expression?

“It’s given me a tool to help people smile because whenever I perform, no matter what age it is, people have come up and wanted to talk with me about it.

“I like to go to retirement centers and perform. I love to see their smiles. People that are older than myself, I respect them. It’s important for myself to put myself in front of them and show them where I stand. And if they like it and accept my message, I feel better performing it to the younger people. They’re guardians; they know so much.”


Where or whom do you turn to for inspiration?

“I let things flow ... always God, I am a Christian. It’s part of growing and maturing. I think of our soul as a magical being that lives in our body that has so many ways of expression: music, poetry, smiles.

“I love interacting and working with children and love to see the youth I work with and their minds open up to something new. It’s a perpetual wheel of learning and understanding when they tell you you worded it well. It’s fascinating because it’s how we solve our problems — by communicating! It inspires me immensely.

“All of nature is an inspiration. The way things work together in synchronicity, the timing. Each song has its own time to come out. Each song is its own entity, has its own story, almost like a little book. They come out more like chapters in a book, and that’s how I see them. Each song has its own reasons. It’s a way of learning and understanding. It’s a vital form of expression.”

What do you do if your creativity seems blocked?

“I generally go out and collect more data. I walk or go to social event, watch TV. I don’t try to force it; I feel like whenever it’s right for me, it’ll flow, and meanwhile, I’ll live.

“I haven’t written much in the last few weeks, but if I were to write I’d be tempted to write something along the lines of the idea that instead of warring, let’s try talking; let’s try putting down our guns and try communicating — there’s just too little of it.”

Describe the environment in which your creative muscles function best.

“On a beautiful sunrise, that’s my most creative time of the day. It’s so fresh and alive. I love the morning. It’s so in tune with nature. You’re sitting there and all the birds are singing, so full of life — everything feels new. I’d be on my couch, having coffee, just watching the sun rise and the changing colors from darkness to light. I get into sunset also, but it’s a different sort of energy. In the morning, you have all of the day. My mind and spirit has had time to digest; nothing has affected my creative flow. It turns into more of a creative river rather than a single boat.”
The artist: Sheryl Clapton suffered from total amnesia in 1997. She moved from California to Albuquerque, N.M., where she worked as an on-site radio producer, and has lived in Columbia since last July. As an AmeriCorp Vista volunteer, she fixes computers at the Intersection, a local activity center.
The art: Most of Clapton’s music is acoustic folk/rock. On “Music From Our Shores” (2001), a variety of instruments support her while her lyrics touch on spirituality, nature and peace.

Clapton produces her own albums. She contributed to OnlineRock’s 2001 sampler “Rock for America.” Her albums have been high on the folk charts in the United States and Australia. Listeners of the New Artist Radio of Salt Lake City named Clapton folk/pop artist of 2002.

On the Internet:

www.sherylclapton.net
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Parker eshelman/Missourian
Sheryl Clapton, a local folk-rock musician, has played in venues around Columbia and is involved with the AmeriCorp Vista program. “(Music)” is all about happiness and compassion,” says Clapton.
- Parker eshelman/Missourian

Indie River article, Bill Bruedigam (editor)

Sheryl Clapton ~ Natural Ambience
Ambient, the word causes many arguments in the music world. Music that creates and ambience, melodic, mood creating like soft lights, etc..
So, what's it take to create ambience? Synthesizers? Eastern instruments? Flutes? Too many arguments, but one thing is for sure, someone has managed to do it with an acoustic guitar and a beautiful voice; Sheryl Clapton.
Personally I wasn't sure it could be done. But one long night of working online in Santa Fe I received and email asking if I would listen to some music for consideration on my Radio Santa Fe station. Sure, I always go listen, that is how I have found some of the best music I know of out there. When I arrived, I first listened to "To Earth One Day," the "demo" version. I was hooked, and I had experienced what I consider the first acoustic voice/guitar combination to ever create ambience. Again, that is my opinion, I am not here to debate "what is ambient," just to tell you about some fantastic music. Then I went on, and the styles changed through the spectrum of music from one end to the other and back again. All great, all special, all just filled with stories and images. This is music straight from the desert southwest, and it feels like music from the desert. I have spent much of my life in New Mexico where Sheryl is from, and she can really create the feeling of being there. It is part of her, part of her music, part of her soul, and it comes out in the music, grabs you by the soul and takes you there too. Are you ready for a trip? Want to go to the desert mountains, then go for it, Sheryl can take you there. And it is a nice trip, cool mountain breeze, night skies filled with more starts than you have ever seen, and day skies that stretch far beyond your ability to see. Take a ride to Santa Fe, walk down a dirt road in the mountains, sit and watch a beautiful sunset, it's all there in the natural ambience she creates. The "demos" are still there, and they are excellent, but recently Sheryl went into the studio with some great musicians and brought out the new versions of it all. I suggest you drop down and listen to the older versions first, then check out the new stuff. Partake of it all, enjoy!

Indie River Magazine
http://www.thirdroad.com/indieriver/

- Indie River article, Bill Bruedigam (editor)