Clay Aiken Photos Spotlight Triangle

CELEBRATION TIME - From new CD photo shoot pictures to more release party plans, May calendars of Clay Aiken fans are filling up. - Graphic by AmazingCA.

Clay Aiken Tried & True Live!

Soyez Shoot Touts Three Locales

New Clay Aiken photos from the singer's Vincent Soyez Tried & True shoot; initial promotion of the August PBS Special by International Media; and CD release party plans for Raleigh, NC, and Red Bank, NJ, are causing May to seem a lot like Christmas.

In Saturday's Examiner, Randy Hamilton unveiled the first photographs from the Tried & True shoot, representing three locations in the Raleigh-Durham triangle -- the Treyburne Country Club, the deck of the train car on the American Tobacco Campus, and the upstairs dining area of the famous Mecca Restaurant.

Readers of a previous article in this column, about the photography shoot for Clay Aiken’s next album, may be delighted to learn that the first of those photos have been released. These initial images are representative of the three locations for the day-long session.

The album cover has been available for a while, and you can view it on any number of the usual merchant sites. The album cover photograph was taken in the Mecca Restaurant in Raleigh in the upstairs dining area.

In addition, other images are approved and are now or will soon be posted on photographer's Vincent Soyez's web site. Whether or not any of these photographs (other than the cover shot) will appear in the CD package remains to be seen.

The complete article and comments can be read at the Examiner link. Below are clickables of three new photos by Vincent Soyez revealed in the column. To view them at the photographer's link, slide the rule 2/3 of the to the right -- or just wait for them to scroll by.

New T&T photos by Vincent Soyez

International Media Promos Special

Clay, you sing lie Andre Agassi plays tennis, perfection, perfection. And I would kill to write and produce your first CD. - Neil Sedaka, American Idol 2 guest judge

This memorable 2003 comment by Sedaka leads the new Clay Aiken Tried & True Live! page on the International Media site. The clickable banner below headlines the programs International Media is currently promoting.

The company that produced Clay's PBS Special has begun promotion for the August telecast of the special concert taped in Raleigh on March 12.

Tried and True, American Idol Super Star Alumni Clay Aiken’s first Public Television special, reaches back into the romantic past of the 50’s and 60’s, featuring many of the most iconic love songs ever written.

Shot at the Memorial Auditorium in Clay’s home town of Raleigh, North Carolina, Tried and True features a full orchestra and big band.

Clay is joined on stage by special guest and American Idol colleague Ruben Studdard, along with special guest Linda Eder, who is widely recognized as one of the best female vocalists of our time.

This special concert is the world premiere live performance of Clay’s forthcoming album, Tried and True, being released on Decca this Spring.

The page is filled with a wealth of information including CD and DVD premiums, meet and greet opportunities, etc.

Another famous quote about Clay appears at the bottom of the site:

I always like the idea that you can turn on the radio and say, 'Oh, that’s Clay Aiken. Oh, that’s Barbra Streisand. Oh, that’s Frank Sinatra, Oh, that’s Tony Bennett.'They’re a star if you can identify them immediately by their sound. That kid has his own sound. He’s got energy. He’s got soul. He’s got it all. That voice pours out of him. - Merv Griffin

Like most fans, I have bookmarked Clay's International Media page. Despite 80-degree weather in the Carolinas, the lyric that keeps coming to mind is ... "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

Raleigh Party Begins with BBQ

Fans in the Raleigh area plan to celebrate the release of Clay Aiken's Tried & True album with a "Picnic in the Woods" barbeque party and National Inclusion Project fundraiser at the Community Hall, New Community Church, 9621 Six Forks Road at 7 p.m. Monday, May 31.

Backyard Barbeque Pit of Durham will furnish the fixings, including BBQ chicken, BBQ brisket, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens, hush puppies, desserts, sweet and unsweetened tea.

The evening's activities center around music, interactive games, line dancing, raffles, silent aucitons, culminating with new TYT CD purchases at 12:30 a.m. June. 1. See the double clickable flyer for additional info:

Cost of the event is $35 per person, a portion of which will go towards a donation to the Inclusion Project. Deadline for reservations is May 23. Paypal and correspondence should be sent to specialprojects2@nc.rr.com. For more information, see the Raleigh CD Release Party website.

Pink Jackets Plan T&T Dinner

The Pink Jacket Ladies invite New Jersey Clay fans as well as those from neighboring states (New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) to join them in a "spectacular Clay Aiken-Tried and True CD Release Party" on Monday, May 31.

Information about the Red Bank, NJ, event with a four-course sit-down dinner at the historic Molly Pitcher Inn, clack celebrations, fundraising activities for the National Inclusion Project, and middle-of- the-night CD purchases, is available on the double clickable flyer below.

Cost per attendee is $55. For further details, reservations, and payment arrangements, contact Betty Roy, the organization's treasurer, at betty.roy@verizon.net or 908.705.7618.

Below is a clickable of AmazingCA's opening graphic:

Have a wonderful week, Clay Nation!

Caro

Clay Aiken CD Buzz Goes Global

ALBUM PHOTO -- Clay Aiken and the American Tobacco Campus train in Durham, NC, are featured in the first official release from the CD shoot. Photo by Vincent Soyez/graphic by Fountaindawg.

Clay Aiken: Tried & True

CD Photo, Track List Excite Fans

The excitement stemming from Friday's revelation of the first official photo from the Clay Aiken "Tried & True" CD shoot escalated Sunday with an expanded deluxe track list at Amazon, adding "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" and bringing the album's song total to 13.

The first event has naturally inspired an outpouring of new designs from graphic artists among Clay Aiken fans. The second added a new song, as well as information about participating musicians on the the much-anticipated album scheduled to be released June 1 by Decca Records.

Amazon Deluxe Track List

1. Can't Take My Eyes Off You
2. What Kind Of Fool Am I? (featuring jazz saxophonist David Sanborn)
3. It's Only Make Believe
4. Misty
5. Mack The Knife
6. It's Impossible
7. Unchained Melody
8. Suspicious Minds
9. Crying (duet with Linda Eder)
10. There's A Kind Of Hush
11. Moon River (featuring Vince Gill)
12. Who's Sorry Now
13. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Fountaindawg's opening graphic of Vincent Soyez's train picture is posted below as clickable regular and wide screen wallpapers:

Cotton's designs of the Vincent Soyez photo shoot picture will enlarge with a click.

T&T photo by Vincent Soyez (Graphic by Cotton)


T&T photo by Vincent Soyez (Graphic by Cotton)

'Tried & True' Scores at Decca Site

The interest in Clay's upcoming CD is reflected in the number of visits to the Decca Records Community.

For example, "Tried & True" is currently #2 on the most viewed products list. #1 is the "Mama Mia!" movie soundtrack. Other top 5 albums have tracks available, and CA fans look forward to the the day "T&T" joins the ranks.

Join the Decca site, and you can post T&T reviews are added at the album link. A map of the Timeless Tour is featured under the Events tab on Clay's page.

Among the suggested albums on Clay's page is Here And Gone by David Sanborn, the featured saxophonist on "Tried & True."

Aiken Photo Promotes B&N Nook

Whether your preference is Kindle, Sony, or Nook, the e-reader most discussed on CA message boards this weekend has been the latter. A photo of the singer taken at Golfing for Inclusion in February is being used to promote the Barnes & Noble e-reader:

CLAY AIKEN AT THE NATIONAL INCLUSION PROJECT - Just before the start of a National Inclusion event held in Florida, singer and actor Clay Aiken stole a few moments backstage to catch up on a little bit of reading on his nook. Clay is a co-founder of the National Inclusion Project.

Cotton's graphic of the photo is clickable:

Barnes & Noble graphic by Cotton

145 Countries Dot 'Carolina' Map

Though unscientific, indicators of Clay's worldwide popularity appear daily in the Carolina blog's ClustrMap and Feedjit Live Feed, which register home countries of this site's visitors. Since December 2007, residents of 145 nations have dropped by this corner of the Internet for the latest Clay Aiken news.

New countries since December 2009 include Iraq (Asia); Tunisia, Mauritania, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and Angola (Africa); Macedonia, Cyprus, and Armenia (Europe); Saint Kitts and Nevis, Netherlands Antilles, and Nicaragua (North America). Average daily visitors register between 100-500.

WORLDWIDE - Clay Aiken fans span the globe. (Carolina ClustrMap)

The 145 countries representing all continents but Antarctica suggest Clay's fanbase is definitely global with a possible worldwide tour in the offing.

ASIA: Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Micronesia, Oman, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Taipei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Azerbaijan (Baku), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mongolia, China, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Maldives, Palestinian Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Asia/Pacific Region, Jordan, Nepal, Yemen; Iraq

AFRICA: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Algeria, Uganda, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania, Djibouti, Angola, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Congo, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Angola

Thumbnail Carolina ClustrMap
Click to view larger version.

EUROPE: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Russian Federation, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Turkey, Malta, Georgia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sicilia, Andorra, Latvia, European Union, Moldova, Albania, Kazakstan, Macedonia, Cyprus, Armenia

NORTH AMERICA: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bermuda, Saint Lucia, Guatemala, Nassau, Bahamas, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Honduras, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua

SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia

AUSTRALIA: Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Solomon Islands

Have a wonderful week, Clay Nation!

Caro

For more information on the "Tried and True" photo shoot, see the March 28 Carolina entry: Diary Details Clay Aiken Shoot.

Aiken Fans Set CD Release Parties

TRIED & TRUE - The vintage 1950's green hues in this album cover graphic by AmazingCA help the Carolina blog celebrate Earth Week.

First Official Press Photo Revealed

Fans Plan T&T CD Celebrations

With countdown clocks steadily ticking toward the June 1 drop date for Tried & True, Clay Aiken's first album with Decca Records, fans have begun organizing parties to celebrate the new CD.

Pulling out all the stops is the Hollywood CD Release Party with a website coordinated and designed by Pam Bassett. The above link and double clickable image below will take you to "The Celebration Team 2010" page where you will be greeted by Clay singing "Mack the Knife."

Fans planning to attend the Hollywood CD Release Celebration should register as soon as possible. Payment is not due until May 12.

Double click on image to see Hollywood party website.

In the early planning stages, other CD release parties listed at Clayonline (Anything Clay >> Clay Soiree) include Raleigh and Southeastern Michigan (May 31) and Toronto, Ontario (June 5). More will be listed as plans are posted.

To set up a celebration website Hollywood style, click on this link and get started. You can choose from 2,000+ templates; customize the site with your own logo, graphics, text, domain name; and publish to the web with a click of a button.

Easy-to-use tools include point-click-drag images and text with no HTML required. Following a 30-day free trial, the fee is only $4.99/month.

Are You Ready for Clay Aiken 2010?
Montage by gerwhisp

In Are You Ready for Clay Aiken 2010, her latest montage, gerwhisp combined an earlier CA favorite, "Here You Come Again," with excerpts from the singer's March interview in Raleigh and promotional images from the PBS concert taping and upcoming Timeless Tour.

PHOTO INTERLUDE: Featured are double clickable T&T and Timeless TourAmazingCA (1, 3) and Fountaindawg (2).

Tour Ticket Sales Dates Revised

Despite conflicting reports, Timeless Tour tickets for the MGM Grand Foxwoods (Marshantucket, CT) venue are on sale through Ticketmaster now. For more information, check with the venue (866-646-0050) if you want to attend the Aug. 7 concert. This is the promo for Clay and Ruben from the MGM site:

Since coming to national attention on the second season of American Idol in 2003, where he was the unexpected runner up, only to become the biggest selling male artist the show has ever featured, Clay Aiken has evolved into a versatile and beloved popular entertainer.

He has also toured nine times, written a New York Times bestselling memoir, sold more than six million albums, produced and hosted television programs, starred on Broadway, and devoted considerable energy and resources to improving the lives of children all over the world.

After Idol, Ruben Studdard released his first single, "Flying Without Wings" and it debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Advance orders for his debut album, Soulful, topped the 1 million mark before it was released and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R & B Vocal Performance and in March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist Award.

Other public ticket sales for the Clay Aiken-Ruben Studdard 17-city summer tour slated for Friday, April 30, include the following venues:

The Hammerstein - New York City, NY (Aug. 11 concert): Phone 212-279-7740. American Express Pre-sale Thursday, Aug. 22, 10 a.m. EDT - Thursday, April 29, 10 a.m. EDT; live nation pre-sale Tuesday, April 27, 10 a.m. EDT - Thursday, April 29, 10 a.m. EDT; general public, Friday, April 30, 10 a.m. EDT.

**Horseshoe Casino - Hammond, IN (Aug. 13 concert): Phone 866-711-7463. (Originally set for April 30, tickets will be on sale through Ticketmaster and at the box office on Friday, May 21.)

Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater, FL (July 26 concert): Phone 727-791-7400, 800-875-8682. Ticketmaster and box office April 30. (Check back for time).

The coast to coast tour, which has been added to Clay's Decca site (under "Events"), begins July 23 in Asheville, NC, and ends in Biloxi, MS.

Clay Aiken Official T&T Press Photo/Vincent Soyez

A few minutes before I started teaching Friday, Clayonline added the final piece of the T&T photo shoot puzzle. Below are clickables of full-length and cropped versions of Clay on the train at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, NC.

Clickables of official T&T press photo.

Have an awesome weekend, Clay Nation!

Caro

Diary Details Clay Aiken Shoot

BACK IN TOWN -- Clay Aiken returned to his hometown of Raleigh, NC, for the concert taping of a PBS Special Friday, March 12. Graphic by Fountaindawg, photos by Jim R. Bounds/AP.

'Tried and True' CD

Photo Shoot Spotlights Triangle

The March 12 taping of Clay Aiken's PBS Special/Concert in Raleigh was just the beginning of a jam-packed weekend that also included the all-important photo shoot for his upcoming Decca release, "Tried and True."

Saturday Randy Hamilton, writer-photographer for the Durham Photography Examiner, filled in many details of the March 13 photo shoot with his piece, Diary of a professional photography shoot for Clay Aiken's "Tried and True".

The reprint here includes photos from several of the article's linked sites in the Raleigh-Durham area. Naturally, the lunch menu was Eastern syle North Carolina barbeque.

Local fans of Clay Aiken surely know he was in the area recently, recording a concert in Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium that featured songs from his new album, Tried and True. The album is scheduled for release on June 1, 2010, and broadcast of the concert is set for sometime this summer on PBS.

Private train car, American Tobacco
Photo by Randy Hamilton

What fans may not know is that, while visiting his home town, Aiken searched for locations for the art for the CD package of his new album.

Driving around Raleigh and Durham, he photographed locations that fit the theme of the upcoming album, the 1950s and the Rat Pack [Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin].

Among the locations in his pictures of Durham are a bar, a diner and several street shots. Others show parts of the American Tobacco Campus, including Bay 7 and the train car at the North end.

These Bay 7 photos will expand to a larger size.

Aiken also favored the Mecca Restaurant in Raleigh, a nearly perfect location for the images he had in mind for the package art.

Using his photographs to go by, it was necessary to scout the locations, to take additional photographs for determining their suitability and availability for the shoot.

With photographs of the interior of the train car at American Tobacco, the Mecca and others from a newly recommended site, the locations for the one-day shoot were set.

The Kenan Bar, Treyburn Country Club
Photo by Randy Hamilton


18th green at Treyburn
Photo courtesy of Treyburn Country Club

The day would begin at Treyburn Country Club in Durham, with shots in the bar and on the golf course.

Afterward, the crew would head to American Tobacco before finishing in Raleigh at the Mecca.

The Mecca - Photo by Jason Hamilton

Upon arrival at Treyburn at 7am, NY photographer Vincent Soyez began setting up for the first shot in the bar. Soyez, who uses the Norman lighting system, said, "You’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting an elaborate lighting setup. I just set up the lights where I think they should go, take some test shots and adjust the lights until I get the effect we want."

For the Aiken shoot, the desired effect derives from the dramatic light and shadow sometimes associated with celebrity photographs of the 1950s.

Following Aiken’s arrival and wardrobe preparation, the shooting began with work around settings at the bar. After a couple of hours, the crew moved out to the golf course. Luckily, the preferred location was at the 18th green, making it relatively easy to transport equipment and set up the shot.

Mt. Bethel Methodist Church in Bahama, NC

After completing the shots, Aiken bought lunch for the crew. One could easily see he was happy to be home and to introduce his NY colleagues to North Carolina barbecue, Eastern style of course. (And as it happens, his grandmother lives nearby. He described his visits to Bahama while growing up, with many Sunday mornings spent singing in Mt. Bethel Methodist Church.)

Following lunch, the crew finished with a few publicity shots, packed up and headed to American Tobacco.

Rain threatened the afternoon, but the crew managed to set up in the train car before the rain began, and by the time they had finished, the rain had stopped. They packed up again and headed to the Mecca in Raleigh, the final location of the day. The shoot wrapped up around 11pm.

While Aiken fans anxiously await the new music of his next album, photography fans might look for a copy to see how these locations, and Clay Aiken, are transformed by the work of Vincent Soyez.

In addition to providing some of the location photography, Jason Hamilton also contributed information for this article. By clicking on his link, readers can view examples of his photography.

American Tobacco Campus posted the following on Facebook Sunday:

American Tobacco Campus plays a big part in Clay Aiken's upcoming album and the photo shoot to illustrate his love of the Triangle!

You can read about the author of the diary, Randy Hamilton, here. Below is a clickable of Fountaindawg's concert graphic:

Have a wonderful week, Clay Nation! Is it June yet?

Caro