Gary Clark Jr. has announced the release of his self-titled full-length debut.
The album, which was produced by Clark and Mike Elizondo (Mastodon, Fiona Apple, Dr. Dre), will be released October 23 by Warner Bros. The album cover is shown below.
Clark has been slipping new songs into his sets while performing at several festivals this year, including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Sasquatch! and Lollapalooza.
To coincide with the release of the new album, Clark will make several TV appearances in October. Look out for details on those — plus a track listing for the new release — later this month.
Clark was 12 when he got his first guitar — an Ibanez RX20 — but his motivation was awakened a few months later when a friend gave him Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood and the Jimi Hendrix compilation The Ultimate Experience.
“That just set it off for me,” Clark told Guitar World. “Those records spoke to me in a way I can’t describe. When I heard ‘Purple Haze’ in my headphones, I knew that was my thing. Through Stevie Ray Vaughan I learned about Jimmie Vaughan and other Austin guitarists, like Denny Freeman and Derek O’Brien. When Clifford Antone brought Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy to his club [Austin’s famed nightclub, Antone’s], I’d go see them. I soaked it all up. That was my foundation.”
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
