kind of bluesy and a little funky, what comes my way

What Comes My Way

Musician in BandI was born and raised in Barbados.  Didn't really have much of a choice when it came to loving music, my uncle was a band leader, before giving that up to play only classical and religious music. I started music singing in a choir, then with a doo-wop style singing group. Calypso and Reggae were huge influences, and my first choice of performance music with the guitar.  

I moved to Manhattan, NY, and continued to develop as a musician and entertainer, playing with Caribbean and R&B bands.  ‘The Odd Four Inc’, was my first band as a leader.  We were initially a seven piece band, and later added a horn section. We played what is now called commercial/top forty music. We worked around NY and did a series of tours during the seventies, which eventually landed me in Newfoundland and finally Nova Scotia, where I continued playing with ‘The Odd Four Inc’, but now a four piece R&B Funk band, throughout Atlantic Canada for a few more years.  

We(my brother and I) were living in Antigonish when that group broke up. We started a band called the ‘Pete Stovel Blues Band’, with a couple other guys. It was around the beginning of the St.FX Jazz Program, and we got several good musicians from that program, including a couple of professors. 

In 1984, had the chance to work with a new group called ‘The Working Class Band’ for a few years before my brother and I formed the band ‘Overland’ which lasted for several years. We again hired students from the Jazz Music Department at St.FX for our band.

I also performed as an Actor with Theater Antigonish in a number of productions.  When ‘Overland’ broke up.  We restarted ‘The Working Class Band’, which is the band I play with now, as a lead singer, song writer and guitar player. We have released 5 CDs over the last 7 years.

Antigonish, Nova Scotia, has been my home for the last forty-seven years and continues to be a significant source of musical inspiration for me.

What Comes My Way

Hugh Clarke