CLARA

Info
Name: Clara Thompson
Age: 19
Location: Santa Clara, California
Genre: Indie, baroque pop, acoustic, rock, alternative
Influences: Katie Coyle, Ryan Ross Hernandez and Panic!, Riot! in the Boulevard, and Infinite among others
Bio
Childhood-Early Teens
Clara Thompson was born on July 22nd 1993 making her 19 years old. She was raised in the San Francisco bay area in Santa Clara. She is the youngest of a big family of musicians. Her older brothers and sisters have played in renowned orchestras, been on Broadway, been regular musicians at renowned recording studios, but Clara was always the odd one out in her family. Of the family of clean cut, classically trained musicians, Clara was the rebellious one. She wasnt rebellious in that she went out and partied all night every night, but while her siblings were learning beethoven, she played her ukulele and wrote silly songs. It was a reflection of her personality. Most of her family was more serious and full of ambition that they would live up to the legacy of being a successful classical musician. Clara on the other hand was always more focused on something else. Whether it was getting in rolling in the mud and getting everything dirty when she was young, or later trying to follow her favorite artists around on tour, or chasing after a boy she liked. She did play piano too, but she was more likely to be playing a pop song than Beethoven. Her family would have prefered her playing something more classical but it was too late.
First Bands
By the time she was fifteen, Clara had moved to playing guitar. She was recruited to play rhythm guitar in a local band. It was her and four guys. She and her friends started another band. It was three girls, but none of the other two girls had the commitment that Clara had so they broke up. Clara had to play in the bands with the boys. It was while doing this that she met Rob Ahrens whom she would later start a band called Infamy with. Hanging out with the boys, however, gave Clara quite a reputation. Gossip about her being a "slut" spread fast and still continue. Gossip aside, this was a learning period. Clara wrote lots of songs and improved her singing and musicianship. She wasn't done though. She still needed to improve more...
Music4Youth and Infamy
In 2011 Clara convinced her family to let her go to the Music4Youth school in New York. Clara spent several months there. Soon though she was bored. She learned and got a bit better but she was bored. She didnt want to learn how to make a music career in a school. She wanted to go and make it happen. The result was a band called Infamy. She went home and started it with old friend Robert Ahrens. The two earned a following locally. They even headlined a few local shows and were writing an EP to release if they were signed to a label.

Infamy were hot locally. Soon Vin Peters of Nomad records approached them with an offer to sign a record deal. Over the few months that Clara and Rob had been playing however they grew to be more than bandmates. Their romantic relationship had been comfirmed two months before Vin Peters offered them a record deal. Soon though things fell apart. Robert and Clara had a fight. Rumors are that Rob accused Clara of cheating on him. Robert left. Infamy fell apart. The record deal went away. Clara had to start over.

Solo Career
Now Clara is going alone. She knows that moving on after having Infamy and her romantic relationship blow up in her face will be tough, but she is ready to prove her worth to the music industry.

Discography

Tour

clara - Live from her bedroom


The sound of a guitar rings as the camera fades in. Clara is sitting on a couch with a black and white hollow-body electric guitar. The tone is clean and warm as she strums a G chord to check her tuning. Her hair is light pink and her bright blue eyes are looking down at what she's doing as she plays a short melody and then adjusts the tuners on her guitar. Clara looks up. The camera looks back at her. She smiles. "Hey everyone. I'm here in my room just kind of messing around but I thought I'd make a video so that I can show you what I've been up to the past few weeks. It's nothing special just going to play chords and sing. So I hope you enjoy." Clara immediately starts playing a chord progression. A simple suspended chord pattern. Soon she starts to sing...

"Your skin is smooth and warm
Like the day we first met
Your eyes like a thunderstorm
Like my new regret
It's louder than thunder
That maybe I'm not meant to be here

Your smile's so nice
Like the first few weeks
But our love turned to ice
Just like the creeks
Frozen my heart til it shattered
Just another disaster

The bread staled
The rain turned to snow
Instead of washing the hurt
It just gathered dirt
It just gathered dirt

I just thinking
What if we weren't alive
And life just keeps stinging
Just like a beehive
Honey comes with a price
Some sweet things have a disguise

So the bread staled
The rain turned to snow
Instead of washing the hurt
It just gathered dirt
It just gathered dirt

Sometimes winter seems neverending
Sometimes spring is too good to be true
Sometimes bees sting and we keep forgetting
That our lives are all we have to do"

The last chord rang out until it stopped. Clara turned to the camera again. "That song doesn't have a name yet. I hope you liked it though. This next one I released as a demo on my website. It's called Parachutes and Broken Things." Clara starts singing immediately and as she stops singing she plays the guitar riff to the song. Her head sways slightly back and forth as she sings. She doesn't break out into chords until she reaches the prechorus. For the verses she just plays the riff. He voice flies like a bird up into the falsetto, down again, gliding across long notes, soaring up as she sings the chorus loudly.

"The plane is singing through the sky
Whoa oh ohh
But its time to say the last goodbye
Whoa oh ohh
So put on all the jumping gear
whoa oh ohh
And we'll fall just like my last tear
whoa oh ohh

Ohhhoo Oh Whoa Whoa
Ohhhoo oh whoa whoa

Skyes of parachutes and broken things
Have led to this day
Have taken you away
Broken glass and broken wings
Time to fall away
To broken broken hearts and broken strings
Parachutes and broken things

There's no time to mourn for the sorrow
Whoa oh ohh
All I can do is fight for loving tomorrow
Whoa oh ohh
The plane's off to fame and glory
Whoa oh ohh
If you had your way it'd be the end of my story
Whoa oh ohh

Ohhhoo Oh Whoa Whoa
Ohhhoo oh whoa whoa

Skyes of parachutes and broken things
Have led to this day
Have taken you away
Broken glass and broken wings
Time to fall away
To broken broken hearts and broken strings
Parachutes and broken things

The sky looks so beautiful
But beauty can be deceiving
So you're leaving
So you're leaving

Skyes of parachutes and broken things
Have led to this day
Have taken you away
Broken glass and broken wings
Time to fall away
To broken broken hearts and broken strings
Parachutes and broken things"

"I've got one song left for you" says Clara as she mutes her guitar. "This last one is called The Girl Who Stopped Thinking". Clara begins playing a sweet apreggio melody and then starts to sing.

"She was laying there on a hill
He was handsome with dark eyes
I was watching from up in my tree
Just as he was passing by
He looked up and smiled at me
And I never said goodbye

We had a house in the valley
We were dancing all night
The girl on the hill slept all day
And he never saw her sleeping
But one day in her sleep she swept him away
He left with the girl who stopped thinking"

At this point Clara picks things up singing more angrily strumming now instead of picking sweetly.

"I never cry I never cry
I just go to wars
I put on my armor and sigh
That all fairytale girls are whores

He put his love in a sleeping beauty
Though her body was well awake
I brought my sword up the fight
He didnt care that my heart was aching
He told me to get out of sight
He stayed with the girl who stopped thinking

I never cry I never cry
I just go to wars
I put on my armor and sigh
That all fairytale girls are whores

And ohhh though I never cry
I just wish it wasnt so
And oh
I wish he'd know
That while he was blinking
He fell for the girl who stopped thinking
He fell for the girl who stopped thinking

I never cry I never cry
I just go to wars
I put on my armor and sigh
That all fairytale girls are whores"

The last chord rings out. Clara picks up her guitar pick and bites on it cutely to free up her hands so she can turn the camera off...