Meet John Clark

We were lucky to catch up with John Clark recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
I found Ren and his music in 2023 and his music and his story really made me take a look at my own life. I decided that I was self sabotaging myself with addictions and bad habits. I decided to make some big changes and to substitute my bad habits with some new healthy habits. I wanted this to have a positive effect on myself and those around me.

For the past 6 months I have made strides in my personal and professional goals and self care is at the top of the reasons why I am succeeding. I have been able to cut alcohol and am now on the longest break from it since I was 14 years old. I am overcoming some physical disabilities due to a fatal car accident I was in back in 2016 and have run one mile every morning for the past 5 months – my goal for that is to go all year and hopefully continue it as part of my morning routine forever. I have cut way back on fast food but still eat out on occasion with the family. I want to hit some new financial goals, release over 100 new songs this year and work on my relationships.

I started a new artist project in March of 2024 called “The Healing Ukulele” where I will be releasing new original instrumental ukulele songs every 2 weeks all year long. I want this to continue to help me but more importantly help others have the same epiphany that I had from finding Ren’s music last year. Music is my life. It is my medicine, my therapy and my passion. I want my music to live on when I am gone and I want people in my life that I love to cherish it to remember me. I decided that I wanted to turn my depression into inspiration and to truly find happiness that will hopefully be contagious to my loved ones.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the owner, CEO and lead artist for John Clark Music and Peach Moon Publishing Co. This is the umbrella for my 6 main music projects. I am the artists John Clark, Fin Moon, Helen Green, Been in a Dream, misswilsonsays and The Healing Ukulele. I have been releasing music since 2013 and will cross over 400 songs released in 2024. My main catalog of music – my original music that I write and sing – John Clark – is my musical diary – I am a self taught musician and songwriter and these songs just come out. I can’t explain it – It is an otherworldly process where I feel like I am the conduit for the songs but there is something else helping me create them. It is like a musical exorcism.

Some of these original songs come out as instrumental guitar songs by Fin Moon or instrumental piano as Helen Green (with the help of some of the best pianists in the world as collaborators). Been in a Dream (instrumental ambient guitar), The Healing Ukulele (instrumental Ukulele) and Helen Green (instrumental Piano) are all 100% original song catalogs. Both Fin Moon and John Clark and 80% original song catalogs but do include some of my favorite covers as well as a shout out to my musical inspirations. misswilsonsays is all pop covers and a really fun catalog of music.

I have collaborated with over 100 artists worldwide and networking and collaboration is the main key to my success with music. I love chatting with other artists and helping younger artists out. I do a few consults every month paid or free to try to help others and show them what I have learned, usually the hard way, to save them some time and hurt. There is nothing easy about the music business but music is my life!!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Never giving up. Most people would have given up when their first 10 albums flopped financially!! At some point I had to adapt and continue to fail forward. I have never based my success off of money. For me, releasing the music and being able to move on to create new music was my success.

2. Separating my multi genre catalog into specific or niche artists. My John Clark catalog is very multi genre and a super generic name – I get mixed up with other John Clark musicians with almost every release. Finding unique artist names for my other projects was imperative to not having the constant problem. Almost all of my instrumental music projects do better than my main indie psych folk rock music focus. There are just a ton more mood and genre specific playlists and opportunities for the instrumental artists. Basically create multiple projects with your music if you can – it is a lot of work but it is certainly one of the keys to my success.

3. Networking with other artists and curators. Honestly spotify and the landscape behind independent playlisting really helped me find a little more success. Without my collaborators, musicians and curators who support me I would never have amassed over 20 million streams on the platform. I owe everything to them and a few fans who continue to support everything that I do with music!!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always looking for new artists to collaborate with. Some of my favorite songs or albums have to do with the many great collaborators I have partnered with through the years.

I am always looking for new instrumental guitarists to make Fin Moon songs with and my Helen Green project relies on finding pianist/composers who want to “rework” my John Clark/Fin Moon/ The Healing Ukulele songs and turn them into solo piano masterpieces!!

I have gotten the pleasure to work with over 30 pianists in the last few years with the Helen Green project – which is a tribute to my late gMa Helen Green and the amazing catalog in in her great name! She was the only musician in my family tree and I got her Organ when she passed away. I still have it to this day and I think that she would be happy and proud of the wonderful music that she still makes today.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Money Shotz Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Portraits of Resilience

Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our

Productivity
Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists,

Confidence
Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move