Claude McCan shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Claude, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I love to have a leisurely start to my day. When I first climb out of bed I prepare some warm water with lemon juice, do about 5 minutes of leg stretches, have some coffee and breakfast while reading my online newspaper and respond to a few emails. All of this gets me in the mood to start my day. I try not to let the morning news get me down, but that’s not easy!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My full name is Claude Kerry McCan III and I grew in a small ranching community in South Texas where I actually worked as a cowboy during summers of from school. Starting at about 20 years of age I have worked as a professional musician. Since 1995 my musical name has been Claude9 and I guess you could say that is my brand name. When people ask me what kind of music I play I just answer “All the groovy kinds”. I have played Reggae, New Wave, Electronic, Latin, Funk and House music. I don’t know how some artists stick with one genre of music for their entire career because I am always looking to learn something new. For the past few years I have concentrated on Electronic music but I still play all kinds of music live and collaborate with dance companies on music for their performances also. Creating sounds and arrangements for synthesizers is my specialty but my eclectic approach to music makes my work unique as well.
In 2023 I stared my own electronic record label called New Human Music with my partner DJ/producer Ken Christensen and that is taking up a lot of my time now, but I love working with the other artists on the label and helping to shape their vision.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My wife Jane really changed the way I saw myself and made me step up my creative life. She believed in me more than I did and I have have strived to live up to what what she sees in me. We have been together for 34 years and anytime I slide back into old patterns she reminds me of what is possible. She builds me up and I try to do the same for her.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Most of us in creative fields have a deep fear that our work is not good enough to share with the world. I suppose this what people call “imposters syndrome”. I have moved past that now but I wish I had been able to do that about 20 years earlier.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
The way I differentiate between trends/fads and real shifts is that I know I must create work that makes me proud or happy, not what the industry or the audience wants . If you can manage to do that there is a greater chance that others will relate to your work. If you are mainly looking for external approval your audience will feel that and your work will not be as interesting.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
When I am not really sure of my next step. The way I look at it is that you should a bit out of your depth most of the time when you are working creatively. Chances must be taken and you have to crawl out on that limb to grab ahold of the “good stuff”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.claude9.com
- Instagram: claude956
- Facebook: Claude Mccan
- Youtube: Claude9 @claudemccan8313
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/claude9
- Other: https://newhumanmusic.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2skI0lFVMLOxJ2Zg42TII6?si=dYSlta56SpKJXeyp7xaFSQ
Image Credits
Photos by Mark Guerra
Chords of Love artwork by Fumihito Sugawara for Fumanstudios
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