Broadway actor and singer Claybourne Elder (“Company”) chatted about his debut album “If the Stars Were Mine,” upcoming shows at 54 Below in New York, and being a part of “The Gilded Age.”
Song selection approach for the new CD
On the song selection process for his new album, he said, “I started doing a cabaret act after I finished my last Broadway show ‘Company.’ I have the background as a writer doing storytelling and stand-up comedy.”
“I love the songs and I love singing but I also really wanted to talk about something and what I wanted to say,” he noted. “Somebody asked me what were the three things that I am most afraid to talk about in front of people and I started there.”
“So, all of these songs sound more like journal entries than songs, but they are all really tied to memories or emotions about specific moments in my life,” he added.
When asked if he was going for a certain theme,e he responded, “I think that like a stand-up show, it’s thematic. I talk about a lot of different things, but generally I feel like it’s an album about goodness and the decisions we make.”
“When I became a dad, I started thinking a lot more about what we leave behind and the things we make that last,” he said. “All the theater that I’ve participated in is such an ethereal thing that just disappears after we’re done with it… and this is a chance to make something to leave behind.”
Favorite song on the album
A native of Utah, Elder listed the title track “If the Stars Were Mine” as his personal favorite. “It’s a lullaby that I have been singing to my son almost every day of his life,” he explained.
“Also, there’s a song, ‘Something’s Coming’ from ‘West Side Story,’ which is an incredible jazz tune,” he admitted. “Bryan Perri orchestrated it in a really crazy version that you definitely haven’t heard before.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “It feels good! I’ve been working on TV while doing theater. It’s like two different worlds but it’s the same.”
“It’s like two different paintings but it’s the same material and it feels like the same sort of extension of art,” he noted. “It’s the same thing I do but now it’s done.”
“I did this in a recording studio for an album rather than on a stage in front of people or in front of a camera,” he explained.
‘The Gilded Age’
On being a part of “The Gilded Age,” he said, “It’s fantastic! I really, really love those people so much. It was such a huge part of my life too.”
“We got cast in 2019 for the first season,” he said. “Due to the pandemic and the strikes, it took five years of my life to make those three seasons. I had a lot of time to get close with those people and I love them very, very much.”
54 Below shows
Elder is looking forward to celebrating the new album with three concerts at 54 Below in New York on April 3, April 4, and April 15 respectively.
“I’m doing these three shows to help launch the album,’ she said. “I’ve been touring around for the past couple of years, and I’m bring the show to New York. I am very, very excited about it.”
Advice for young and emerging artists
For young and aspiring artists, Elder said, “I think that for me, I didn’t have success right away and I don’t have success all the time. It comes and goes.”
“I think that the most important thing you can be is buoyant,” he said. “The people that I know that have the most longevity, as artists, are people that can bounce back really easily when they have failures because we have them all the time.”
“People at the top of the game are looking beyond the next thing,” he added.
Success
Regarding his definition of success, Elder said, “I think success is in your own viewing of it.”
“I think that anybody can look at what they’re doing and feel successful about what they’re doing. You should feel proud of where you are and what you have and what you’ve done because so much of it is luck,” he elaborated.
“I know so many talented people, so many wildly talented people, who have never been on Broadway, for instance, and they never walked into the room right where they were looking for them, and that happens a lot,” he explained.
“Also, it happens that you walk into the right room and they are looking for you and you are lucky that day,” he acknowledged.
“There is not such thing as making it,” he said. “You then go on to your next job. You go searching for the next thing, and hope that something else comes along.”
“So really, I think success has a lot of pressure that can ultimately weigh people down rather than free them up,” he added.
Message for his fans
For his fans and supporters, Elder expressed, “I hope that this album is like taking a piece of me home with them. This project is all me, and it was fun yet also scary. I’m really excited to share this new album with everyone.”
His album “If the Stars Were Mine” will be released via Center Stage Records, and it is available for pre-order by clicking here.
To learn more about Broadway actor and singer Claybourne Elder, follow him on Instagram.
