Smooth Operator

W. C. Clark has one of those trust-me-this-time smiles that would help him sell a raincoat to a cactus. Clark also has one of the smoothest voices this side of Bobby “Blue” Bland. He brings his Texas-style blues to Matty’s Lounge in Santa Barbara tonight for a 10 o’clock show.

Also known as “The Godfather of Texas Blues,” Clark’s latest hard-to-refuse offer is “Lover’s Plea,” a soulful yet rockin’ blues album with four Clark originals plus selected covers. The album is dedicated to Clark’s fiancee and drummer who were killed in an auto accident while the band was heading home to Austin in 1997.

Born in Austin in 1939 into a musical family, Clark has been a force in the city’s local music scene for nearly four decades. Playing his first gig at 16, Clark later hooked up with Atlantic Records soul man Joe Tex. Then Clark befriended a young Stevie Ray Vaughan, and together they formed the Triple Threat Revue.

Clark has had his own thing going since the late 1970s, releasing a solo album on his own label in the early ‘90s. His new album is his third effort with Black Top Records blues label.

While driving around, which is what a blues man does when he’s not playing, Clark took a few minutes to discuss the latest.

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How’s the new album doing?

Pretty good, and we’re selling a lot of them wherever we play. It’s close to the same concept of those albums before, but maybe it’s a little more upbeat. There’s some ballads, some shuffles and some soul stuff.

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How’s the Austin scene?

Down around 6th Street there are about six or seven blocks of clubs where you can hear just about any kind of music. The blues are still happening. All I know about the scene is that good players produce good players, and there’s been good players in Texas as far back as I can remember.

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How did you end up playing the blues instead of the polka or something else?

When I first started, I was playing gospel and a little country and western. But my cousin, who was a big influence on me, introduced me to the blues. I just loved the feeling of it and the way the words were put together.

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What was it like playing with Joe Tex in the ‘60s?

I was just a young kid, real ambitious, just taking in all the sights. It was exciting to me whenever we’d arrive anywhere, he’d say to turn up such and such a street to get to the club, no matter where we were. He’d been everywhere. I can do that now--boy, can I.

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Tell me a Stevie Ray Vaughan story.

When I first met him, he was just a young kid who could play. He was in a band called the Cobras and he used to come and watch us play when I was in a band called Southern Feeling. When I quit playing for a while to get a job, he used to come to my dealership where I was a mechanic and bug me because my fingers were all greasy.

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Are the blues getting bigger, smaller or staying the same?

Oh, it’s getting bigger and some of the blues men are finally starting to get paid their dues. All the blues societies around the country are doing a wonderful job. They’re doing great things for us.

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What do you think W.C. Clark music sounds like?

I play rhythm and blues, slow ballads and shuffles. I play boogaloo beats and soul music. It’s all upbeat, and there’s a good feeling to it. You’ll feel good when you leave the show.

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When you play, do people dance or stare?

Mostly, they dance. But once in a while I have to figure out how old the audience is, and then I decide if they just want to stand and listen. If they want to stand and listen, then I don’t have to work so hard to get them on the dance floor. I can read a crowd pretty well.

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Do people still think the blues is sad music?

Not so much anymore. There’s lots of positive energy with the blues. All you have to do is look at the players--they’re jumping all over the place. I can sing four hours one night, then come back and do it again the next night. All that energy has to come from somewhere, and it comes from the blues. Blues bring out things that are already inside a person but they’re just too shy to admit. If you don’t want to say it, the blues will say it for you.

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How do you pass the time on the road?

Right now, I’m sitting in a hotel room and I have all my guitars out. I’ll play one for a while and start a song or two. Then I’ll pick up another guitar and play, maybe start some other songs, and in no time I’ve got three or four songs started. I’ve got my CD player and the radio, stuff like that.

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Why do blues guys dress better than rock guys?

I think blues guys are more humble than rock guys. Rock guys are more aggressive, and blues guys are more content with things because they’re not that far removed from average people.

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What’s next for you?

Keep on playing. Keep on releasing CDs, and maybe one day I’ll end up with my own club in Austin and I can play whenever I want to.

BE THERE

W.C. Clark at Matty’s Lounge, 26 W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. Tonight at 10. Call 963-6788.