THE WATCH TELLURIDE CO 

 

EXERT FROM "IN PURSUIT OF HARMONY" PUBLISHED JULY 8, 2015

Small-town charm, world-class acts 

 

BY TANYA ISHIKAWA

Sheryl Clapton is an Americana and roots singer/songwriter who moved with her husband to Montrose two years ago. She plays keyboards, percussion and mandolin, but performs most often with her 12-string guitar. She also performs country music and is working on a recording of hymns from the 1800s, which she is self producing with Adobe Audition software. 

“I haven’t found anything I don’t like about the area. I love it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been,” Clapton said. “There are no disadvantages of which I’m aware. I think there is very strong support of musicians here.” 

She grew up and began her career in radio in Albuquerque, always performing and writing music on the side. One of her early music mentors was Jose Ponce, who worked in radio with her as well as producing the New Mexico Music Awards, writing songs, performing and acting. 

Before arriving in Montrose, Clapton spent 10 years in Columbia, Missouri where she continued her work as an on-air radio host, songwriter and recording artist.  

“To me, Montrose offers the feeling of a city in a beautiful kind of a bowl toward heaven, the mountains framing it. Feel this beautiful air. I love Missouri dearly but you step out in summertime and need to take a shower. Here the air is crisp and invigorating,” she said. 

“A musician living here can easily perform in Salt Lake City, Park City, Durango, Nebraska or Kansas. Montrose is close to any of those places, and with the airport, I can jump on a plane and be there more quickly. To me, it’s ideal with the Internet and the ability to have easy access to so many places,” she explained. 

She likes the charm of the small community and the energy of the people. She also points to the availability of “wonderful events like Main in Motion” and both indoor and outdoor concerts that bring “a phenomenal selection of world-class talent” to the area. 

She added that it has been easy to meet other musicians when she performs at open mics at the True Grit Cafe in Ridgway and Horsefly Brewing Company in Montrose. Some musicians have even sought her out to collaborate while she was performing at farmers markets and other events. 

“I find the musicians here positively professional,” she said. “They’re open and receptive and really create some beautiful work.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   Sheryl Clapton Studios receives 2013 Missouri Excellence Award  December 9th 2013 -  Sheryl Clapton Studios has been selected for the 2013 Missouri Excellence Award amongst all its peers and competitors by the Small Business Institute for Excellence in Commerce (SBIEC). Each year the SBIEC conducts business surveys and industry research to identify companies that have achieved demonstrable success in their local business environment and industry category. They are recognized as having enhanced the commitment and contribution of small businesses through service to their customers and community. Small businesses of this caliber enhance the consumer driven stature that Missouri is renowned for. Sheryl Clapton Studios has consistently demonstrated a high regard for upholding business ethics and company values. This recognition by SBIEC marks a significant achievement as an emerging leader within various competitors and is setting benchmarks that the industry should follow. As part of the industry research and business surveys, various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the selected companies in each category. This research is part of an exhaustive process that encapsulates a year long immersion in the business climate of Missouri. About SBIEC The SBIEC is a leading authority on researching, evaluating and recognizing companies across a wide spectrum of industries that meet its stringent standards of excellence. It has spearheaded the idea of independent enterprise and entrepreneurial growth allowing businesses of all sizes to be recognized locally and encouraged globally. Particular emphasis is given to meeting and exceeding industry benchmarks for customer service, product quality and ethical practices. Industry leading standards and practices have been developed and implementation of the same has been pioneered by the dedicated efforts of the business community and commerce leadership.  More information on SBIEC can be found at www.sbiec.org  ”

— KDRO AM news

This story was published 03/04/2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guitar strings tie past to present Sheryl Clapton makes memories with her acoustic “root” music Singer, songwriter, musician and producer Sheryl Clapton calls music a tool. “It is such an important door for memory, for peace of mind and relaxation,” she says, and Clapton would know the true value of memory. Clapton suffered a brutal attack in 1997 that robbed her of her memories; music is a door to her past. Unconscious for two days, Clapton woke with amnesia. She lost all memory of her family, friends and life events and couldn’t even multiply small numbers. It took government records and FBI help to piece together what used to be Clapton’s life. “The only thing I remembered was to play music,” she says. So she did and still does. Her philosophy of music acting as a door for memory and peace permeates what she calls the “root” music that she and her 12-string bring to Columbia. Clapton describes her eclectic sound as “country, folk, rock — it depends on what you surround it with.” Sometimes Clapton’s music is just her with an acoustic, but her four albums feature steel guitar and mandolin accompaniment. Just like her fans in 50 countries, Columbians soak up her velvety voice and simple idealism like a sponge. You won’t see her slightly graying hair and gentle hazel eyes on any fancy album cover photo, though. Clapton distributes her music free online at her Web site, www.sherylclapton.net. Clapton says all music, including Navajo rap and her favorite, classic rock, captures a statement that is important to hear. After five years in New Mexico, Clapton moved her message of family, peace and respect to Columbia last summer with hopes of working more closely with youth. She wants to include kids in the oneness of spirit and understanding she believes music creates. Although the federal Special Projects of Regional and National Significance grant she was awarded to build a youth recording studio fell through, she still wants to expand her limited Columbia studio into one fully equipped for youth recording. Clapton works at The Intersection, Columbia’s youth and parent after-school center and promotes music as an integral part of growing and learning. She stresses that when children make music it “opens a door of creativity that is vital for them to understand that they have an accomplishment that no one can truly take away.” Besides infecting amateurs with her contagious enthusiasm, Clapton also helped bring back music to those who had lost it. She fondly recalls Music to Remember, an outreach program for Alzheimer’s patients in Albuquerque, N.M. Despite initially short attention spans, Clapton says after a few weekly visits the patients began to recognize her. Clapton says that when she performs and people are smiling, they can’t be upset, and her goal is therefore achieved. Her future then, means making more smiles in Columbia venues, such as Bambino’s, and in the Southwestern United States, where she will tour later this spring. Clapton, a producer and announcer at KOPN/89.5 FM two days a week, will be busy in a new town with her new husband, Carlos, creating music and inspiring children — and making fresh memories. — LYNSY SMITHsON-STANLEY __________________________________________________ Copyright ©2002 Columbia Missourian --— LYNSY SMITHsON-STANLEY Copyright ©2002 Columbia Missourian” - LYNSY SMITHSON-STANLEY

— Columbia Missourian

Indie River article, Bill Bruedigam (editor) Sheryl Clapton ~ Natural Ambience Ambient, the word causes many arguments in the music world. Music that creates and ambience, melodic, mood creating like soft lights, etc.. So, what's it take to create ambience? Synthesizers? Eastern instruments? Flutes? Too many arguments, but one thing is for sure, someone has managed to do it with an acoustic guitar and a beautiful voice; Sheryl Clapton. Personally I wasn't sure it could be done. But one long night of working online in Santa Fe I received and email asking if I would listen to some music for consideration on my Radio Santa Fe station. Sure, I always go listen, that is how I have found some of the best music I know of out there. When I arrived, I first listened to "To Earth One Day," the "demo" version. I was hooked, and I had experienced what I consider the first acoustic voice/guitar combination to ever create ambience. Again, that is my opinion, I am not here to debate "what is ambient," just to tell you about some fantastic music. Then I went on, and the styles changed through the spectrum of music from one end to the other and back again. All great, all special, all just filled with stories and images. This is music straight from the desert southwest, and it feels like music from the desert. I have spent much of my life in New Mexico where Sheryl is from, and she can really create the feeling of being there. It is part of her, part of her music, part of her soul, and it comes out in the music, grabs you by the soul and takes you there too. Are you ready for a trip? Want to go to the desert mountains, then go for it, Sheryl can take you there. And it is a nice trip, cool mountain breeze, night skies filled with more starts than you have ever seen, and day skies that stretch far beyond your ability to see. Take a ride to Santa Fe, walk down a dirt road in the mountains, sit and watch a beautiful sunset, it's all there in the natural ambience she creates. The "demos" are still there, and they are excellent, but recently Sheryl went into the studio with some great musicians and brought out the new versions of it all. I suggest you drop down and listen to the older versions first, then check out the new stuff. Partake of it all, enjoy! Indie River Magazine http://www.thirdroad.com/indieriver/” - Bill Bruedigam (editor)

Indie River Magazine

ChapmanJames about Sheryl Clapton: A voice crying in the wilderness... Sheryl Clapton has a plan ... total eradication of war and its estuaries. It is not a new method she has in her arsenal. Music. But, the way she uses it is quite unique. Besides having a magnetic voice and personality that invites every soul with which she comes into contact to listen, she spends so much time making us feel good about even the little things that are truly important to us, that we have little desire to contemplate fighting with one another. I think she is on to something. She writes of the "So Sweet"ness of horses, grateful feelings while traveling on the road "North of Sante Fe", and a transfiguring "New Life" when one changes to a more spiritual paradigm. But, among her unique war fighting creations is a piece called "Missing From Our Shores" where Sheryl lays out a simple vista of one openning a book of history and the overpowering images and thoughts it provokes. Through these offerings, and with a bit more attention, she could quell enough storms to realize her plan and in someway truly be revered as a daughter of the creator (Mat 5:9) Chapman James Folk Writer --BeSonic March 2003” - Chapman James, Folk Writer

— BeSonic 2003

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