Show Low native hopes to take his music to Nashville

During a telephone interview with the White Mountain Independent from his home in Idaho, he said he first fell in love with music when he was 5 years old.

“I’m a sixth-generation musician. My dad was in a country band (from) when he was about 14 years old and I got to see him and what he did,” Clark recalled. “I picked up my first guitar when I was 5 and got my first one gifted to me just before my seventh birthday.”

Clark recalled his first “big-time gig,” saying, “I used to work for Perkins Cinders in Show Low and Shasta Perkins was Miss Rodeo, Arizona. She invited me to go down to the Payson Pro Rodeo and perform for all the queen contests.”

Clark’s familial music background goes past his grandfather’s accomplishments. Two of his grandfather’s cousins, Gene Dunlap and Steve Conn, both built storied careers in country music that have carried them to the country music capital of Nashville.

“(Dunlap) was the band leader and keyboard player for Loretta Lynn, who just recently passed, and (Conn) is a Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter,” said Clark.

While not at his day job (one-on-one coaching for baseball and softball), Clark performs weekend concerts, many of which can be found on his Facebook page. He hopes that his talents and drive will lead up in the footsteps of his older relatives.

He’s made a few trips to Nashville during his time away from the White Mountains. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, he started recording “scratch-tracks” in Nashville for music he hoped would eventually end up on a widely distributed album.

Unfortunately, due to the changing economy in relation to the beginning of the pandemic, many of his sponsors were forced to pull their funding, leaving Clark and his music in limbo.

“I’ve been trying to get back there so we can at least do one or two songs at a time, just off of what I make currently doing shows,” Clark explained. “I’m working and writing with one of the greatest producers in Nashville named Brett Boyette.”

Boyette has produced and composed a large discography of music, most recently for the feature film “Forever My Girl,” released in 2018. Clark hopes Boyette’s skills, and his own artistic talent could be enough to take him into the big leagues, like those he considers to be the greats.

He said, “I would have all the same studio players on my album as Brad Paisley or Dierks Bentley or Toby Keith. The only difference between their albums and my own would be me singing on it and not them.”

The only thing standing in his way are the 1,805 miles separating Twin Falls and Nashville and the $75,000 price tag on getting the album recorded, mixed, mastered and released.

“That would allow me to have professional studio musicians play on them,” Clark said. “(There’s) an opportunity to reach a way wider audience. This might be my only chance in life, so I’m going to take that chance and do everything I can with it.”

“I want people to hear me for what I am. I’m not trying to do anything that’s over-dubbed or over-produced; when you hear me at my shows, that’s what I want you to hear on the album. Even if I have to get it done one or two songs at a time over the next couple of years I’m going to get it done and I’m going to do it right.”

Clark welcomes any communication or donations through Facebook, at Heath Clark Music, his website at heathclarkband.com, or through his personal phone number at 208-650-2393.

Sometime soon, the White Mountains may have its own born-and-bred country music superstar.

Comments and questions are always welcome. Contact the reporter at jhernandez@wmicentral.com.