It is March 21, 2011, exactly 9 days since the finale of The Tried and True Tour, starring Clay Aiken.
For fans, the past week has been a time to reflect on the wonderful concerts and the amazing talent that was on the stage every night, entertaining the excited audience. Many of the fans are also thinking of all the hard work, sweat, and stress that had to be a part of the tour preparation.
Each night, an amazing group of musicians with lots of talent created a show that left us awed by the music and laughing from the great fun.
Dell Atkins: This veteran of the music field is listed at AllMusic as starting his career in 1984. He is listed under…Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Producer, Drum Programming, Musician, Arranger and Audio Production.
Dell…we need to add comedian to that list.
Felix Pollard: According to Modern Drummer, Felix has been playing professionally for more than twenty-five years and even played a performance for First Lady Hillary Clinton. Felix has played with Jessica Simpson, Destiny’s Child, George Duke, Lionel Richie, Anastacia, Shelia E., Chaka Kahn, The Staple Singers, Brian Culbertson, Phil Upchurch, Taylor Hicks and, of course, Clay Aiken.
Felix.. you are “one bad Kat.”
Adam Fallen: I wish I could write about Adam. This talented young man made Tried and True his first tour. I am sure that at this time next year, his accomplishments will be published all over.
Adam…I hope you had fun on the tour! Your future is bright!!
Ben Cohn: Did you know that Ben grew up in New Jersey? Ben received his Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College where he studied piano and voice and was heavily involved in the theatre program. After graduation, Ben went to NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing where he got his Masters in Musical Theatre Writing. According to Musician’s Wages.com, Ben always knew that he wanted to work in theatre as a musical director, pianist, and composer. This talented young man currently works as the assistant conductor and first keyboardist on Wicked.
Ben….I hope you are working on some great new songs for Clay!!
Quiana Parler: Quiana, from Charleston, SC, began her professional career singing for Calvin Gilmore of the “The Carolina Opry”. According to East Coast Entertainment, Quiana has shared the stage with a diverse array of national artists ranging from Keith Sweat to Kelly Clarkson. She can be heard on albums by Bianca Ryan, Renee Olstead, and, of course, Clay Aiken. If you are in Charleston, be sure to hear Quiana and Friends. They are a group of top musicians who perform in the area.
Quiana…your talent is amazing. Clay fans think of you as part of the family. Knowing you enriches our lives.
Jerome and Mary…you are also part of the family and must have more patience than anyone else. You take care of Clay and always have a smile for his fans. I hope both of you are getting a bit of rest!
Clay Aiken: Thank you for sharing your amazing voice and your loving heart with us. Each of us is blessed to have you in our lives. It has been a magical journey for 8 years. I am so excited to see what the next chapter will be. Please know that we are right here waiting for you, ready and waiting to make many more memories.
Clay really did have amazing musicians with him this tour. They were so good! Thanks to Clay and all of his wonderful friends for a great time. Hope to see you again soon.
PS I so second that I hope Ben is writing new stuff for Clay comment. Yes!!
musicfan… I just love waking up to CANN each moring! Gets me up and running with a smile on my face. Thanks for ALL you do!!
Thank you so much for all that information on all the people that work with Clay. The TnT Tour was an awesome show. From all the romantic songs..to the upbeat songs..the jokes from Del..the great singing by Quiana, cool arrangements by Ben, Drums from Felix…and last, by not least the good guitar playing by Adam…it was a tour to remember. Must not for get the Auto-Tunes, and Genres of WSN. They were all hillarious.
Yes, we are waiting for the next chapter of Clay's life to open…but, first, he deserves a break to have time with his family and Parker…plus a little R&R for himself. But, we will be here waiting for him…and watching clack. LOL!!
Musicfan123 — Thanks for the short bio info on Clay's TNT band mates including Quiana, and the acknowledgement for Jerome and Mary. They all deserve a big round of applause from Clay's fans.
Love that hot, sassy and I got it going on photo of Clay. He's sooooo cool!
Thank you Musicfan for all the information. Love to read about everyone on tour. Especially nice to know that Adam's first tour was with Clay…Hope we see more of him, and I hope he enjoyed himself. Clay always surrounds himself with good people, not only musically, but good decent people… I can't wait for the next installment of Clay's journey…It's been a Fantastic 8 years so far.
Nice blog about Clay's entertainment family and friends which they certainly are. Hope the hiatus isn't too long.
Great article, Musicfan, and really expresses how I feel about the talent that was on this tour. Such a great group of musicians!
Thank you MusicFan for everything you do! I love reading all the info about everybody that was apart of the TnT tour!! Can’t wait to see what Mr. Clay Aiken has coming up 🙂
Thank you so much for posting the information on all the talented people who worked with Clay on his last tour. They are all so talented and it was nice to read about their backgrounds. I am glad that Adam was able to start his touring career with someone as talented as Clay is. I can't wait to see what Clay has in store for us next. I already miss him!
Thanks for spotlighting each member of Clay's musical team for the Tried & True Tour. I love how Clay introduces those who back him up on tours and gives them kuddos. Not many do that now days. But that's our clay, always thinking and thanking others.
T&T was a great tour. Loved every minute of it. I will live on Clack until he reveals his next project. Can't wait to hear what it is.
Thank you CANN for all that you do to promote Clay Aiken.
Really enjoyed reading about the musicians on this tour. They were all very good.
I really enjoyed all the info you took the time to give us on everyone that traveled with Clay and played on stage with him. It was a fantastic tour with many belly laughs and tender moments from all involved. Hats off to everyone that made it possible and brought to us some wonderful memories…until next time. Thanks musicfan for all you do to keep us full Clay info on a daily basis
That was nice of you to spotlight Clay's touring family. Clay was fortunate to have these folks on the road with him.
Ha! That above picture is my new wallpaper!
I didn't know much about Clay's backup band, especially Del and Adam. Thanks for all the research you do every day. We only have to log into CANN to see what's going on with Clay Aiken.
Very nice blog. Enjoyed it.