I was surprised to discover I hadn’t posted any of these clips from a full-band show 2 years ago. Studio work continues here in the first quarter of 2025, with live shows to follow (hopefully).
This week we worked on Theater in a Crowded Fire. Also in the works are Lights Out, If Wishes Were Horses and Outlier. With the current rate of progress I think a Spring 2025 release of the Broom of Fire album is likely.
Hello everyone – I’m doing my own Bandcamp Friday – “ALL RISE” and “CENTER OF THE NIGHT” are free to download today – because I want you to have them! Go: https://anticclay.bandcamp.com/
“All Rise” is the next single from the forthcoming Antic Clay album “Broom of Fire.” I hope it kindles the fire within, and that you’ll share it with kith and kin!
I think I’ll play Southern Accents, Redemption Day, The Folk Singer, Folsom Prison Blues in E minor, and possibly Busted. I’ve worked up a nice rendition of The Man Comes Around but it’s already been claimed by two other acts. I might do Hurt (again) if it’s not claimed and people want to hear it.
About Feeding Fingers: Established in 2006, Feeding Fingers relocated to Europe in 2010 and evolved into a global project featuring Justin Curfman, Bradley Claborn, and Julian “Scotty” Bryan. The band has a versatile discography, including 7 albums and features in films and TV shows. Known for resonating with post-punk and indie fans, their eclectic range covers genres from jazz to electro, pop, and rock.
About Antic Clay: Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Michael Bradley, previously of Myssouri (1997-2005), currently performs as Antic Clay. Notable works include his solo double CD “Hilarious Death Blues” and collaborations with John Fryer’s Black Needle Noise project and Jarboe in The Sweet Meat Love and Holy Cult.
I’m very excited about this show and my first visit to Kraków. Some very lovely people worked diligently to make it happen – including Monika, in this nice post that I want to share with you:
We’ll be playing Star Bar once again, this time invited by our new friends in Rare Birds, along with The Ides of June. We are “headlining” (wink) so we’ll probably be on around 11. No worries – it’s a Saturday night! I think it’s interesting – our bands are decidedly different, but there’s a commonality. Perhaps the hats (grin). In any case Antic Clay will bring a monster set – and we’re still not exactly where I want us to be, sonically/musically. We have been rehearsing diligently, despite the typical holiday disruptions. I hope this early 2023 show is as excellent as I’ve heard us be, and sets the tone for the entire coming year. Tickets here. Or click the poster below for the Facebook Event page.
Found some footage I've never shared. This was our debut show as this 3-piece lineup consisting of Michael Bradley, Beau Eadon and Michael Appel. A very early version of All Rise recorded on Mikey's GoPro, and apparently sponsored by Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Want a closeup of a tipped tallboy? Wait for it!
An interesting gig at an empty place that longs to be full. Thanks to Catherine Duke for the video.Photograph by Catherine Duke http://catduke.com
More photos and video to come. It was an interesting show in an interesting spot. Atlanta Underground is like a ghost town. Homeless wandering, empty business fronts. So much potential. I sat next to a bronze sculpture of a man feeding a pigeon. Downtown Atlanta. 30 years ago I had a picture taken at the same spot. I’ll post both here shortly. But my overriding feeling was that this place should be thriving. And it ain’t.
ANTIC CLAY LIVE at ADNA 2022 DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL & TOUR OF LOFTS
Underground Atlanta
Fellow musicians will agree that there were always a few anomalous gigs that turned out to be very great. I expect that with this one. Antic Clay at Underground Atlanta on a Sunday afternoon in November. Who knows how we’ll be received? Come on out for something special that won’t take your whole day. Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/855768972271590
DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL AND TOUR OF LOFTS OVERVIEW What: The Downtown Festival and Tour of Lofts is a neighborhood festival that has been on an over ten year hiatus! Needless to say, the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association is thrilled to be bringing the festival back and again welcoming friends from all over Atlanta to our neighborhood!
When: Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13, 2022.
Saturday: Tour of Lofts is 11am to 4:30pm. Festival begins at 11am. Sunday: Tour of Lofts is 12pm to 3:30pm. Festival begins at 12pm. Where: The Tour of Lofts will take visitors all around Downtown! Check in for the Tour of Lofts will be at the main Festival area at Underground Atlanta. Specific information to follow.
Why: The Downtown Festival and Tour of Lofts is a fundraiser for the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association as well as an opportunity for Downtown residents and businesses to welcome Atlanta to our neighborhood!
Do I need a ticket? Attending Tour of Lofts requires purchasing a ticket. Attending the Downtown Festival at Underground Atlanta is free!
Other questions? Please don’t hesitate to email communications@atlantadna.org.
Join us in a listening party for the 2 long-awaited new songs from Antic Clay: Brother Wolf Sister Moon (with guest vocals by Mlny Parsonz of Royal Thunder) and Center of the Night. 8 P.M. CET/2 P.M. EST and again at 8 P.M. EST. Songs will be available for download from Bandcamp after the first premiere.https://www.facebook.com/events/2213129385477497/
Antic Clay (Michael Bradley solo) dives back into wonderful Budapest in a solo show featuring songs from 2020’s forthcoming “Broom of Fire” as well as selections from “Hilarious Death Blues” and covers and who-knows general revelry. The goal is to take the whole band back to Europe in late 2020.
We’re very pleased to announce the first full-band performance of Antic Clay in forever. With all-new material, working out the individual songs from the upcoming album Broom of Fire.
This is the new beginning. I’ll need to be much more active on this website now that we’re gaining momentum.
As I build toward recording Broom of Fire in Los Angeles (New target date: 2nd week of November), I am recording acoustic video/audio to share with the production team out there, and give them a chance to become familiar with each song. So here’s another one. Best sound with headphones on.
Hello – I’m happy to be playing my 3rd Porchfest in a row this coming Saturday, October 13th. It’s always interesting to play my original songs to an array of strolling families with their carousing children running through the yards. Naturally I feel compelled to play more uplifting material in such an environment. Each year there is a call for performers and we are (usually) given a different host porch to play from, with a one-hour slot, while hundreds of people walk around and enjoy a huge cornucopia of music styles.
If “Hurricane Michael” (first time in my life) doesn’t disrupt things, it seems we will have our first taste of lovely Autumn weather this weekend. I look forward to that almost as much as playing.
If you live in town, come see me from 4 – 5 p.m. at 816 3rd Avenue.
Thank you for a very nice set at a very local bistro in Prague – everyone was so gracious and appreciative. Only a few spoke English – and so once again music is the universal means of communication. I will return!
I’m very excited to play my second solo show in Europe – tonight at Bistro U Veselé Kozy. This, like last December in Budapest, will be a humble acoustic show, as it’s really just coordinated by European friends on my way to a business trip in Denmark. Once the next album is released however, I have absolute ambitions to do a proper tour, with other players, promotion and multiple cities. Meanwhile, if you happen to read this and can come out, or recommend to a Czech friend that they attend, that would be swell.
Set list tonight will likely include many covers, as this looks to be a patio-style gig (rather than a dedicated Antic Clay show). I always hope to please a crowd in that atmosphere, and that typically involves playing some songs they’ll recognize. So I’ll probably include some Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and such. Once I return from Europe, my next focus is on the actual recording of Broom of Fire, for which I plan to raise funds and lay down tracks in Los Angeles. Best to all, and keep in touch!
Another interesting collaboration, this time with Antic Clay. John Fryer’s Black Needle Noise project is certainly not unknown to you. Once in a while, this producer releases a song that is more or less interesting to the name of the music scene. Tracks run out of bandcamp and can be downloaded for free (you can find them here). The latest collaborations with a musician, called Antic Clay, is a renowned protagonist of the American genre in Sweden (which could be approached by the ignorant as a “dark Gothic country”). The song “That Which Watches” has also touched a video clip and brings with it the darkened melodic genre of the singer, to see the black and white video you can find here:
"The Black Needle Noise excursion for the track “That Which Watches” featuring Antic Clay is a captivating song that fills one with unbridled optimism All the elements of complexity and intense beats that drive Black Needle Noise are present. There is something inherently different about this track however that stands apart from Fryer’s previous work in the project. It’s the resonant feeling you take away from the song after listening. There is a lingering feeling you can take on the world and leave your own lasting mark that differentiates itself. It’s rather unexplainable, but after listening to the music and seeing the beautiful film noir aspect of the accompanying video, perhaps the viewer will walk away with the same feeling. It’s a piece that leaves you with a sense of hope, which is something the world can certainly use right now."
"Our latest destination features the songwriting and vocal talents of Antic Clay. He tells a tale as old as time...that of good and evil and the ever-watching eye judging all that he sees. "That Which Watches" unfolds like an Old Testament story as told through the lens of off the beaten path Americana. There's maturity and wisdom in Clay's voice, and Fryer's score, while subtle, intensifies and expands on the authority there. As always, he has created the perfect palette for the featured artists to show off their talents."
4-track recording, circa 1989. CHILDREN released one cassette in 1988, “Sleep.” This and others to come are previously unreleased recordings, before Children evolved into Alabaster, Alabaster changed to Myssouri when Michael Bradley moved to Atlanta; when Myssouri dissipated Bradley continued as Antic Clay.
A posthumous release of short stories by the revered Denis Johnson – I’ll warm up the crowd with a batch of songs to suit the occasion. Come out and ignore your stupid smart phone for a change.
I’m pleased to have been invited to this. Somehow Denis Johnson’s work slipped past my radar. Especially strange since I like Raymond Carver. As I told the fellow who invited me to play this, perhaps I shouldn’t have re-read Blood Meridian so many times and I would have encountered Denis Johnson. Ah well. I’ll probably play several Townes Van Zandt songs, as they seem to fit with his characters.
On Monday night I participated for the first time with this group that performs tribute nights regularly. This one was for Bowie’s birthday, as well as Elvis Presley’s. Actually, was it also Elvis’ birthday – yes it was! Strange how huge cultural icons have so many remoras of info swirling around them, one is bound to miss some key data.
It was a great night in that, for me, it was reminiscent of clumsy theater with hectic, chaotic talent abounding. As I expected from the enormous roster of songs, there were quite a few train wrecks – but as I also expected, many magic moments sprang forth.
There’s only a bit of video, at least so far. But here’s a clip of me singing China Girl with a very talented group of musicians.
Thank you to dr. Halász Gábor for the photos. More to come – it was a packed room with a very enthusiastic audience. It was an honor to play to people across the world who actually know and love my original songs. Positively inspired; I will return.
“A legkisebb kavics is hosszú éles ceruzavonást rajzol a homokba és az emberek meg a lovuk messze eléjük nyúló fekete árnya akárha az éjszaka emléke amit maguk mögött hagytak mely csápjaival utánuk nyúl és az újra rájuk váró sötétséghez köti őket. Fejüket lehorgasztva lovagoltak arctalan a szemükbe húzott kalap alatt mint egy álmában menetelő hadsereg.”
Részlet Cormac McCarthy Véres Délkörök című regényéből… Michael Bradley erről a világról énekel, a véres, poros, füstös vadnyugat hiteles krónikása. Mintha Johnny Cash Joy Divisiont játszana… Zenekarai, a Myssouri és az Antic Clay a gothic country megkerülhetetlen alapműveit alkották meg.
A koncert ingyenes és pontosan kezdődik!
Michael Bradley után érdemes a Lumenben maradni, mert a remek ‘sad surf’ banda, a Signore Crust lép fel!
“The smallest pebble also draws a long crimson pencil into the sand and the black shadow of people and horses that are far ahead of them, as much as the memory of the night left behind behind them with their tatters bound to them by the darkness they are waiting for them again. under a hat as a marching army in a dream. ”
Detail from Cormac McCarthy’s Bloody Circle of Circuses … Michael Bradley sings on this world, the authentic chronicle of bloody, dusty, smoky wild westwestern. As if playing Johnny Cash Joy Division … His orchards, Myssouri and Antic Clay were the inevitable basics of the gothic country.
The concert is free and starts right away!
After Michael Bradley, it’s worth staying in the Lumen because the great ‘sad surf’ band, Signore Crust is coming up!
Hello! I’m happy to announce I’ll be playing a show somewhere in Budapest in early December. Details on that to come. Meanwhile, here’s a new original from the forthcoming album. Rough draft. Feedback welcome. Well, maybe. 🙂
I will be playing a 30-minute solo electric set in the middle of an artistic duo’s performance known as Guitar Drag, tonight at Kavarna in Decatur, just outside Atlanta.
Join us for an intimate and intense evening of performances by Jed Drummond and Nicolette Emanuelle, featuring special honored guest Antic Clay. Also, the first reprise of J&N’s project Guitar Drag, a tribute to legendary Atlanta-born songwriter Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses!
