# Colorado bluegrass band Clay Street Unit is coming to Oklahoma City with their recently released debut album.

While the band was formed in Denver, most of their members are transplants, with lead singer Sam Walker originally hailing from Alabama. There, he was in a jam band that covered Phish and Grateful Dead songs.

Clay Street Unit’s first album, titled *Sin & Squalor*, was scheduled for release last year through a Sony label. But, when the label folded and the release of the bluegrass band's album was uncertain, it was just another thing for Sam Walker and the group to weather.

In this episode, Sam Walker talks about finally being able to release the album and the mix of influences that make up the sextet's sound.

# On jam bands

I actually grew up mainly just singing. And then when I went to college, joined a kind of a fun jam band — Widespread Panic, Phish, Grateful Dead cover band — just having fun playing at the bars and stuff. So that's kind of where I cut my teeth and then kind of picked up guitar toward the end of that and moved out to Denver.

So I kind of came about it a roundabout way, and was kind of writing songs before I played guitar and then left being in college and needed a way to sing the songs, picked up the instrument.

I understood what all those guys were going for and why people related to it so much and how much fun it was. But it just wasn't something that I'd been exposed to playing wise. And so I really played in this group where I met Scotty and Jack Klein, our banjo player, who was on the record.

We were all just playing these side little gigs in a band called Southbound String Band with our good buddies Evan Hudson and Stephen Huntley. And they really just kept pushing me. From a playing perspective, you know, I was singing most of the songs, but those guys started to give me more guitar responsibilities, and they were singing more lead.

And it was really a band of all people really pushing each other and empowering each other. And we're all still best buds and play together as much as we can But those guys really helped me feel comfortable in my own skin. And to start, you know, pushing it and getting out there and being comfortable. You know, a lot of those gigs are just about being comfortable enough to go for it and like, screwing up and getting through it and surviving.

They were you know, also patient with me. And so I feel like I just had such a great group of friends around me, and there's a million other dudes and chicks that were so influential and helpful and just making me feel comfortable enough to go out and and play gigs because I still get nervous every time we go out and play one.

You know, it means a lot to us. And it's definitely been funny going from solo singer songwriter to being in a six piece where we're trying to push the boundaries of country and and how they can all coexist. And I don't know, it's been a lot of fun figuring it all out.

# On debut album, Sin and Squalor

We were fortunate enough to work with an amazing producer, Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters, and he came in a couple weeks before we went to the studio. And really, we all had a big conversation about that and kind of rearranged just a few little, little things sonically in every song that that made everything a little bit more intentional and deliberate and lean into certain instruments, kind of counterbalancing other instruments and not worrying too much about who's playing when, but where the right instrument serves the song.

And so I think it was a lot of just trusting the choices we made and trusting the members of the band to all, you know, compliment each other and actively be listening. Because I think some of the things that ended up on the record were little moments that we didn't necessarily plan, that just happened organically, or a reaction of somebody playing something that ended up ended up being some of my favorite, you know, moments on the record when I look back on it.

I think it's kind of a reflection of the first record and and how we grew up from where we started to where we are now while writing it and becoming, you know, the band we are. We haven't had all that much time to get where we're going. And it's been such a blessing.

And I think we're just figuring it out along the way, mistakes and all, ruggedness and all, one show at a time. I think it just kind of reflects who we are as a band, just trying to make it make it with what we got. I mean, we have some great guys and and some great players.

I don't think any of us really were planning on, you know, playing all these amazing rooms that we're getting the opportunity to play. And so we're just grateful for every every night we get to do it. We're all at the end of the day, really, really close friends. It's you know, just such a blessing we get to do it together. So I think just the right group of people has been the best ingredient for us.

I think everybody does a great job of holding everybody accountable and just making sure everybody's being present and showing up every night and just trying to take advantage of every chance we get.

Clay Street Unit floats between bluegrass and southern rock