If you want to confirm that the coffee in Seattle is good, ask Clara because she made it her second stop as part of her Loveprint tour that rocked the Q Cafe.
The venue was small and very tight nit but had the feeling of being at a major concert – that could only fit about 100 people. Clara herself was very energetic when she found out that “this is the third time ever that this place has ever sold out” which also invigorated the audience.
Before Clara went on stage, the Seattle based band New Heights opened up for her with an explosive response. They performed several songs such as “Peaches” along with their new song “Take Me On.” After a short performance they exited off stage and it was time for Clara Chung!
Soon after, Clara came on stage with an electrifying welcoming from the audience with Clara saying “I think I might move here, pretty soon” which made the audience ecstatic. Of course she was joking, but this did not stop the audience from being excited over the prospect.
After, she went on to explain why her band could not come with her to the Emerald City but she did have a back-up which the audience was more than pleased with. She invited New Heights back on stage with her and gave an unforgettable performance that was a mixture of not only Clara’s songs, but also some comedy, conversations with the audience. One of the members of New Heights, Bobby, did his impression of John Legend. At another point in between songs, Clara and the lead singer of New Heights, Travis Graham, had a dance off in which Clara kept saying “I can’t dance!” In the end she did a little Duggy to please the fans.
Clara sang her cover of Far East Movement’s “Rocketeer” by the audience request. The performance was one to remember with Clara C. and New Heights combination performing “Hum”, “Offbeat” – with Clara saying that she was going to cry because the audience was singing along – “Heartstring”, “The Camel Song”, “Dear Daphne” and ending with “Loveprint.”
Even more exciting, during the LA show at Hotel Cafe, someone proposed on stage to everyone’s delight!
For more pictures in LA go HERE.
For more pictures in Seattle go HERE.
Below you will find the interview that was conducted before the venue started in which Clara shares her future plans with her career.
HypnoticAsia: Why did you choose Seattle? Out of all the cities in America?
Clara: Uh, well we definitely wanted to do this on the West Coast because it’s the best coast. But Seattle we like, because we’ve been here before and the audience is really great and the coffee is really yummy. And every time I’m up here it’s sunshiny and 75 degrees which is perfect so we just thought it was ideal.
HypnoticAsia: What actually inspires you to continue singing? Any personal feeling or other artist?
Clara: Definitely other people inspire me and artists should inspire other artists; that’s not limited to music either. But what inspires me to keep singing… is like imagine the most important message [that] you could want to convey to somebody like you’re on your death bed and you need to…. And speaking it just isn’t enough for me to say. Something about putting it to a song and like… there’s something definitely more powerful about it… and to me it’s the most beautiful form of expression.
HypnoticAsia: So you will always be a singer?
Clara: I will always be a singer.
HypnoticAsia: What is your favorite song to perform and why?
Clara: That’s a toughie. Because I like rocking out with the band, like going forte on everything, but I also like the hush like you heard us doing blackbird, maybe? And that’s real intimate. Off of my album…. I’m going to say Heartstrings because, we loop, I loop like stuff from the end of Offbeat live. And then right at the end of it I cut it and we go right into it like, we have this drum (does drum sounds) for Heartstrings. It’s groovy it’s got the loop section in it and we rock out and it gets intimate and we have all of it.
HypnoticAsia: Is there any other song that you like to sing other than your own? Like do you have a favorite one or is there a top 5?
Clara: Again very well felt. Because something about Adele’s Melodies they release something inside you and you’re like YEA~! But then other songs like, John Mayer’s Stop this Train, like that hits me right here (points at heart) where you’re like concerned about your and you don’t know what to do, stuff like that.
HypnoticAsia: What’s your most memorable performance and what about it made it special?
Clara: Anytime the audience sings along and I hear them more than I hear myself. I don’t know if audience members know that we artists want to cry the second we hear people sing our lyrics back to us, you know?
HypnoticAsia: So in a way every performance has something special about it?
Clara: Of course, because every audience it’s like meet a different person for coffee. It’s a different vibe everywhere I go.
HypnoticAsia: Do you like performing live or shooting music videos more?
Clara: Oh my god! Live! Music videos, awful!
HypnoticAsia: Okay, haha. What about music videos do you dislike?
Clara: Well, I don’t really like getting all dolled up and sitting in make-up for an hour. And the hours of the shoot are usually really weird. Like my music video for Heartstrings…. (we briefly got interrupted so I asked the question again) I enjoy the process; I love music videos, of course. But then, usually shoot hours are really abnormal like 5pm to 5am, that was my shoot hour. And it was outside, it was freezing, I was wearing this summer dress because it’s supposed to be warm and you think it’s warm when you watch the video but it’s freezing and the grass is forming dew for the morning and I’m like sitting on it and it’s cold and hypothermia… It’s just not the most comfortable situation but it’s always fun, you always become family with the crew.
HypnoticAsia: Do you feel that it’s a little weird watching yourself when everything is completed?
Clara: Oh no, it feels really liberating especially when you’re proud of the finished project. [I’ve] Gotten used to seeing myself on camera now.
HypnoticAsia: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Clara: Oh! Leslie Feist, also known as Feist.
HypnoticAsia: Is there a reason?
Clara: She’s awesome.
HypnoticAsia: Okay, haha I’ll take that.
Clara: In every way she’s awesome.
HypnoticAsia: Do you have any plans for overseas promotions?
Clara: Yes! We’re hitting Asia, which I’ve never stepped foot on Asian soil. Being Asian myself I haven’t been to Asia. So we’re going to go to Korea, which is my motherland. And maybe meander over to Japan and do some touring there. I want to hit Australia because they’ve been asking me to come for a long time so… It’s going to take some cash money but we’re going to try and get ourselves over there.
HypnoticAsia: What are you plans for future promotions other than overseas?
Clara: Oh, in like what sense?
HypnoticAsia: As in expending instead of the West coast…
Clara: You mean like expanding the Clara empire? Hahaha
HypnoticAsia: Yea, haha why not?
Clara: Um, we have an East Coast tour in the works, very much in the works. The gears are turning and then for… Of course another album is on its way. I’m back in song writing mode and it’s natural, I’m not forcing myself this time. So, another album definitely on its way, music videos; I want to get a music video out for every song. Actually I have 1,2.. 3 in the works right now – at the same time.
HypnoticAsia: Wow! Oh! Okay
Clara: My vision was to have a video for every song because I thought every song deserved a video. You know, doing the do.
HypnoticAsia: Do you have any advice for others who want to be youtube stars?
Clara: Youtube stars or artists?
HypnoticAsia: Both, as an artist and youtube star.
Clara: Well the base of both of those, I would hope, is that you’re doing what you love. Because if you’ve found something that you love and you don’t do it, I personally think that it’s kind of semi-suicidal like you’re keeping yourself away from the one thing that keeps you going. So always do what you love. Youtube stars, it always depends on what you’re doing. There’s film-makers, there’s comedians, there’s musicians on youtube, so I don’t know what I would say to them. But artists, just figure out you, that’s what your twenties are for, if you’re at your twenties and do you.
HypnoticAsia: Do you actually picture yourself continuing your career until, let’s say you get married maybe have kids?
Clara: Oh my god! We’re going there now! I was told by somebody that it’s not about how big you make it it’s about how long you last. If you can keep your career sustaining a steady path, I think, I would think that this is it; this is what it is for me until the day I turn old and grey.
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