Beyond Research
My two favorite things outside of research are family and music. In day to day life, I go by
Charlie. In music, I go by Clark Kemp.
I was the drummer for Electric
Laser People, which is led by Dan
Paluska. With my move to Hotlanta, I gradually left the band. For a while, I
participated behind the scenes and occasionally performed. Now I just read the emails and jam with band members when they're in town. My
last performances with the band were in Boston and NYC back in June of 2007 to
celebrate the release of our first album, Straight
Talk on Raising Kids. Soon after, the album hit 132 on the RIYL
unweighted chart for radio play, just below the Beastie Boys album,
The Mix Up Capitol, at 131. Straight
Talk on Raising Kids has been in heavy rotation at college and
indie radio stations across the US throughout the summer, and we've
had international exposure through Russian pirates. The album has hit
the top 10 CMJ play lists of stations in NY, CA, IL, ME, TX, and VA,
and hit #1 at KTOO in Juneau, AK, and #4 at WNSU in Ft. Lauderdale,
FL.. We were also listed at #9 on The
Noise Top 30 Radio Chart. All of this has been a gratifying response to
our self-released, DIY album.
The national press response to Straight
Talk on Raising Kids has been more muted or at least less
sudden. We have had excellent regional press through
The Northeast Performer,
The Boston Globe,
The Noise,
Boston NOW,
The Weekly Dig,
The Boston Metro, and Whats Up Magazine. We also enjoyed our live radio interview with KSLU in St. Louis.
Electric Laser People is the most recent in a series of
bands for me. Prior to it, I was the leader of
Bucky Spins, a band
that took a permanent vacation during my final push to finish my
thesis as a graduate student. Red Fender
was our most popular song.