A change in directions is one reason singer/guitarist Josh Clayton-Felt left his band School of Fish.
"Michael (Ward) and I started the band writing together," Clayton-Felt remembered. "Then the time came when we were just sending cassettes back and fourth, and I realized we were running in two different directions."Clayton-Felt will play the Zephyr Club, 301 S. West Temple, Wednesday, April 17. Doors open at 7 p.m. His band will include drummer Pete Maloney, key-board-ist D.C. Collard - formerly of The The - and bassist Walt Vincent. The crackling rock of four-piece Scottish band Del Amitri will also play the club that night.
"When I first did this alone, I was going to name the (new) band Pigeon, a name I still like," continued Clayton-Felt. "But there are so many one-named bands out there it's become a trend. Still, I'm aiming for a continued career and really want a place to go. So I can continue to grow and change."
And expanding on that philosophy, the 25-year-old Boston native decided to make a unique album in this time of rage and grind.
"Even when I was still in School of Fish, I was writing songs that didn't sound like the band," Clayton-Felt said. "I would be recording with an old 8-track recorder in my home and collect a bunch of stuff here and there."
For example, Clayton-Felt always messed around on the drums when he had a chance. And when he found an old drum set, he banged on it for a while and added a track to one of his demos. The same went for a trumpet that was loaned to him by a friend and keyboards.
"I really enjoyed experimenting and doing those things," he said. "I had about 25-27 songs I had recorded in a year and a half.
"When I got the new record deal, I decided to keep on the same type of recording process," he said. "I also wanted to do the album in a home environment instead of holing myself up in a studio."
Clayton-Felt rented a house in Topanga Canyon, just outside Los Angeles and began recording what is now the finished album "Inarticulate Nature Boy."
"The studio is a very unnatural place to create music," he said. "The demos I did in the past were an extension of my life and very natural. I had a very good time doing it. And I wanted to keep it fresh for myself. The canyon did just that, and when I felt tired or bored, I'd just take a hike into the mountains, because the woods were just right there."
Still, Clayton-Felt said he didn't consciously sit down to write some of his best works that way.
"Those things just come to you," he explained. "I mean, after years of collecting ideas in the subconscious, there will be something that will spark a flow - whether it be newspapers, TV or something else. You become a vehicle for the song instead of the other way around. It preserves the spontaneity and fun. Because like in School of Fish, once it becomes a formula, it loses its appeal."
From the beginning, Clayton-Felt was always involved in music.
"In fourth grade I had a music class I'd always get to early so I could bang on the bongos," he laughed. "I'd scan the radio stations to find different music. When I was in eighth grade, I was involved in bands around school. I dropped out of college so I could play music and even moved to L.A., and that's when School of Fish happened. That lasted for 31/2 years.
"Now I'm into a wide range of styles," he continued. "I listen to everything from '40s swing and jazz to soul to blues. I found if you opened up your mind and ears, you find there are so many styles to try. By that, I don't mean borrow or steal, but I mean there are so many styles you could try your own experimentations on. But whatever type of music I'm doing, it always seemed like what I was going to do."