Cape grad Colleen Clark unveils debut album

Cape graduate and Rehoboth native Colleen Clark has released her first solo album, "As the Crow Flies," showcasing nine original compositions. The album features many musicians familiar to the Rehoboth-area music scene, including Laura Cerulli (Mama’s Black Sheep), Anthony Baray (The Dug), and Suzanna Mallow (The Zen Monkeys, Red Letter Day), and also boasts guest appearances from some national names, including five-time Grammy-winner Cindy Cashdollar (Asleep at the Wheel, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals) on steel guitar and Grammy-nominee Brian Simms (The Junkyard Saints) on accordion.

While Clark places herself comfortably in the acoustic genre, "As the Crow Flies" offers an impressive variety of styles, ranging from heartfelt ballads to funky blues tunes. In addition to composing, Clark also contributes all the lead vocals and a number of instrumental tracks, including guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, piano, and percussion.

Clark first joined the local music scene at 14 as a guitar player in the local surf band, The Channel Surfers, managed by local music teacher and musician Walt Hetfield. At 16, she went on to play with Little Sister, holding her own among adult bandmates as she ripped Allman Brothers-esque guitar leads.

She also was a member of the Cape Henlopen High School jazz band and graduated in 2002 as valedictorian of her class. She went on to study math and music at the University of Notre Dame and later received a master of arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in acoustical studies.

In 2007, Clark began working as an engineer at AMi-Seagull Studios in Salisbury, Md., with producer/engineer Suzanna Mallow. On her days off, she would often record her own music, slowly building an arsenal of original recordings that would become "As the Crow Flies" six years later. Clark engineered many of the tracks, completed all the mixing in her home studio, and relinquished the reins in the final stages to mastering engineer Tony Correlli at The Deep End Studio in Baltimore, Md.

Because of the slow-and-steady approach taken in creating the album, the finished product gives an intimate look at the growth and progression of a local songwriter.

Clark now resides in Salisbury and works as the music technology coordinator at Salisbury University, teaching audio production and acoustics courses to undergraduate students. Her album is available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon.com, and hard copies can be purchased through her website at www.colleenmclark.com.