William Clark Green Reveals 1st Album in 4 Years, “Baker Hotel”

photo: Zack Knudsen

It’s hard to not still think of William Clark Green as the “next big thing” in Texas country music. After all, that’s the name of one of his signature songs. When he first appeared on the scene, he did make a monster splash with another one of his signature songs, “She Likes The Beatles,” and with so many living legends still working the Texas circuit, you can be middle aged, and still feel like the new kid.

But active now for 15 years, with five records under his belt, and now 35 years old, the singer/songwriter and member of the Texas supergroup The Panhandlers is taking a more reflective and introspective approach to what will be his sixth record and his first in four years when Baker Hotel hits the streets on March 25th.

“What this record means to me is self-reflection, realizing that I just turned 35 and it’s like, ‘Where am I at in life? Where do I want to be? Where did I think I would be?’ Not being able to work [during the lockdown], I had a lot of time to sit and think about myself, and what’s really locking me down, and that’s what I think this record is about,” says Green.

The Eastland, Texas native has proven his knack for utilizing location in his music with his last couple of records, Ringling Road from 2015 (Dat-na-na-na-na-na), and Herbert Island from 2018. He will try to do the same on Baker Hotel, named after the towering, once opulent, and somewhat ominous 17-story landmark located in downtown Mineral Wells, TX that was originally constructed in the 1920’s and now sits abandoned.

Built to take advantage of the mineral water craze of the roaring 20’s, the hotel was probably a bad idea to begin with, barely got by through the Depression, survived through the war years when a nearby base came to life, but has been closed for good since 1972, with it’s ornate architecture drawing curiosity seekers, but it’s broken and boarded up windows also giving the structure a ghostly quality.

As for the music of Baker Hotel, it’s said to veer between roots rock, Western balladry, swampy country, and Southern rock. To get folks started, William Clark Green has released the song “All You Got” (listen below), which definitely sticks to more of the rock side of the William Clark Green sound.

TRACK LIST:

1. Feel Alive
2. Gun To Your Head
3. Give a Damn
4. Anymore
5. Baker Hotel
6. Dog Song
7. All Pot No Chicken
8. Getting Drunk
9. All You Got
10. Best Friends
11. Love to Hate
12. Leave Me Alone
13. Me, Her and You

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