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”It was my first gig at the Hog’s Breath and I didn’t think I’d make it,” the singer-songwriter recalled. “All the news broadcasts were saying the Keys were closed.” Bullard came to play for two weeks and arrived in time to see his first Fantasy Fest. "As great as it was, I still saw people walking around in a daze, trying to enjoy themselves,” Bullard remembered. “The after effects of the hurricane were still visible, if you looked.” Bullard now plays the Hog’s Breath about every six to eight weeks. He performs barefooted, in T-shirt and shorts, a far cry from the image of a country singer in Tony Lama boots, jeans, western shirt and cowboy hat. “I began this on South Padre Island, Texas,” he said. “This is the tropics, I dress for the tropics. I can’t image performing on a deck with boots. However, this past winter was cold, so when I was on stage I had on long pants and shoes - sometimes.” Bullard does wear the cowboy hat, jeans and boots when the venue calls for it.
People on vacation have come up to Bullard and told him they checked his Web site – www.clintbullard.com - and planned their week in Key West around his schedule. “Man, that makes me feel good,” Bullard said. “The stage here feels like it was made for me. It’s comfortable and everyone is great. I’m having fun on stage and that has to translate to all the friends I see while I’m singing.” Charlie Bauer, general manager of the Key West Hog’s Breath since its opening in 1988, was responsible for bringing Bullard to Key West. “His music helped lift the spirits of many people [after the hurricane],” he said. “If he raised a tent somewhere in town, he could hold a revival,” Bauer laughed. Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Bullard completed his degree in radio, TV and film from Texas Christian University and Baylor. He minored in French in college and uses his Texas Spanish to charm the Spanish-speaking guests in the audience. After graduating he worked for two seasons on the TV production staff of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, in Hollywood, Calif. But the entertainment bug kept biting at him and he was soon performing at the club scene in Los Angeles and then moved on to South Padre Island, where he met and married Tricia Newhaus. They now live in Nashville, Tenn., where he writes full time. While he writes country music, his repertoire on stage goes from country to pop and classic rock. Bullard has his thoughts on today’s country music and the recording industry. “The record companies have homogenized the sound,” he said. “They are trying to cross over to pop and listener ship is down. Texas groups are up and coming, Texas music is honest. I’m not hearing honest country that much on the radio.” Some of Bullard’s most requested songs are those he has written and more than a few of them are about his wife. After singing one of his own songs he yells out to the crowd, “I made that up, but it’s a true story.” And usually throws his arms up and yells, “Thank you Key West!” “Playing the diverse crowds of Key West has been a big help to my performing skills,” he said. “There is nothing like a live response to a new song.” Bullard takes song requests and often asks the person making the request to join him on stage. “Sometimes it’s great,” he said with a laugh. “Other times the singing is awful, but I am able to incorporate it in the show and everyone seems to have a good time with it.” No two nights are the same. “I don’t play anything I don’t like,” Bullard said. “There are also songs I love but don’t play. I don’t ever want to get tired of them, like the Eagles ‘Hotel California.’” Bullard likes the music of Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Michael Martin Murphy, America, the Eagles, B.W. Stephenson and Brooks and Dunn. He enjoys performing in Key West because of his friends, but the island has also been a testing ground for his music. ”I don’t write when I come to Key West,” he said. “I’m usually too beat after performing. Four hours on stage is draining. I don’t do much afterward, but I’m too hyped to go right to sleep. Most nights I am up until 4 a.m. watching TV. But I do get a lot of inspiration for songs while I am here and put them on paper in Nashville.” Bullard’s first thoughts about coming to Key West to perform were how inspirational the island had been for writers. ”I think if I was here for a six-month stay without having to perform, Key West would be a good place to write,” he said As for the future, Bullard is planning on exploring the Texas music scene. “I know eventually some of my songs will be recorded and on the radio,” he said. His song “Mary Christmas from Texas, Y’all” has been played for the last three Christmas seasons. Tracy Byrd recorded it. “Of course I want my songs on the charts,” Bullard said. “It would be even better if I was singing them.” In the meantime, Bullard will keep on performing at the Hog’s Breath - he will be there this week - with his personal experiences evident in his songs. “I consider himself an observer of life,” he said. |
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Last
year Bullard spent more than 100 days performing in Key West. “When I
first came here I didn’t know anyone,” he said. “Today, when I’m on
the Hog’s Breath’s stage and look into the crowd I see the faces of
friends I’ve made here.” 
