With a sound that hearkens back to the golden era of West Coast honky-tonk, singer-songwriter Clay Harrell is following in the proud tradition of his influences: Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, and Buck Owens. Born in Beaumont, Texas in 1976, Clay and his family moved around the state before settling in Huntsville.  He got his first guitar at the age of twelve and was playing off and on in bands with high school friends by the time he was fifteen.   "Living in Huntsville, there wasn't much of a music scene, so I spent a lot of time just playing along with my radio.  That's how I spent most of my high school years, alone in my room with a guitar, woodshedding.  I was listening to anything I could get my hands on.  Anything from Hank Williams and Merle Haggard to Neil Young and Gram Parsons." After moving to Austin, Texas, in the summer of 1999, Clay played with various country rock bands before forming his own group that would later become known as "The Trailers". The first handful of gigs were performed at Buddy's Place on Burnet Road.  "Buddy's was the first place we were able to get some exposure when we started playing there on Monday nights.   We were just playing for tips but the experience was the most valuable thing.  I'll always be thankful to Jackie Smith for letting us get our foot in the door there." Since then, Clay and his band have been entertaining audiences in and around Austin with their engaging live shows.