Texas-based singer-songwriter Clay DuBose returns with Father Time & Mother Nature, a powerful new album that blends rock, blues, and ​country

Texas-based singer-songwriter Clay DuBose returns with Father Time & Mother Nature, a powerful new album that blends rock, blues, and ​country
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​Texas-based singer-songwriter Clay DuBose returns with his most ambitious and emotionally resonant work to date, Father Time & Mother Nature, a sweeping new album that reflects on love, loss, family, and the passage of time. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by acclaimed artist and producer Ted Russell Kamp, the album marks DuBose’s long-awaited return to recording after stepping away from his solo career to focus on family and other creative pursuits.

Blending rock, blues, and country into a sound uniquely his own, DuBose has long occupied a space that feels both classic and forward-looking. With a vocal range spanning more than four octaves and influences ranging from Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison to Robert Plant, he delivers performances that combine rock intensity with Americana storytelling.

DuBose first emerged from the storied Sunset Strip music scene of the late 1980s, fronting a blues-rock band that secured a major-label development deal. In 1994, he began collaborating with Southern California guitar virtuoso Will Ray, merging DuBose’s rock roots with Ray’s electrifying country picking. The partnership produced the EP Life of the Party, which arrived just as the Americana radio format was emerging in 1995 and became one of the earliest examples of the genre’s blend of roots traditions and rock energy.

He continued to develop his Americana voice on the critically recognized albums Rewriting History and These Days. Rewriting History reached #23 on the Americana Music Association chart in 2003 and featured a fiery country-rock reinterpretation of The Doors’ “Love Me Two Times.” Its follow-up, These Days, climbed to #6 in 2005 and included a memorable collaboration with Garth Hudson of The Band on Bob Dylan’s “I Threw It All Away.”

After years focused on family and other professional endeavors, DuBose returned to songwriting with renewed purpose. The result is Father Time & Mother Nature, a record shaped by profound personal change. “I had gone through a lot since my last record,” DuBose explains. “My father passed away, my daughter was born, and the pandemic reminded everyone how fragile life can be. The songs reflect that arc of loves lost, time passing, and the urgency to make the most of the life we have.”

Produced by Ted Russell Kamp, the album was recorded entirely in Los Angeles and features an extraordinary lineup of musicians drawn from the city’s deep well of studio talent. The sessions brought together guitarists Brian Whelan, Doug Pettibone, Neal Casal, Dean Parks, and Will Ray, creating a layered tapestry of tones and textures across the record.

The band also includes contributions from Ted Russell Kamp (electric and acoustic bass), Danny Timms (piano and keyboards), John Schreffler (pedal steel), Carl Byron and Sasha Smith (Hammond organ), Jamie Douglas, Mitch Marine, and Mike Clarke (drums), Eric Corne (harmonica) and Brian Whelan also playing piano, Wurlitzer and singing background vocals. Award-winning blues vocalist Janiva Magness appears as a featured guest, sharing the microphone with DuBose during a spontaneous vocal session on the album’s title track.

The album was engineered by Mark Rains, Dusty Wakeman, and Ted Russell Kamp, mixed by Jim Scott and Mark Rains, and mastered by Pete Lyman.

Across eleven tracks, Father Time & Mother Nature moves between introspective ballads, roots-driven rock, and experimental arrangements.
“When Heroes Say Goodbye” reflects on the emotional impact of losing beloved musical icons like Chris Cornell, Tom Petty, Prince, and Neil Peart. “Winning Streak” uses Las Vegas imagery and Elvis references as a metaphor for gambling on new love, highlighted by Brian Whelan’s dynamic interplay between guitar and piano.

The album’s title track unfolds as a progressive musical journey, building toward a powerful finale featuring the late Neal Casal’s soaring guitar work, ferocious drumming from Jamie Douglas, and improvised vocals shared between DuBose and Janiva Magness.

Elsewhere, the deeply personal “I Know You’re Watching” reflects on the loss of DuBose’s father and the bittersweet reality that he never met his granddaughter. “Growing Wild” captures the dizzying speed at which children grow up, while the closing rendition of “Scotch & Soda” pays tribute to DuBose’s father, who first introduced him to the Kingston Trio classic.

Alongside the release of Father Time & Mother Nature, DuBose has launched his independent label, Lazy River Records. Through the imprint, he plans to continue releasing new music, remastering and reissuing catalog recordings, and sharing archival material through his newly launched YouTube channel.

“I realized that making music isn’t just something I do — it’s part of who I am,” DuBose says. “The act of creating is its own reward. My goal is simply to make music that resonates, touches people’s hearts, and stands the test of time.”
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With Father Time & Mother Nature, Clay DuBose delivers a powerful reminder that great songs — like the emotions behind them — only grow deeper with time.
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Tracklist:
1. Twisted On A Train 
2. Stairway To Nowhere 
3. Invisible Ink 
4. Landline 
5. Crosseyed Critters 
6. Oil Change 
7. East of Ordinary 
8. Unglued 
9. Delusions 
10. Backroads 

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