Clara's Affair

Clara’s Affair is the product of four talented musicians coming together for the love of the song. Sounding like a cross between Sarah McLachlan, Daniel Lanois, Sheryl Crow and Pink Floyd, the band combines meaningful lyrics with well-crafted arrangements. Front and center are the soulful vocals of Aubrey Zoli, a lifelong singer and songwriter who got her start at age six. Granted, the song was about teddy bears and rainbows and best friends, but she wrote it, and she made her family sit an...

Clara’s Affair is the product of four talented musicians coming together for the love of the song. Sounding like a cross between Sarah McLachlan, Daniel Lanois, Sheryl Crow and Pink Floyd, the band combines meaningful lyrics with well-crafted arrangements. Front and center are the soulful vocals of Aubrey Zoli, a lifelong singer and songwriter who got her start at age six. Granted, the song was about teddy bears and rainbows and best friends, but she wrote it, and she made her family sit and listen to it. A Detroit native, Aubrey has relocated to Seattle in 2004 after living in the U.K. and traveling across Europe. Aubrey also plays keys. Backing up Aubrey is a tight and restrained rhythm section. Gooch lays down tasteful beats and plays a major role in shaping the Clara’s Affair sound. His style is influenced by Matt Chamberlain (Critters Buggin, Edie Brickell) and Brian Blade (Wayne Shorter), and comes from the Daniel Lanois school of music production. He is a devout practitioner of Pilates, and also plays the chimes. Mark Reed provides the bottom end on the five-string bass. He started piano lessons at age 4, guitar at 12, cello in junior high school and then played upright bass in the Everett Youth Symphony. After a stint in the Navy, he returned to Washington in 1995 to play in a variety of cover and original bands. He is influenced by Sting, Sir Paul McCartney, John Entwistle and Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots), and inspired by Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten (Béla Fleck) and Flea. Mark also plays keys. Filling up the space in the songs with layers of sonic goodness is guitarist Tyler Hamilton. Tyler is a veteran of the singer-songwriter circuit in Seattle, drawing inspiration from Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Chris Isaak. He was once a hair model.