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s the great German poet once said, music is the revitalizing water that washes the dust from our souls. It brings us joy, opportunity and endless emotion. No matter the event in your life, there is likely a soundtrack playing to the memory. For one Evant native, the story couldn’t be more true. Clayton Landua is widely known throughout Central Texas and beyond for formerly fronting the band, 6 Market Blvd. “I’ve always been drawn to music,” Landua noted. Writing his first song at only 18, Landua had an affinity for putting poetic words on paper. However it wasn’t until age 20 that he became more serious about creating music. He acquired his first guitar and quickly began teaching himself how to play. Landua began, like many, learning basic
chords and progressed to learning his favorite songs. “It was very rewarding to learn one of my favorite songs and then, all of a sudden, I started writing my own songs,” recalled Landua. During his studies at Tarleton State University, Clayton began getting into a handful of open mic nights. Over time, he and some friends began running different open mic nights in Stephenville and wound up forming a band. “Before I knew it, more and more people were showing up to hear me sing a couple of songs during my set. We started being able to go out and do some gigs. We’d put up flyers all over campus, all the time, every time we had a show. Before we knew it, [we were] selling the venue out,” remembered Landua.
This open mic night band was the beginning of 6 Market Blvd. playing with the very lineup with which they went on tour. The band was composed of lead singer Clayton Landua, lead guitarist Josh Serrato, bass guitarist Ben Hussey, rhythm and lead guitarist Scott Neal, and drummer Dallas Neal. The band was playing open mic nights every week across Stephenville when they learned of a music competition. 95.9 The Ranch, of Fort Worth, was hosting a songwriting contest. Clayton and Scott entered the competition and performed acoustic versions of the band’s songs, “Picture of You” and “That’s the Way Love Goes.” The pair swept the competition and was awarded an opening act at 8.0’s Bar in Fort Worth and a recording opportunity with Fort Worth Sound. Fall 2019 | Our Hometowns 23
