Known for his impeccable grooves and versatility, Clayton Turnage, aka Clayfunk, is an incredibly talented drummer with high-profile international experience. Clayton, a decorated marine, originally fell in love with drumming when he was just six years old. After being honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps in 2001, he decided to turn this lifelong passion into a career. Clayton has since partnered with a multitude of skilled musicians such as Grammy-nominated artist Terrence Jones (aka Tziyon), smooth Jazz artist Eric Darius, Men of Standard, Rick James bassist Oscar Alston, Korean singer SuperPhat, and the NBA Rhythm Cats (just to name a few). 

 

Clayton's first big break came in 2001 when he agreed to go on tour with The Alley Cats, a group based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Together, they traveled down the East Coast of the US on a Carnival cruise ship, playing for audiences in Tampa, Key West, the Grand Cayman Islands, and even Cozumel, Mexico. Shortly after, Clayton landed yet another tour with Fantasy, a Motown and R&B dance cover band. 

Upon returning home, he became the drummer for a large church in Charlotte. As an in-house musician, he met and performed with several of the top recording artists in the Gospel music industry. He also took a four-week leave of absence to tour Seoul, the capital city of Korea, with Gospel singer SuperPhat to promote the Korean artist's new CD, All Eyes on Him. This tour entailed multiple live performances and several radio interviews. 

Clayton later joined the newly formed drum team, The Rhythm Cats. The 2nd ever drum team in NBA history, this dynamic group of drummers played for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Charlotte Hornets) and received endorsements from several big companies including Remo and Pacific Drums.

Later, while employed as the drum manager for Sam Ash Music Store in Charlotte, Clayton had the opportunity to work with many awe-inspiring musicians. For example, he provided the beat for every track on Hayden Lee's debut Alternative Rock project, House of the Lonely Souls. Even more impressively, he performed with acclaimed Jazz artist Eric Darius on multiple occasions, thus proving that he was capable of handling himself in the big leagues. 

Clayfunk, as he is now known, is not only talented but also versatile. Upon finishing his work on House of the Lonely Souls, he was asked by Hayden Lee's studio engineer to drum for the soundtrack of the upcoming movie, Goodbye. His work on this musical project was so well received that he was eventually invited by a producer to play a small role in the film itself. This would not be his only on-screen appearance, in fact, as he was later interviewed for the TV program, Nothing But Drums. 

More recently, Clayton began working with producer Terence Jones (aka Tziyon), the musical director for one of America's fastest-growing churches. Since their introduction, Clayton has not only performed in concert with Tziyon but also contributed to Tziyon's latest CD. This project allowed him to work with musicians from many different cultural and musical backgrounds and proved invaluable to his development as an artist.

Today, fans will be excited to know that Clayfunk has released his debut instrumental project, Infant Stages.