Clayton Counts
Blind musician, DJ, and co-founder of Bull of Heaven.
Clayton Counts was an American musician, composer, and former DJ who formed half of the experimental duo Bull of Heaven. Born with detached retinas, he lost sight in his right eye after childhood surgeries.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 19 August 1973
- Died
- 22 November 2016
- Origin
- Denver, Colorado
- Instrument
- Guitar
- bass guitar
- synthesizers
- piano
- computer
- Genre
- Drone
- experimental
- sound art
- noise
- dark ambient
- psychedelic rock
- progressive rock
- post-rock
- jazz
- Occupation
- Musician
- composer
- DJ
- writer
- Years active
- 2006–2016
- Past member of
- Bull of Heaven, The Beachles
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Counts came into the world with both retinas detached. Surgeries early in childhood made things worse, leaving him fully blind in his right eye and with only partial sight in his left. He started out in Austin, Texas. During the 1990s, he gained a reputation for making prank calls to the Austin Community Access Center, especially targeting Alex Jones’s show. A parking lot fight involving Counts and three others against Jones took place, though the two sides tell different stories about what happened. In response, Jones is said to have used FBI connections to get Counts labeled a terrorist and to claim he had child pornography. Federal agents raided the FringeWare Review bookstore, which was the base for a cyberculture magazine Counts wrote for. The case was eventually dropped. In 2000, Counts moved to Chicago. There he met Neil Keener, who later became a member of Counts’s band Bull of Heaven.
DJ work
In the 2000s, Counts worked as a DJ to afford a living, performing at clubs including Lava, Whiskey Sky, Reserve, Darkroom, and the Allstate Arena, as well as at private functions. In July 2005, he was involved in an alleged battery of a bouncer at the Lava club. Two sides of the story exist: Counts claimed club owner Brian Sarpalius (aka Phantom 45) told him his set was too loud, interfered with his equipment, unplugged it, and had him removed by a bouncer. Sarpalius claimed Counts caused a scene and damaged club equipment. Counts allegedly discharged a can of mace at the bouncer's feet as a warning shot, though accounts differ. Counts was arrested that night, and his equipment was lost for several days in the possession of another club-goer. He had been DJing at Lava for four years before Sarpalius became owner; the incident ended his shows there. Charges were dropped after a lengthy court case.
Musical career
In September 2006, Clayton Counts became widely known after he combined The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds with The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band into a single album. He called it Sgt. Petsound's Lonely Hearts Club Band and credited it to a group named The Beachles. The project marked the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds and gained attention from several websites. That popularity caught EMI's notice, and the company sent Counts a cease and desist letter, asked for the IP addresses of everyone who had downloaded the album from his blog, and tried to sue him for over $30 million. Counts removed the album, and the lawsuit was abandoned. Later that December, his website announced he had died, but this turned out to be a hoax. In 2008, Counts and Neil Keener started the band Bull of Heaven. Their first track, 001: Weed Problem, came out on January 30, 2008. Since then, the band has put out more than 300 numbered works, another set of 100 pieces using Roman numerals, several very long compositions, and various untitled tracks, sound puzzles, and anti-music. On January 21, 2009, Counts appeared on the front page of the Denver Post's arts section, playing a solo piano piece. In 2012, Bull of Heaven's website experienced some outages and has faced ongoing problems. That July, the band said a "Series 2" of music was on the way. In 2013, they announced that new work was almost ready, and they have since posted new pieces on their Facebook page and Internet Archive collection. As of 2014, the band continued to release music regularly, with Counts giving an interview to Vice in the Netherlands in February and the group playing at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center in St. Louis.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Clayton Counts born?
Clayton Counts was born on 19 August 1973.
When did Clayton Counts die?
Clayton Counts died on 22 November 2016.
When was Clayton Counts active?
Clayton Counts was active from 2006 to 2016.
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