Clovis resident wants city filled with music, again

Jason Kidd said he fell in love with music as a child living in England.

Kidd, who was born in Clovis, moved back and forth between England and the United States until he was 5. He finally settled and married in Clovis and the 27-year-old is now a full-time student at Clovis Community College studying business. He wanted to work in the music industry, but he also wanted to live and raise his children in Clovis. He decided to do both. A father of three, he’s trying to revive the city’s legendary music past.

“Clovis has a very strong background in music,” said Kidd. “I thought, ‘Let’s bring music back here.’”

Clovis was an important city to the music industry, especially in the 1950s, thanks to Norman Petty’s recording studio.

Musicians came from as far away as Canada and Nashville to record with Petty, said Mike Mitchell a former member of the Norman Petty Trio and a studio drummer.

“A lot of big hits came out of Clovis through the Norman Petty Studio,” Mitchell said.

Kidd hopes the studio he opened last December with the financial help of Mike Montoya — Lost Sol Records — will have the same success as Petty’s studio. But Kidd said business is not his only goal.

Kidd said he hopes giving young people music as an outlet will help them to stay out of trouble.

“I think I am a good example for the youth coming up today,” Kidd said. “If I could learn to stay out of trouble, I think all the kids today can too.”

Kidd’s studio produces mostly hip-hop and R & B music. But he’s willing to expand those horizons.

“We are open to working with anybody who needs help doing anything,”said Kidd.

Kidd said he hopes to have an influence on youth that may need a different kind of guidance. “We’ll give it the best shot to help them not get into trouble,” he said.

Chad Evans, a 21-year-old from New Orleans, who calls himself “Shotime,” has been recording with Kidd. He said working with Kidd gives him something to do after work and helps him stay out of trouble.

“He never gave me ... bad advice,” Evans said, “and hopefully we’ll make a lot of money.”

Though Kidd hopes to eventually get big enough were he can sign musicians to profitable contracts, right now he said he wants to make sure people do not give up on their dreams of making it as big musicians.

“There is always a possibility,” he said.