Back in 2017, somewhere between dead-end retail shifts and late-night guitar strumming on a beat-up acoustic, Clay Goodman wrote a song called Such Fun. He was just out of high school, scraping together time and energy to chase down melodies while everything around him felt unsure — but strangely wide open. The title alone drips with that weird in-between energy: equal parts deadpan and defiant. Like someone smirking in the middle of a breakdown. Such fun, right?

Fast forward to 2025, and we’re finally hearing it. Clay’s been building his sound brick by brick — writing, mixing, producing, layering guitars and bass in his bedroom — until one day, he brought in a drummer (a drummer from OK Go, the one whose videos racked up over 100 million views btw) Somehow that happened. And now, this little time capsule of a track has a heartbeat loud enough to punch through the noise of the algorithm swamp we live in. What’s wild is how this song — the first one he ever wrote — managed to outlive every other early sketch. Everything else got deleted, trashed, buried in broken notebooks and dusty voice memos. But this one stuck. Most of us want to forget who we were in our late teens. Clay turned it into a lead single. I got a chance to talk to Clay about the long road from 2017 to now, what it’s like being DIY in an AI-saturated world, and why sharing your oldest song can sometimes be the most radical thing you can do.

Hey Clay, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Your new single ‘Such Fun’ is out now, but you actually wrote it all the way back in 2017. That was the era of Vine, iTunes was still a thing, and no one had ever heard of ChatGPT. You’ve clearly changed since then — and so has the world. Why did you keep this song in the drawer for so long? What shifted inside you that finally made you say: “Alright, now’s the time”?

 Hi, thank you all for taking the time to feature me and my track. It really means a lot. Yes, I’ve had this one held back for awhile now. That is so true. 2017 feels like a different lifetime now. I’ve been writing songs, making plans and dreaming of this for a long time. I think it had to be the right time. It’s never going to be perfect, but you have to be ready to share. 

You’re releasing a new track — and it’s the first song you ever wrote, way back in 2017. Most artists launch with newer material and keep their early songs in the background. You’ve definitely written plenty since then. So why this one? Why lead with the track that started it all?

Great question. That is so true. Most of the stuff I wrote during that same time period has been deleted from my phone or the paper I was writing the lyrics on have been ripped and tossed away. This one has just stuck with me through all of the years. I initially wrote it on this crappy little acoustic that a family member gave me. I was fresh out of high school and broke. I would spend hours in my room just playing and having fun. Something about the hopefulness, the melody, the simplicity just kept me going back to it. I definitely think I’ve improved and grown as a songwriter and musician since then, but the innocence and naivety of those early days are special. 

Let’s be real — the title ‘Such Fun’ sounds kinda sarcastic. It’s the thing people say after two hours with extended family, not after an actual good time. What were you channeling with that title? Was it genuine, ironic, both?

Haha, I can definitely see how it feels like that. I think it was a mix of both. I wrote the song when I was working my first job at a clothing store that paid minimum wage. The hours weren’t the best and I felt directionless, but strangely free at the same time. I was fresh out of high school living with my parents. It’s me saying “my life may not be perfect, it may not be the life that everyone dreams of, but even through all the BS and stress, I am going to live it up and have as much fun as I can each day.”

You do everything yourself — which is badass. But then suddenly, there’s a drummer from OK Go on the track. And it’s like, wait, what? How did that even happen? And what was it like hearing your homegrown track with drums played by a guy whose videos have been watched over 100 million times?

Thank you for that. Yes, it was a trip working with Dan. He’s a really great guy. He actually played the drums on my previous track. I had got them done early last year I think. I was at a point where I was stuck with my music and I made a listing on Soundbetter and he got back to me. I didn’t know what to expect but he delivered the goods. How the process works is I make a simple drum track in EzDrummer and send that over and he brings the energy that was missing from the VST. If any indie musicians are looking for drums, definitely go hit Dan up on Soundbetter. 

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t technical — it’s the mental freeze. The song works, but you hit one section that just won’t sit right. Total loop of doubt. Did you have that moment with ‘Such Fun’? When you got stuck on something and couldn’t decide: keep it, cut it, rewrite, delete?

I’ve had many of those moments when it comes to my songs where I am frozen with fear and doubt. I don’t think it ever happened with this track and I think that’s why it cuts through the noise. Like with the last song I released, Set Me Free. I really like that song but there was many times I was like “ah just shelve it“. I even deleted my first song “Hello” from my distributor and had to go back and do a fast track 24 hour release just to get over the fear of releasing. This one feels different. It feels fresh while being nostalgic at the same time. It’s raw and honest and chaotic and hopeful all at the same time. It’s not perfect but it’s just alright, and that is fine with me. 

When you sit down to write, what does that actually look like? Do you have a clear idea going in, or do you just open up the project and start sketching out the notes that are bouncing around in your head?

It’s usually just me picking up my acoustic guitar, messing around with some chords until I land on a melody that sounds right. I then record it on my phone’s voice memo app and leave it and return to it later on. I also have had songs start from writing lyrics first or thinking of a story/theme before writing. I don’t think there is one right or wrong way to write and it’s best to give them all a go and switch it up here and there. 

Showing someone a demo for the first time — it’s always a mini-drama. You can get gold, or you can get “huh, cool.” Who was the first person you played ‘Such Fun’ to? And how did they react?

I actually remember the first people I shared it with. It was my girlfriend at the time and some old friends I had. My original voice memo recording is so amateur and my voice sounds like a little baby. I think most people in my life that I either shared or told them about me doing music just thought “oh that’s cute”, but I don’t think they thought I was serious. I didn’t have it all laid out back then but I heard in my head where I wanted the song to go and I believed in myself and the songs. Now almost 10 years later here I am talking with you guys. Crazy how it works out. 

Indie these days is more of a lifestyle than a genre. You write, produce, promote, reply to emails — all while thousands of tracks are dropping every day. Is there still joy in all that, or does it sometimes just feel like a grind you have to do to survive?

That is so true. Even though I’m just starting out and it’s only on a small scale right now, it can get exhausting when you’re wearing so many different hats. It can be lonely and when stuff doesn’t land, it all falls on you. But there is joy in it. I think the joy comes in being creative, problem solving, making connections like talking with you all here at Indie Boulevard. My drive is what keeps me going. I have this drive that I cannot let go of. It’s me against the world. 

You’ve been fully hands-on with your music — the whole DIY setup. And that’s a lot. But at some point, almost every indie artist runs into that big question: Where do you stand on labels in 2025? If a big label came knocking tomorrow, would you sign — or would you rather keep doing things your own way?

Yes. I have prided myself on writing all my songs, performing vocals and guitar and producing/mixing. Back in 2017 when I wrote this track, I was 100% anti-label. We’ve all heard the horror stories and a label deal isn’t guaranteed success, but I’ve grown and matured over the years, I am at a place where I would definitely hear anyone out. Labels aren’t the enemy. I do want a team behind me for things like social media, promoting, etc. but I would like to remain fully hands on creatively. It’s something I’ve definitely thought about but I’m not going to chase them. If a label, manager, etc. wants to come to me, I will definitely listen.

 A lot of people complain that in 2025 everything sounds the same. There’s this growing fatigue with how polished and formulaic everything’s become. Same drops, same vibes, same Instagram-ready aesthetics. And with AI tracks flooding playlists, it’s getting harder to tell what’s made by people and what’s just… code. So what makes a song feel alive to you? What do you hear in a track that makes you think: “Yep, there’s a soul in this one”?

It’s sad seeing how music and art in general has been reduced to something that people use to block out the noise for a few minutes. I do think it’s exhausting how everything sounds the same, but people eat it up. Until that stops, the junk food music is only going to keep coming. The advancement of AI has been equal parts scary and fascinating to see. It’s something I’ve battled myself. Like of course I start releasing my music right once all this happens, but I think that’s why this is the right time for me to start. We need real voices more than ever. I see so many talented people when I’m on TikTok or Instagram and it makes me smile. That’s when I know a song or an artist is real has soul in it. To every artist out there, you can’t control what others are going to do but you have the power to make the best stuff that you can. Stay true to yourself. 

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