He was born in Toronto. He hung around the NYC music scene for a few years. And then he settled in the MIA circa 2008. But now superskilled and masterful singer, songwriter, and solo recording artist Tristan Clopet is heading "back to New York."
"So why am I moving?" he asks in a blog post titled "Thanks Miami! (Hello Again NYC)" on tristanclopet.com. Because only "0.5% of [Miami]'s population [is] interested in the idea of seeing live music being performed on musical instruments by musicians."
In short, our local music scene is a dead end. "Ask Rachel Goodrich," Clopet says.
Of course, Tristan's referring to the fact that even Ms. Goodrich was forced to skip town last year, leaving -- as Crossfade said at the time -- "you, me, and the Magic City for the big, bright floodlights of La La Land."
Goodrich is/was the 305's most badass songstress, Crossfade's greatest out-of-control crush, and a three-time New Times Best of Miami winner who's done commercials for Crayola and Blackberry, scored TV spots on Showtime's Weeds and MTV, and been called the "queen of the Miami indie rock scene" by the New York Times. And still ... She needed to split.
For his part, though, Clopet ain't mad. "Miami is an incredible city," he says. "And non-Latin/Hip-Hop/Ultra stuff does have a chance thanks to gatekeepers like [New Times contributor] Arielle Castillo or Jordan Melnick, of Beached Miami.
"But the next step, personally and professionally lay elsewhere."
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