The Clay Colton band plays classic rock covers and original songs. The group was founded in 2000 by guitarist-vocalists Clay Colton and Matt Bongiovanni. Originally known as Bender, the duo’s album Two Months was released in fall 2001.
After the Bongiovanni/Colton partnership faded, Colton began performing with a rotating lineup of support players. “The band could number as many as five or six musicians to as few as two,” says Colton.
In 2005 the Clay Colton Band released their album Looking Back Ahead. In September 2009 they won the Viejas Big Country Showdown and $10,000 in prize money (which the band says they “immediately pilfered away on booze and women”).
In April 2013, the band released another full-length album, Rustic. The band (in all of its various forms) performs over 200 shows annually across San Diego and Riverside County, including Saturday nights at O'Sullivan's Irish Pub in Carlsbad, regular appearances at Pala Casino, Valley View Casino, Humphrey's Backstage Live, Harrah's Rincon Casino, and the Shamrock Irish Pub in Murrietta.
The Clay Colton Band has performed at area venues like Dublin Square in the Gaslamp, Hennessey's Irish Pub in Carlsbad, R. O'Sullivan's of Carlsbad, Killarney's Irish Pub in Temecula & Riverside, and J.J. Landers Irish Pub in Fallbrook. As of 2016, Colton was playing around town with the Jukebox Kings