PGN: So where did you go to school? AC: I went to a few different schools. PGN: What’s your astrological sign? AC: I’m a Cancer, June 29. It depends on what is motivating me at the time. Or like when I got to be the lead in plays and things like that. So there were times when I was more of a reader and times when I broke out of my shell, like when I was in fourth grade and became the captain of the safety patrol. There’s one side of me that’s really shy and then I have another side that really likes to get involved in things. PGN: Were you a big reader? AC: I don’t know I think I am different things at different times. My brother and I would run around and go fishing and crabbing, set things on fire, that sort of thing. PGN: What did you like to do as a kid? AC: We liked playing in the woods. He’d walk up to me at school and say, “Ash, I’m sorry about the fight we had earlier … ” And I’d usually say something snotty back like, “Hell, it was your fault anyway.” My big brother still tells me he was always in the right when we were growing up! AC: Yeah, he was a sweet big brother. I think I could be a tad bratty and he could be a little bit of a bully, but at the end of the day, he would always apologize. PGN: Did you two get along? AC: Yes, for the most part. PGN: How many kids in the family? AC: Just me and my big brother. When I’m in that mode, it tends to slip out more. It allows you a certain freedom, especially behind the bar, to communicate with your guests. Do you ever lapse back into it? AC: Oh yeah, I’m never going to give up my “y’all.” I think there’s something to be said about Southern hospitality and the mentality of it. PGN: You don’t have an accent now, but I had an ex from Louisiana and whenever she got mad or tired, her accent would come back. I didn’t respond to him, so they thought I was being rude, but the truth was I just couldn’t follow what he was saying! I remember coming up and talking to one of my parents’ friends.
It was also hard for me to understand people. For one, I had a thick accent and the other kids definitely pointed that out. AC: Oh yeah, I was very aware of the difference. PGN: It must have been culture shock to move.
To this day, it’s still my favorite place in the world. The area also had that unmistakable Southern ambiance: sweet tea and big front porches, fried catfish and laidback attitudes. I remember it was filled with huge, mossy trees and had a cool, creepy vibe to it. We were really close to Mobile Bay and Fairhope. We’re from the area along the Gulf Coast, which is really beautiful. My dad and my grandparents are still there and my mother and stepfather moved back there a couple of years ago, so I go back pretty frequently. PGN: What do you remember of Alabama? AC: I remember quite a bit, actually. We went from life in slow motion to typical middle-class suburban surroundings. PGN: When did you leave Alabama? AC: I was only there until I was about 8 years old and then my mother remarried and we came up north to New Jersey, the Trenton/Hamilton area. in West Philadelphia, and at various women’s parties, such as the Vinyl parties at Pure or at her girlfriend Michelle Pollino’s events at The Ugly American. These days, she can be found bartending at LoSpruce St. Yes, Clarke comes from below the Mason-Dixon line: Alabama, to be exact. Or perhaps during conversation, she may have let a y’all (or its plural, y’alls) drop here or there. If you’ve ever been served a drink by Ashley Clarke, you may have noticed a certain gentility about her.