Clutch
By: Justin Donnelly
 Although having produced some seven full-length efforts outside of the numerous compilations, live albums and singles throughout their vast fifteen years together, Maryland based rock and roll act Clutch is largely considered an entity that’s shrouded in complete mystery to most of the rock and roll buying public.
But as relatively under the radar and low profile as Clutch (Who comprise of vocals/guitarist/percussionist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and recent addition keyboardist Mick Schauer) have been throughout their time together, they’ve managed to attain a cult like status that has attracted a legion of devotees to their cause (Often referring themselves as Gearheads) through relentless touring and the underground’s word of mouth.
After having enjoyed some newfound success with their previous album ‘Blast Tyrant’ (Released in 2004 through their new label D.R.T. Entertainment), Clutch has built upon that foundation with their amazing follow up release ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’ (Which was released in 2005).
On the back of the critical acclaim that followed the release of the album, Clutch have toured the U.S. and Europe extensively (Playing alongside a whole host of diverse acts such as Corrosion Of Conformity, Fireball Ministry, High On Fire, Opeth and Lamb Of God), and with the tour drawing to an eventual close, Clutch have finally turn their sights toward Australia.
Sitting back in his living room at home in Maryland, I caught up with Clutch’s lyrical/vocal genius Neil Fallon to attempt to debunk the myth surrounding the band by discussing the their current label relationship, people’s misconceptions of Fallon’s somewhat unorthodox lyrical approach and the success of their latest album ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’.
“If you’re talking strictly on a sales basis, ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’ is selling a lot more than ‘Blast Tyrant’ than what it did around the same amount of time of its release. That’s not to say it’s sold a whole lot more, but it’s a bit more than we expected. If you’re counting clams, I suppose you could say it’s a good thing! (Laughs) But more importantly, the album seems to be very well received on an artistic level, which is ultimately what we really get off on.”
Part of the reasoning behind that increasing success may be down to pure luck (Which more than has a part to play in the Clutch scheme of things), but the difference between the recording techniques used for both ‘Blast Tyrant’ and ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’ also may have been the actual deciding figure for most fans.
“It was intentional right from the start that ‘Blast Tyrant’ was going to be the first record that we did one hundred percent digitally from beginning to end. It was something that we had always shunned in the past, but we finally broke down and accepted the inevitable future. We learned a lot from that experience, especially when to pull the reigns back a little bit on the whole thing before going too far and sounding too clinical. There’s still a lot of digital recording on ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’, but we made certain that we were getting everything analogue in a tradition sense that we could. So the digital side of the recording was only used when necessary.”
Another aspect that separates both of the said albums is the differing nature of the album’s overall feel. While ‘Blast Tyrant’ had a very diverse mix of tracks (Everything from straight ahead rock and roll, to expansive moody numbers to groove laden instrumentals), ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’ actually seems to sound a little more straightforward and balanced all the way through in its rock and roll approach. But there’s also a greater presence of the blues coming through, especially noted with covers of both Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Who’s Been Talking’ and Mississippi Fred McDowell’s ‘Gravel Road’.
“I totally agree with that. We’ve been really conscious of the blues over the last couple of years, and you have to admit that the blues really is the source of all rock and roll. I think it’s important to go to the source to find that inspiration. Another important factor in bringing those influences to the fore is having Schauer join the band in time for this album. With his Hammond B3 organ sound, it kind of influenced all of us to play that way and bring them out more this time around. I guess what a lot of people don’t realise is that I’m a huge blues fan. I listen to a lot of old folk and country blues, like Nehemiah Curtis ‘Skip’ James and Buck White. I don’t listen to a lot of blues-rock bands, even though I do like a lot of bands like Humble Pie and Canned Heat. I guess those bands are kind of like somewhere at the halfway point between being blues and rock. Howlin’ Wolf was a another very blues and rock and roll guy, and you can definitely hear the rock side of himself coming through within his music. He had an amazing voice, and great hooks. It’s all about good times. You just can’t help but get into it.”
Another success story that isn’t largely recognised by most is Clutch’s partnership with their current label DRT Entertainment. Having never recorded any more than two albums for any one label (Either independent or major), Clutch seem to have found a partner that works for them for the present time, and beyond it would seem.
“Well we’re going to do a third album with DRT Entertainment if that says anything! (Laughs) We’ve never had any more than two records in a row with any of the labels we’ve dealt with in the past, so this is a new record for us! I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they’re a smaller label, and that they understand what the band is about, where as your Columbia’s and Atlantic’s of the world are only interested in selling platinum records. It’s a very typical thing that when a label talks to their band, they just want to use the band to help feel good about themselves and stroke their egos. It’s hard to know at the best of times just what they’re thinking, but having said that, we’ve never looked to a label to mother us. We know most of the staff at DRT Entertainment, and they don’t do that. It’s very much a business relationship, and so far both parties seem to be happy with the way things are going. It’s as simple as that.”
That third release for DRT Entertainment isn’t all that far away from being started either as Clutch already has plans to enter the studio sometime in the coming months.
“We have some tour dates booked here and there over the spring, but I think everyone is of the mindset that it’s time to do a new album. We’ve kind of beaten ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’ to death over the past year, and I think it’s time to lock ourselves in and come out with something new in the next six months. We don’t have anything in the way of songs put together at the moment, but all have a lot of ideas here and there that we’ve collected over the last twelve months on the road. We don’t really write on the road that much because I really believe that we do our best work when we have a looming deadline. Procrastination is sometimes a great inspiration.”
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