The Company Band
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The Company Band lists its influences as Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart Stores, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum (BP), General Motors, Chevron, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota Motor, Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips. If that weren’t confusing enough, their MySpace page (their only Web presence) clarifies: they sound like manifest destiny. Their label is Venture Capital Records, and it doesn’t get much more tongue-in-cheek than all that.
Actually, it might.
TCB lays the corporate shtick on thick, complete with a mythology that takes five road-weary rockers from the stage to the boardroom. Blistering recently had the opportunity to exchange memos with lead singer Neil Fallon. You may recognize Mr. Fallon from his other enterprise, in which he sings and plays guitar for underground superstars Clutch. In fact, three members of TCB are used to taking care of business with industry luminaries such as Fireball Ministry, CKY and Puny Human.
Their debut EP, Sign Here, Here and Here marks the first time in his 17 years with Clutch that Fallon has branched out with a side project. And while it’s only four songs and 16 minutes in length, it contains more than its fair share of solid tunes. Neil (sort of) answers our burning questions about TCB’s unique album release strategy, the lack of digipak on Clutch’s latest and what’s in store for the gravelly-throated CEO of both. Below is an unaltered transcript of our e-mail interview to give you, the beloved reader, a true look into the mind of the sarcastic singer/songwriter/guitarist.
Blistering.com: How did you meet Jess, James, Dave and Jason? How did you decide these were the guys you wanted to form another band with?
Fallon: As the bio will tell you, I met them at a "business philosophy" retreat. We had all met one another at TED [Ed. Note: the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference] separately, but the Puget Sound Conference was when we all first gathered together in one room. We decided to jam after some rare scotch and fly fishing.
Blistering.com: Is The Company Band planning to record more music? An LP, perhaps?
Fallon: Yes. When? That's tough to say. We are like so many winds.
Blistering.com: Relatedly, do you see a tour in the band's future?
Fallon: We all have our own responsibilities, but we all hope to at least play together publicly. Perhaps at Cannes or Sundance.
Blistering.com: With the release of The Bakerton Group's CD this year and The Company Band's EP, people might perceive a rift in the fabric of Clutch. Is that the case?
Fallon: We have riffs in the fabric of Clutch, but not rifts.
Blistering.com: Is it difficult being in more than one band? Is it a first for you?
Fallon: Nothing about rock and roll is particularly difficult. When put in perspective of possible job descriptions, it's about as kick ass as they come.
Blistering.com: The EP was released digitally before the physical CD became available. Did that affect sales positively or negatively? At all? Have you seen a decreased demand for the CD because of that?
Fallon: We released the EP digitally at first to reduce our carbon footprint. That is its own reward.
Blistering.com: Why does the CD version cost $8 while the electronic one costs only $4?
Fallon: See above.
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