Clutch: Grinding The Gears of Your Soul

>> Clutch's Neil Fallon doesn't like people who point... >>

Clutch sucks you in a lot like hip hop does - with sick beats, nasty chords and vocals delivered like they were last rites. They have Dr. Dre's rhythm and John Bonham's soul.

At Saturday night's sold-out show at the Hollywood Roxy, Clutch certified this as fans slammed to nearly a three-hour show, manically bobbing heads if not frantically jumping up and down.  For Clutch, this is nothing new. From coast to coast they've been doing this for years, but it has been a long, bumpy journey.

Backstage, a few hours before the show, the long road to success was barely evident as a few members of the band relaxed on the dusty old sofas in the aged venue. This green room could tell thousands of stories but for drummer, Jean-Paul Gaster, he appeared uninterested in his surroundings as he stoically sat and beat on his drum pad maintaining a consistent 100 bpm. He barely acknowledged anyone.

Lead singer, Neil Fallon, paced around a bit seemingly more alert and managing a few interviews with local publications.   Clearly absent of the intensity that is routine at every performance, he calmly expressed little regret and bristled at the thought of second-guessing the band's past decisions. "I don't want to dwell on this stuff cause it's pointless," Fallon says, sitting on the edge of his chair.  "A lot of times it's a learning experience and you have to learn the hard way, and you try to do it right the second time around.”

For Clutch, this may mean the third time around. With two failed major-label debuts, six official studio albums and now promoting a self-released live album, Live at the Googolplex, Clutch has yet to reach the mass market. Fallon claims it was difficult to please the ever so chart-hungry major record labels and that contributed to their exits. "I know now that we are not that band that they [Atlantic, Columbia] were looking for, to have that watershed record that would sell millions of records," Fallon acknowledged.

>> Fallon and Clutch bassist Dan Maines.  >>

Today, actions speak louder than multi-platinum records and Clutch has continued to prove that a successful music career can be founded with record sales that reach the masses by the thousands coupled with an extensive tour schedule that brings their ballsy live performance to every dark corner on this earth.   A feat no doubt that would force any commercial critic to shit in their pants rather than to face the wrath of zealots that were in abundance Saturday night.

The show opened with the heat of a fireball as guitarist, Tim Sult, married his arms around his Les Paul and produced an instrumental fusion that melded the precision of drummer Gaster, bassist Dan Maines and a guest keyboardist. What seemed like five minutes turned into an hour; a jam session of non-stop rock producing complex layered instrumentation that did not require Fallon, nor was he missed.

Sult, his hair loosely pulled back and held by a single rubber band, wore a faded black t-shirt and snug 501's that barely hid his rotund frame.  He moved his arms with ease like tentacles underwater and he never once moved nor did he approach the microphone as if their reliance on a lead singer had been abandoned.

Not to miss his queue, Fallon suddenly appeared like an angry spirit lying in wait and showcased a personality that is absent in real life and obviously only appears on stage. His ferocious delivery and red-hot vocals ran continuous for an additional two hours. In retrospect, his presence diluted the outstanding jam performance in the first set. Fallon is Clutch and they are not complete without him.

He sprinkled his set with tracks coming by way of their entire catalogue like crowd faves "El Jefe," the "master of the metaphor." As if he was mesmerized by his very own lyrics, Fallon's eyes were often half closed when belting out his rhymes. It was like he was Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction, his eyes projecting a reckless disregard.

Fallon and Sult rarely made eye contact throughout the evening instead deftly focusing on their craft. They worked independently but out of the speakers came unity. Although Fallon laments that their sound may not be in touch with the latest trend in today's diverse musical landscape, they are not apologizing. "It's the only thing we know how to do. It's second nature," explained Fallon.

He still laughs at the marketing ploys that the labels encouraged to "generate a hit." Covers from LL Cool J and even the Knack's “My Sharona” were presented as potential cover songs. As their fans can attest, Clutch has performed live covers, just not the kind that will precipitate interest from top 40 alternative radio stations.

As the evening approached, Fallon took a moment to stare around the room and he absorbed it all in - the dusty old couches, the peeling colors of paint on the scruffy walls, and he recognizes that not much has changed since their first tour outing many, many years ago.  He acknowledges that they all have homes now, and they have luxury buses that cart them from city to city, and the kind of money that seemed allusive just a few years ago.  For now, Fallon seems content but not entirely satisfied.

Clutch is on tour through the fall where they will begin the process for the next album.

>> Neil Fallon hanging out backstage. >>

VOX: You have played over a thousand shows in the last decade. What’s different, what has changed?
Neil Fallon: A lot has changed a lot hasn’t changed. After thirteen years we’ve grown; we started out as teenagers and now we’re in our early thirties. We have marriages, houses and stuff in our personal lives, we have a bigger crew, we have more experience but what hasn’t changed is why we do it - to put on a good live show.

VOX: Would you have done anything different along the way?
NF: Sure, there are plenty of things in hindsight I would have done differently, I don’t want to dwell on this stuff cause it’s pointless, and a lot of times it’s a learning experience and you have to learn the hard way, and you try to do it right the second time around.

VOX: There’s always a push to sell millions of records with major labels, how would you have done things differently with Atlantic and Columbia?
NF: Um, well one thing that I know now that I didn’t know then, labels are just businesses and they want to sell gangloads of records; that’s no problem. But, I think maybe that, I know now that we are not that band that they were looking for, to have that watershe d record that would sell millions of records. Had I known that, I would have made different business choices. At the same time, we wouldn’t be in the same position had we not dealt with those major labels. We used them the way they used us. And we put out our independent records and our successes have been because of our higher visibilities because of your Atlantics and your Columbia and what not. There’s no anger. There have been some personal arguments but that’s life.

VOX: We heard that the labels, yearning for a hit, wanted you to do some covers?
NF: Yup, that was hilarious.
VOX: If you have to do a cover that had the potential for modest commercial success what would you do?
NF: We have done covers in our live set, we’ve done a Bad Brains song, I, we covered Jethro Tull, we covered…a Pink Floyd song. It’s been more for our entertainment. That was a big trend in the 90’s. Half the work is done because it’s already a hit. I don’t know how I would feel about it if we did a cover and it blew up. We would feel kind of empty and fake in away I guess. Any artist is going to want to be known for the music that they write. There you have it.

>> Clutch's Neil Fallon. >>

VOX: Do you feel boxed in, in terms of comparisons to classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin, which of course influence you?
NF: People in the industry want to label bands because it becomes easier to market. That’s a necessary evil. We never think about it, we just go for it. Bands like Zeppelin that are more blues based, I key into because they are closer to blues and that’s the source of all rock n roll. I think it’s better for a musician to listen to that then to listen to your peers because you’re getting a watered down version of the source.

VOX: Are you tempted to modify your sound?
NF: I wouldn’t know how to really. This is second nature. We don’t know how to write songs that aren’t Clutch. It would be like learning another language.

VOX: Let’s take a step back: Growing up, can you isolate a single moment where you thought that this was the direction you were going to take?
NF: Its’ one of those things that slowly evolved. The band wanted to do live shows regardless if anyone was there. Then people started coming to our shows. We played in D.C., Pennsylvania, Baltimore...it’s easy where we were from because everywhere is [only] a few hours away. It’s more difficult out here. That was it. It was a matter of doing shows.

VOX: Was there a turning point?
NF: I think we changed quite a bit around our second record. Our first was more rooted in hardcore, a darker record. On the second record it became more blues oriented. We were listening to older music and that had a huge influence.

VOX: The new album is Googleplex. Did it seem a logical next step for you to release a live record now?
NF: Labels are reluctant to release live records unless you have sold million of albums, multi-platinum records. So we put this out ourselves. When we recorded it, we did not have the intention that we were going to make a live album. It was more for an education and how to do it.  There’s been a huge tape trading community. Fans tape our shows but it’s only so big. This was a way to get a live show out to a large audience.

>> Neil chats with VOX. >>

VOX: You perform off your fans. How do you deal with Los Angeles or the like where fans often seem to be more interested in themselves than any given band? Can that affect your performance?
NF: Well, most major cities, where you have many shows, that can be a bit spoiling.  You can take it for granted to a degree. When you go to the boondocks you see all sorts of people and they go nuts.  Out here, when a show seems colder and less personal, I remind myself there might be someone out there who is seeing you for the first time or it’s their first time at a concert.  You only have one chance to make a good impression and if that’s only one out of a hundred, that’s ok.
VOX: If you were going to describe your show, what would you say?
NF: That’s hard for me to do because I have never seen the show.
VOX: Not even on tape?
NF: Yeah, but it’s not the same. Tape is good but it’s not quite there either. It’s unadulterated rock n’ roll. We’ll play as hard as we can. That show will be unique to that evening and when you walk away from that you’ll never see the same thing again.
VOX: What will we see tonight?
NF: I don’t know yet. We’re doing two Clutch sets.  Members of Clutch are doing rock, a jazz-fusion thing, instrumental. It’s pushing three hours of music tonight. We have an organ player with us tonight which is adding a new element to the music.

VOX: What’s next?
NF: We have another five days on the West Coast. Go back home then do a few shows on the East Coast. We’ll tour until the end of summer then we’ll work on something new.