"Why should people take the time to buy 'Jam Room' online when so many other CDs can be bought in stores?"
Clutch bassist Dan Maines normally is a man of few words, so when he turned to drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and smiled, I expected my question to be deferred. Rather than answer with the silent treatment, however, Maines simply said, "It's my favorite album of the year."
"Jam Room" is the sixth release from Clutch, a band described by "Metal Edge" editor Paul Gargano as "an all-you-can-eat buffet, a starch-filled, meat-and-potatoes band." Since forming in 1991 the Maryland natives have built a sizable fan base across the nation, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region.
"We can get anywhere from 300 to 3,000 fans per night on tours," Gaster said, in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. While Clutch can easily sell out most clubs while headlining, (including the 1,100 capacity 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. almost every time it plays there,) the most important tours have featured Clutch in a supporting role. Clutch has opened for such acts as Sepultura, Marilyn Manson, Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit, Slayer and Sevendust and has won more fans every time.
"Every week 200-400 kids buy 'Transnational Speedway League,' [the band's first full-length release]. That album is six years old now. Most bands don't have that kind of staying power," Gaster said.
Vocalist Neil Fallon attributes his band's popularity to its versatility. "There's a core crowd that likes everything we do and there's a periphery crowd that likes one group of songs," Fallon said. "There's a few people who have enjoyed watching us change; it's like a lab experiment."
Indeed, one thing that Clutch is not guilty of is stagnation.
"We try not to repeat ourselves," said Fallon. Each Clutch album has a different sound and a different theme. "Pitchfork" and "Impetus" are EPs that feature the band's earliest recorded material, a sound that is hard and heavy. "Transnational Speedway League" features a more varied approach to the hardcore formula while "Clutch" takes an entirely different approach. The band slowed down a bit for this release, giving the album a more bluesy feel and showcasing Fallon's knack for writing lyrics that are both absurd and ridiculously intelligent. "Rock-n-Roll Outlaw" is a good example of this: "Be Leary of Timothy, / clear light and all that. / If you want light go stare at the Sun, / hell that boy don't know crap!"
Clutch's most recent full-length album, "The Elephant Riders," was released in 1998 on Columbia records. "Riders" introduced fans to a new Clutch sound, one which reflects the influence of rock legends like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix while bringing in elements of jazz to create a sound that is undoubtedly unique and absolutely stunning.
"Some people have a definition of heavy music that's pretty juvenile," Fallon said.
These are the same people who would not appreciate "Jam Room," Clutch's newest EP. "Jam" is the first release from Clutch's own record label, River Road Records, but it will not be the last. Clutch severed its relationship with Columbia last month and plans on releasing a new album next year with or without label backing.
"Columbia is too big for Clutch, Gaster said. "That's what it boils down to."
"We'd like to just release the next album on River Road," guitarist Tim Sult said. "But we're keeping our options open."
The coming year looks to be a busy year for Clutch as plans for a new album, a European tour and at least one coast-to-coast tour of the United States are in the works. In addition, Gaster, Sult and Maines will continue to work on their side project, an instrumental band called the Bakerton Group. Interestingly the Bakerton boys are opening for -- you guessed it -- Clutch on their current tour.
"I'd like to make enough money next year that I could play drums for the rest of my life," Gaster said. "That's what I like to do."
Gaster's enthusiasm for his profession is evident in "Jam Room," which features an extended solo in "Goin To Market."
"We were just trying to keep it real," Gaster joked. "We did what we had to do to keep it real."
"Jam Room" also gave Sult and Maines a chance to display their considerable talents, especially on the instrumental "Swampboat Upside Down" and the Led Zeppelin-esque "Basket of Eggs," which Fallon wrote.
"The writing process is different for every song" said Fallon, who has written the lyrics to every Clutch song thus far. "I start with one or two lines that sound good and whatever they're about I expand on. I always look for a seed, something not typical."
If nothing else, Clutch definitely is "not typical." The band's songs cover everything from reincarnation to pirates, from the civil war to Clint Eastwood movies. "Green Buckets" is a suburban love song while "12 Oz. Epilogue" is about the Coca-Cola / Pepsi wars. Clutch truly is a band of many faces.
Though the sound constantly may be evolving, the Clutch ideal is as clear and brilliant as ever. While holding a beer and preparing to sign an autograph for a fan, Gaster described Clutch's job in simple words: "We're full-time jammers." Music lovers would do well to take notice.
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