Clutch

Wed 15th Jul, 2009 in Features

In today’s – œflash-in-the-pan’ music world, where rock heroes are touted and abandoned in the same year, Maryland’s Clutch are a bit of an anomaly. For starters, they’ve been around for almost two decades and are still pumping out ludicrously awesome albums, like this July’s Strange Cousins From the West.

They’ve also been through more record labels than you’ve had hot dinners, something drummer Jean-Paul Gaster assures is no fault of their own. “They [labels] definitely wanted to do multi-album deals in the – œ90s, they just didn’t want to do another one with us! That was always the struggle, you would put out an album and they’d see that this wasn’t going to be something that was easy to market.”

For Gaster, the frustration of relentless touring and demo-ing, only to be shut down at the most inopportune moment, is part of what’s led Clutch to release this album on their own Weathermaker imprint. “There is a sense of gratification when you can call all the shots and cut out some of the middlemen,” he muses.

In their lengthy career, Gaster is pretty sure it hasn’t been the group’s aesthetic appeal, which he generously likens to “a couple of fat dudes with beards, playing music” that keeps fans coming back each touring cycle. “Well I guess you gotta sell something, right?” he laughs. “I quit shaving maybe four or five years ago. I was never very good at it.”

Given their pre-eminence in the heavy scene, and their undoubtedly daunting facial hair, its no wonder that Clutch choose wisely when making friends with new bands. “I remember going on tour with Mastodon, and really digging that not only were they great songwriters but they had tone…that’s something I thing that is lacking these days.”

By – œtone’, Jean-Paul means having an original sound, something he isn’t hearing a lot of in the hardcore scene. Bearing in mind that this is the guy who was sneaking into Fugazi and Bad Brains gigs when he was 16, it’s safe to say Gaster knows good stuff when he hears it. The lack of groove and breathing space in many heavier bands at the moment is a void Clutch in particular is endeavouring to fill.

Given that Gaster grew up learning drums from a 1940s swing player, and had a steady diet of “The Meters, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and then more James Brown and Meters”, it shouldn’t be surprising that Clutch are a thundering band with a great sense of dynamics and timing.

You could probably even label their recent output – œheavy soul’ and get away with it. “I think that’s the appeal of the group; we have a way of playing that’s quite different to what’s – œpopular’ right now, there’s not a lot of people thinking about the pulse of a tune anymore.” This has directly influenced Jean-Paul’s stage set-up. He uses the jazz-favoured Gretsch custom kit, big cymbals and is a sworn avoider of double pedals since he was a kid.

“When I was learning, my teacher told me that the hi-hat was the heart of the kit, and if you have a double-kick going, I don’t think you can really get the nuance out of the instrument.” He’s also an avid believer of the fact that one’s location has a lot to do with their style. Even though the band has recorded with Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age), he doesn’t hang out with them. “Those guys are West Coast, and we’re from the East. So we don’t really have much contact with each other.”

You can almost smell the heavy metal Biggie-Tupac wars starting. Jean Paul laughs. “Nah, it’s just about the bands you listen to growing up. We had ours and they had theirs, and we turned out very differently.”

The new album from Clutch, Strange Cousins From The West, is out now.