By: Robert Cavuoto
Maryland rockers, Clutch, is one of the most respected and influential hard rock bands out there. They are currently gearing up for a tour this April with Mastodon called The Missing Link Tour and then plan to release their 11th studio CD in September of 2015 on their own record label – Weathermaker.
Since the four original members got together in high school back in the ’90s, Clutch have been pushing the boundaries that define heavy rock.
I was able to catch up with guitarist, Tim Sult, to talk about what fans can expect while on tour and how they can get a taste of the bands new CD before it’s released.
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Robert Cavuoto: You are going out on tour with Mastodon this Spring and have a new CD coming out in September, tell me a about them.
Tim Sult: The tour started in April with our good friend Mastodon. It will take us through the US and Canada. It should be incredible; I can’t wait to get back out on the road playing our new songs. We finished recording the CD and it’s in the process of being mixed. We dont have a working title as of yet.
Robert: Is there any apprehension with playing new songs live before fans get a chance to hear in on CD?
Tim Sult: Nope, that is something Clutch has pretty much done since Day 1. We even play songs still in the works. We try to get out there and play as much new music as possible. It’s fun to jam on some new riffs every once in a while to introduce them.
Robert: I image that fans reaction can go either way never hearing a song before?
Tim Sult: Yeah, we use do play “Spacegrass” way before it was released and people would just stand there and stare at us. Once it came out, it ended up being people’s favorite song ever! It’s hard to gauge.
Robert: Can you talk a little about the vision you had going into the making of this CD?
Tim Sult: To just make the best Clutch CD that we possibly can. We had so many ideas for this CD that we had to weed through and build songs from. I would say the vision is what is always is, to make music that we enjoy and enjoy playing live. The fact that other people enjoy it and come to our shows is just an incredible bonus.
Robert: Will it be released on your Weathermaker label and what is the benefit of having your own label?
Tim Sult: Yup, it will be on Weathermaker Records again. We have pretty decent distribution for our label, it’s better than we ever had on a major label or on any of the other smaller labels. It seems like past couple years our CDs have gotten out there a bit more.
It can be difficult at times and a lot of work goes into it. You really need fans that want to buy your CDs and that’s the hard part. We have been lucky enough lay the ground work over the last 25 plus years. Our new releases always seem to get higher and higher profile.
Robert: It’s great to see you releasing CDs in a complete format, with the state of the music industry; I see a trend with more bands releasing one song at a time. What’s your take on that approach?
Tim Sult: It may be my age or because I’m a musician, but I like the full length format. I understand that I’m not everybody and not everybody listens to music like that. They don’t delve into a CD or sometimes don’t even know a band has a CD! It may never cross their mind that there is a CD with 12 more songs on it. Nowadays there are a lot less people that prefer the full CD format. I guess there really is no right or wrong answer.
Robert: Clutch has such a definable sound that is instantly recognizable, how do evolve yet say true to your signature sound?
Tim Sult: Good question, I’m guessing it’s about taking the same approach to playing the songs and the gear that we use. The way we dial in the amp tones, which hasn’t changed that much over the years. I’ll refine it to make it sound better but is still basically a Gibson guitar and Marshall amp.
Robert: Was there a lot of experimenting with those tones early on or was it more a happy accident that that you grew into?
Tim Sult: We definitely wanted to be a heavy band early on and when we started out it was a different time and of course we were much younger. We had not been exposed to the volume of music we have out now, there was considerable less back then. The original intent was to be a heavy band so back then that was the approach we were going for.
Robert: Clutch songs have always written around great riffs, do you think riff writing is becoming a dying art?
Tim Sult: I think musical riffs have not always been the most popular thing of all time. Clutch is a weird band as we create our songs by putting riffs together as opposed to putting chord progression together. A lot of people don’t understand the concept of musical hooks, they are just listening to the vocals and the vocal hooks I seem to think there are a lot more young bands out there now influenced by riffed out bands. I think the art of riff writing will continue through the rest of history.
Robert: How has the band managed to stay intact with all the original members for so long?
Tim Sult: It definitely is bizarre and when I think about it, I can’t believe it either [Laughing]. It’s definitely a miracle in the history of music. Being in band that is not too huge but still able to get out there and play decent size shows all over the world. It’s just the fact that we are always writing new music and keep our eye on our next release. We continue to move forward, keep booking, and playing as much as possible.
Robert: And everyone is still friends, no separate contracts among the members [Laughing]
Tim Sult: Absolutely still friends, no contracts!
Robert: You have had great success getting your songs played at major sporting events, what’s the secret behind that?
Tim Sult: I don’t know how that happens, usually whoever is running the music at these events has decided to play a Clutch song. Our sound guy is friends with one of the sound guys that work a lot of the Boston events.
That guy slots the music in there. Overall we don’t try to get these sporting events to use our music. It just happened organically. Luckily people like singing “Bang Bang, Vamanos Vamanos” at these events. It’s a great sing along song, especially if you’re drunk! [Laughing]
