Clutch

Clutch
Clutch is a musical group based on United States. It is originally from Germantown, Maryland. Since the early 1990s, they have been playing together. In the late 1990s, Clutch and its sibling project The Bakerton Group formed an independent record label, River Road Records, to release their own music.

River Road does not sign any other artists. The Bakerton Group has released one three-track EP, Space Guitars, and a self-titled full length album.

In October 1991, they have released their first EP, Pitchfork and built a local following through constant live performances. Clutch was signed by the East West Records label by following the initial 7' single release of 'Passive Restraints' on the Earache label.

The debut LP, Transnational Speedway League, was released in 1993. It was followed by a self-titled album two years later that afforded Clutch mainstream exposure. The band moved to the larger Columbia label for 1998's Elephant Riders release, and many thought the group would break through to a wider audience.

In 2001, Pure Rock Fury appeared on the Atlantic label. The title track was initially released as the first single. The program director for North Carolina rock station, WXQR, Brian Rickman, suggested that the label switch singles to another track from the album, 'Careful with that Mic'.

Atlantic did so, and Clutch was afforded a surprise hit single. The follow-up tracks, 'Immortal' and 'Open Up the Border' were also well-received by American rock stations.

While the band has not recovered their previous radio airplay with subsequent releases, Clutch have accumulated a devoted cult following. The following has been cultivated by an ambitious touring schedule; the band often performs more than one hundred shows per year.

Clutch receives air play on Sirius Satellite Radio on channels Octane and Faction. Several Clutch songs are also featured on a regular basis on XM48 Squizz and XMLM Liquid Metal.Each Clutch album is marked by a distinct and cohesive sound.

The musical style of the band has migrated from heavy metal and hardcore punk to hard rock. The band has also integrated funk influences into their rock sound. Strong blues influences have also become prominent in the releases of the later years as vocalist/guitarist Neil Fallon notes:

'We've been really conscious of the blues over the last couple of years, and you have to admit that the blues really is the source of all rock and roll. I think it's important to go to the source to find that inspiration'.

Neil Fallon is also the singer for The Company Band. In addition, Fallon's younger sister and Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman's friend from college, Mary Alice Fallon-Yeskey, works at Charm City Cakes as the office manager.

From early releases, the lyrics of Clutch songs have progressed. They were marked with an angry, serious tone to latter releases that are characterized by intelligence, wordplay, and subtle humor.

The songs make frequent references to history, mythology, popular culture, and religion; for example, 'I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth', from the self-titled album, tells the story of a fisherman who discovers the corpse of Lincoln's assassin in the Susquehanna River.

Jam Room's 'Release the Kraken' inserts a hero called Useless the Younger into the movie Clash of the Titans. The lyrics also contain some surrealistic imagery, as in this quote from Robot Hive/Exodus's 'Burning Beard': 'Every time I look out my window/ same three dogs looking back at me. Every time I open my windows/ cranes fly in to terrorize me'.

In 2007, Jean-Paul Gaster collaborated with Opeth keyboardist Per Wiberg and Kamchatka guitarist Thomas Andersson on a project.Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster made an appearance on the album The Mystery Spot of blues-rock band Five Horse Johnson.

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