Chords for Clutch: Whatever Happened to the Band Behind 'A Shogun Named Marcus?'
Tempo:
103.55 bpm
Chords used:
G
D
B
F#
C
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Clutch has weathered a long career that spanned 3 [B] decades, dealt with big and small [A] labels and
they've [D] also survived a huge shift in the [E] music industry in the 2000s and 2010s.
Their fans known
as [D] Gearheads have learned that [E] Clutch's sound continually evolves and [D] today let's talk about
the history of the band.
[G]
[C#] [B] For many people Clutch first became popular in the early 90s with their
first full length [E] record Transnational Speedway League Anthems, Anecdotes & Undeniable Truths
which produced the single Ashoga Named Marcus.
The band's origins dated back to around 1988-1989
when Clutch would be formed by four friends who attended Seneca Valley High School in Germantown,
Maryland including vocalist Neil [B] Fallon, guitarist Tim Salt, bassist Dan Maines and drummer John Paul
Gaster.
One story I read claimed the band didn't actually form until after high school, at least
according to guitarist Tim Salt.
[A] When the band originally formed they called themselves Moral
Minority before moving on to the name Glut Trip.
The band would try out a few new singers in their
early days before Fallon fronted the band.
By the summer of 1991 they officially changed their name
to Clutch [F#] telling people it stood for City State Liberation Union to cleanse humanity.
Due to the
proximity of Washington D.C. the band would be influenced by groups like Fugazi and Minor Threat
and the band's early sound was more representative of hardcore [B] punk.
Frontman Neil Fallon would tell
[G#] In a separate interview Fallon would tell Psychology Today how punk influenced him early
on in his life revealing I got into singing just because it was something cool to do in high school.
I hung out with people that were into music that were on the margin, kind of in the periphery of
There was a time when punk rock, hardcore and heavy metal were [F#] shunned whereas now it has become
much more acceptable.
It seemed that much more of a threat involved and I think that's what attracted
me to the [F#] taboo of it he would say.
While politics would play a heavy part in the bands who originated
from D.C. it never really found its way into Clutch's music.
And it wasn't just bands like Minor
Threat and Fugazi who influenced Clutch's music as the go-go scene was as equally influential.
Go-go music would incorporate elements of funk along with hip-hop, blues as well as R&B and
audience participation.
Clutch would soon become known for their visual lyrics written by Frontman
Neil Fallon.
He would tell Psychology Today I've always been attracted to the idea of a tall tale
where you take a truth and you exaggerate it, but any story like if you take a myth for example,
it may be filled with exaggeration and half-truths, but ultimately it's to arrive or depict a universal
truth.
The band would release their [C#] first EP Pitchfork in October of 1991.
Following the
their first EP the band would attend a Corrosion of Conformity concert where they [B] gave out their EP,
[F#] which eventually found its way into the hands of [D] a kid named James Grah.
[E] Grah for his [B] part ran a
fanzine in [F#] Kansas and it turned out earache records advertised in that magazine [B] and they
soon signed Clutch.
The following year they would release their first major commercial EP
1992's Passive Restraints and labels at the time were signing punk metal bands like Helmet,
a band that Clutch bore some resemblance to.
The group's second EP would get them noticed by major
labels and they [G#] would soon sign with Atlantic [B] subsidiary East West.
By 1993 Clutch would
release Transnational Speedway League introducing the band to a larger audience with [E] the track A
Shogun Named Marcus.
[B] Clutch would soon establish themselves as one of the best groove bands out
there and they also soon started to get labeled as stoner rock alongside bands like Kias who i've
done a video on.
The link to that video is down [G#] below.
The MTV show Beavis and [E] Butt-head also
gave the band some love featuring the video for A Shogun Named Marcus.
Neil Fallon would tell
Revolver.
The stuff [B] we recorded, there was a lot slower and representative of our early influences,
stuff like the melvins and swans, but I got burned out at that session pretty quickly.
[A#] We came back to New York for a second session.
That's where we wrote A Shogun Named Marcus and
Rats, which were faster and had more of a sense of humor.
I discovered that I could make stuff up and
tell a story.
And to support the [A] album Clutch would open [G] for the likes of Sepultura, [D] Monster
Magnet, Biohazard, Voivod and [F#] Fear Factory.
[G] The experience opening for these [F] bands would get mixed
[F#] reviews from the members themselves with [Gm] Fallon telling Vice.
I remember doing [E] shows opening up
for [F#] big metal bands and just [G] being hated because it looked like we were having a good [A] time.
Metal is [G] a very conservative genre and there are a lot of close [A#]-minded guys and gals.
There's an irony [F#m] to it.
There are a lot of metal [G] fans who claim to be only [D#] into extreme things,
[Bm] but their list of extreme things is very, [C] very narrow.
By late 1994 [D#] the band would enter Uncle
Punchy Studios [G] in Silver Spring, Maryland to record their self-titled sophomore album.
Considered some to be their most commercially successful work, their self-titled record would
see an eclectic range of influences including metal and classic rock.
Fallon would tell Revolver
magazine.
Prior to this album we were listening to a lot of metal and hardcore like prong, bad
brains and chrome [F#] eggs.
Then we rediscovered classic rock which [G] added more swing and more
riffs and less power chords to our music.
The [F#] album itself would peak at number [G] 33 on the
album charts moving over [F#m] 200,000 units and the record [D] itself would be held in high regards as
one of the best stoner rock albums of the decade.
[Cm] By the mid 90's the band [D] soon signed with Columbia
[G#] Records who put out their 1998 album [G] The Elephant Writers, but the band ran into problems.
[C] Musical
tastes had changed [G] and grunge and so-called alternative rock was gone, now replaced with
nu metal.
[D#] The band started recording [E] sessions for the album [F#] renting a house in West [G] Virginia.
And the area [A#m] the band was staying in was [F#m] rife with Civil War history and Clutch [D#m] wanted the
surrounding area's stories to seep into their [D] new album.
[Cm] But the label Columbia [D] was disappointed
[G#] with how the record turned out and they forced the group to re-record [G] it in New York City
with veteran producer Jack Douglas who had [N] previously worked with John Lennon, The Who
and Aerosmith.
Fallon would tell Revolver It was a great luxury to go to New York and record with
Jack Douglas, but at the same time, it wasn't the easiest record to make because of the label's
involvement.
It's embarrassing to think about [D] how much money Columbia [G#] dumped into this record.
It wasn't even money in our pockets.
[G] That's not to say I don't like the record.
It's just I
associate it with things that the listener doesn't.
While the album charted, it wasn't enough for the
label and Columbia soon dropped Clutch.
Their follow up record in 1999 saw the band go back
to their indie roots and release the album Jam Room.
[D] Once again major labels showed some interest
and the band soon signed with Atlantic Records who put out their 2001 album Pure Rock Fury.
Atlantic like their previous label didn't know how to market Clutch and that created problems.
A perfect [G] example of this was when a program director for the North Carolina radio station
Rock 105 [C] or WXQR Brian Rickman told the label they should change their first single from the album
[D] and the label agreed.
The first single from the album which was largely influenced by [G] rap rock
which was [C] popular at the time [G] and the song soon started to get airplay.
However Fallon didn't
agree with releasing the song as a single because he was worried that people would think [Dm] Clutch was
cashing in on what was popular at the time.
The band would eventually depart Atlantic signing
[C] with an indie label DRT and they [F] would end up releasing their follow up [Em] album in 2004 titled
Blast Tyrant which had a hit with the song Mob Goes Wild, [B] which band Margera directed the video
for.
From what Neal Fallon would tell [F] Song Facts the song was a rare social commentary around the
second Iraq war [Dm] revealing that was written at [G] the beginning of the Iraq war.
I don't want to
open the door and go into that, but I found [C] it to be kind of surreal on a bunch of different levels.
[A] That was my way of transcribing that onto paper.
I think it [C] was some kind of [F#] civil discontent on [C] my
part he'd say.
Soon enough more [D] publications started taking notice of the band and their music
started showing up in other mediums including video games such as Tony [Gm] Hawk Underground,
Hitman [Dm] and the video game Rock Band.
Clutch would follow that up with [C] 2005's Robot Hive Exodus and
it marked the addition of a new member to the [A] band Keyboardist Mike Schauer.
By 2008 the band was
done dealing with other record labels and formed their [E] own label.
Drummer John Paul Gaster would
tell Metal Express Radio why they went this route [C] revealing in the early days working with the
was always a great source of frustration.
We bounced around from label to label quite a bit
in the first half of our career.
You end up thinking about a lot of stuff that has nothing
to do with making music or playing music.
And as soon as we started our own label all of a sudden
that was no longer an issue.
The music can work hand in hand with the business as well he'd say.
He would go on to reveal how the band was very hands on with their label with [Gm] him being involved
in personally packaging [B] and shipping albums to Europe as well as other parts [D] of the world.
The
band has a lot to be proud of considering they've consistently [C] charted on the billboard album charts
with each [F] release they've put out on their [G] own independent label since 2008.
[Em] Their most recent
release the book of [A] bad decisions came out in 2018 and peaked at number 16 [D] on the album charts.
That does it for today's video guys thanks for watching.
Be sure to hit the like button
and subscribe and we'll see you again on rock n' roll true stories.
Take [G] care.
[C#]
they've [D] also survived a huge shift in the [E] music industry in the 2000s and 2010s.
Their fans known
as [D] Gearheads have learned that [E] Clutch's sound continually evolves and [D] today let's talk about
the history of the band.
[G]
[C#] [B] For many people Clutch first became popular in the early 90s with their
first full length [E] record Transnational Speedway League Anthems, Anecdotes & Undeniable Truths
which produced the single Ashoga Named Marcus.
The band's origins dated back to around 1988-1989
when Clutch would be formed by four friends who attended Seneca Valley High School in Germantown,
Maryland including vocalist Neil [B] Fallon, guitarist Tim Salt, bassist Dan Maines and drummer John Paul
Gaster.
One story I read claimed the band didn't actually form until after high school, at least
according to guitarist Tim Salt.
[A] When the band originally formed they called themselves Moral
Minority before moving on to the name Glut Trip.
The band would try out a few new singers in their
early days before Fallon fronted the band.
By the summer of 1991 they officially changed their name
to Clutch [F#] telling people it stood for City State Liberation Union to cleanse humanity.
Due to the
proximity of Washington D.C. the band would be influenced by groups like Fugazi and Minor Threat
and the band's early sound was more representative of hardcore [B] punk.
Frontman Neil Fallon would tell
[G#] In a separate interview Fallon would tell Psychology Today how punk influenced him early
on in his life revealing I got into singing just because it was something cool to do in high school.
I hung out with people that were into music that were on the margin, kind of in the periphery of
There was a time when punk rock, hardcore and heavy metal were [F#] shunned whereas now it has become
much more acceptable.
It seemed that much more of a threat involved and I think that's what attracted
me to the [F#] taboo of it he would say.
While politics would play a heavy part in the bands who originated
from D.C. it never really found its way into Clutch's music.
And it wasn't just bands like Minor
Threat and Fugazi who influenced Clutch's music as the go-go scene was as equally influential.
Go-go music would incorporate elements of funk along with hip-hop, blues as well as R&B and
audience participation.
Clutch would soon become known for their visual lyrics written by Frontman
Neil Fallon.
He would tell Psychology Today I've always been attracted to the idea of a tall tale
where you take a truth and you exaggerate it, but any story like if you take a myth for example,
it may be filled with exaggeration and half-truths, but ultimately it's to arrive or depict a universal
truth.
The band would release their [C#] first EP Pitchfork in October of 1991.
Following the
their first EP the band would attend a Corrosion of Conformity concert where they [B] gave out their EP,
[F#] which eventually found its way into the hands of [D] a kid named James Grah.
[E] Grah for his [B] part ran a
fanzine in [F#] Kansas and it turned out earache records advertised in that magazine [B] and they
soon signed Clutch.
The following year they would release their first major commercial EP
1992's Passive Restraints and labels at the time were signing punk metal bands like Helmet,
a band that Clutch bore some resemblance to.
The group's second EP would get them noticed by major
labels and they [G#] would soon sign with Atlantic [B] subsidiary East West.
By 1993 Clutch would
release Transnational Speedway League introducing the band to a larger audience with [E] the track A
Shogun Named Marcus.
[B] Clutch would soon establish themselves as one of the best groove bands out
there and they also soon started to get labeled as stoner rock alongside bands like Kias who i've
done a video on.
The link to that video is down [G#] below.
The MTV show Beavis and [E] Butt-head also
gave the band some love featuring the video for A Shogun Named Marcus.
Neil Fallon would tell
Revolver.
The stuff [B] we recorded, there was a lot slower and representative of our early influences,
stuff like the melvins and swans, but I got burned out at that session pretty quickly.
[A#] We came back to New York for a second session.
That's where we wrote A Shogun Named Marcus and
Rats, which were faster and had more of a sense of humor.
I discovered that I could make stuff up and
tell a story.
And to support the [A] album Clutch would open [G] for the likes of Sepultura, [D] Monster
Magnet, Biohazard, Voivod and [F#] Fear Factory.
[G] The experience opening for these [F] bands would get mixed
[F#] reviews from the members themselves with [Gm] Fallon telling Vice.
I remember doing [E] shows opening up
for [F#] big metal bands and just [G] being hated because it looked like we were having a good [A] time.
Metal is [G] a very conservative genre and there are a lot of close [A#]-minded guys and gals.
There's an irony [F#m] to it.
There are a lot of metal [G] fans who claim to be only [D#] into extreme things,
[Bm] but their list of extreme things is very, [C] very narrow.
By late 1994 [D#] the band would enter Uncle
Punchy Studios [G] in Silver Spring, Maryland to record their self-titled sophomore album.
Considered some to be their most commercially successful work, their self-titled record would
see an eclectic range of influences including metal and classic rock.
Fallon would tell Revolver
magazine.
Prior to this album we were listening to a lot of metal and hardcore like prong, bad
brains and chrome [F#] eggs.
Then we rediscovered classic rock which [G] added more swing and more
riffs and less power chords to our music.
The [F#] album itself would peak at number [G] 33 on the
album charts moving over [F#m] 200,000 units and the record [D] itself would be held in high regards as
one of the best stoner rock albums of the decade.
[Cm] By the mid 90's the band [D] soon signed with Columbia
[G#] Records who put out their 1998 album [G] The Elephant Writers, but the band ran into problems.
[C] Musical
tastes had changed [G] and grunge and so-called alternative rock was gone, now replaced with
nu metal.
[D#] The band started recording [E] sessions for the album [F#] renting a house in West [G] Virginia.
And the area [A#m] the band was staying in was [F#m] rife with Civil War history and Clutch [D#m] wanted the
surrounding area's stories to seep into their [D] new album.
[Cm] But the label Columbia [D] was disappointed
[G#] with how the record turned out and they forced the group to re-record [G] it in New York City
with veteran producer Jack Douglas who had [N] previously worked with John Lennon, The Who
and Aerosmith.
Fallon would tell Revolver It was a great luxury to go to New York and record with
Jack Douglas, but at the same time, it wasn't the easiest record to make because of the label's
involvement.
It's embarrassing to think about [D] how much money Columbia [G#] dumped into this record.
It wasn't even money in our pockets.
[G] That's not to say I don't like the record.
It's just I
associate it with things that the listener doesn't.
While the album charted, it wasn't enough for the
label and Columbia soon dropped Clutch.
Their follow up record in 1999 saw the band go back
to their indie roots and release the album Jam Room.
[D] Once again major labels showed some interest
and the band soon signed with Atlantic Records who put out their 2001 album Pure Rock Fury.
Atlantic like their previous label didn't know how to market Clutch and that created problems.
A perfect [G] example of this was when a program director for the North Carolina radio station
Rock 105 [C] or WXQR Brian Rickman told the label they should change their first single from the album
[D] and the label agreed.
The first single from the album which was largely influenced by [G] rap rock
which was [C] popular at the time [G] and the song soon started to get airplay.
However Fallon didn't
agree with releasing the song as a single because he was worried that people would think [Dm] Clutch was
cashing in on what was popular at the time.
The band would eventually depart Atlantic signing
[C] with an indie label DRT and they [F] would end up releasing their follow up [Em] album in 2004 titled
Blast Tyrant which had a hit with the song Mob Goes Wild, [B] which band Margera directed the video
for.
From what Neal Fallon would tell [F] Song Facts the song was a rare social commentary around the
second Iraq war [Dm] revealing that was written at [G] the beginning of the Iraq war.
I don't want to
open the door and go into that, but I found [C] it to be kind of surreal on a bunch of different levels.
[A] That was my way of transcribing that onto paper.
I think it [C] was some kind of [F#] civil discontent on [C] my
part he'd say.
Soon enough more [D] publications started taking notice of the band and their music
started showing up in other mediums including video games such as Tony [Gm] Hawk Underground,
Hitman [Dm] and the video game Rock Band.
Clutch would follow that up with [C] 2005's Robot Hive Exodus and
it marked the addition of a new member to the [A] band Keyboardist Mike Schauer.
By 2008 the band was
done dealing with other record labels and formed their [E] own label.
Drummer John Paul Gaster would
tell Metal Express Radio why they went this route [C] revealing in the early days working with the
was always a great source of frustration.
We bounced around from label to label quite a bit
in the first half of our career.
You end up thinking about a lot of stuff that has nothing
to do with making music or playing music.
And as soon as we started our own label all of a sudden
that was no longer an issue.
The music can work hand in hand with the business as well he'd say.
He would go on to reveal how the band was very hands on with their label with [Gm] him being involved
in personally packaging [B] and shipping albums to Europe as well as other parts [D] of the world.
The
band has a lot to be proud of considering they've consistently [C] charted on the billboard album charts
with each [F] release they've put out on their [G] own independent label since 2008.
[Em] Their most recent
release the book of [A] bad decisions came out in 2018 and peaked at number 16 [D] on the album charts.
That does it for today's video guys thanks for watching.
Be sure to hit the like button
and subscribe and we'll see you again on rock n' roll true stories.
Take [G] care.
[C#]
Key:
G
D
B
F#
C
G
D
B
Clutch has weathered a long career that spanned 3 [B] decades, dealt with big and small [A] labels and
they've [D] also survived a huge shift in the [E] music industry in the 2000s and 2010s.
Their fans known
as [D] Gearheads have learned that [E] Clutch's sound continually evolves and [D] today let's talk about
the history of the band.
[G] _ _ _ _
[C#] _ _ [B] _ For many people Clutch first became popular in the early 90s with their
first full length [E] record Transnational Speedway League Anthems, Anecdotes & Undeniable Truths
which produced the single Ashoga Named Marcus.
The band's origins dated back to around 1988-1989
when Clutch would be formed by four friends who attended Seneca Valley High School in Germantown,
Maryland including vocalist Neil [B] Fallon, guitarist Tim Salt, bassist Dan Maines and drummer John Paul
Gaster.
One story I read claimed the band didn't actually form until after high school, at least
according to guitarist Tim Salt.
[A] When the band originally formed they called themselves Moral
Minority before moving on to the name Glut Trip.
The band would try out a few new singers in their
early days before Fallon fronted the band.
By the summer of 1991 they officially changed their name
to Clutch [F#] telling people it stood for City State Liberation Union to cleanse humanity.
Due to the
proximity of Washington D.C. the band would be influenced by groups like Fugazi and Minor Threat
and the band's early sound was more representative of hardcore [B] punk.
Frontman Neil Fallon would tell _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G#] In a separate interview Fallon would tell Psychology Today how punk influenced him early
on in his life revealing I got into singing just because it was something cool to do in high school.
I hung out with people that were into music that were on the margin, kind of in the periphery of
There was a time when punk rock, hardcore and heavy metal were [F#] shunned whereas now it has become
much more acceptable.
It seemed that much more of a threat involved and I think that's what attracted
me to the [F#] taboo of it he would say.
While politics would play a heavy part in the bands who originated
from D.C. it never really found its way into Clutch's music.
And it wasn't just bands like Minor
Threat and Fugazi who influenced Clutch's music as the go-go scene was as equally influential.
Go-go music would incorporate elements of funk along with hip-hop, blues as well as R&B and
audience participation.
Clutch would soon become known for their visual lyrics written by Frontman
Neil Fallon.
He would tell Psychology Today I've always been attracted to the idea of a tall tale
where you take a truth and you exaggerate it, but any story like if you take a myth for example,
it may be filled with exaggeration and half-truths, but ultimately it's to arrive or depict a universal
truth.
The band would release their [C#] first EP Pitchfork in October of 1991.
Following the
their first EP the band would attend a Corrosion of Conformity concert where they [B] gave out their EP,
[F#] which eventually found its way into the hands of [D] a kid named James Grah.
[E] Grah for his [B] part ran a
fanzine in [F#] Kansas and it turned out earache records advertised in that magazine [B] and they
soon signed Clutch.
The following year they would release their first major commercial EP
1992's Passive Restraints and labels at the time were signing punk metal bands like Helmet,
a band that Clutch bore some resemblance to.
The group's second EP would get them noticed by major
labels and they [G#] would soon sign with Atlantic [B] subsidiary East West.
By 1993 Clutch would
release Transnational Speedway League introducing the band to a larger audience with [E] the track A
Shogun Named Marcus.
[B] Clutch would soon establish themselves as one of the best groove bands out
there and they also soon started to get labeled as stoner rock alongside bands like Kias who i've
done a video on.
The link to that video is down [G#] below.
The MTV show Beavis and [E] Butt-head also
gave the band some love featuring the video for A Shogun Named Marcus.
Neil Fallon would tell
Revolver.
The stuff [B] we recorded, there was a lot slower and representative of our early influences,
stuff like the melvins and swans, but I got burned out at that session pretty quickly.
[A#] We came back to New York for a second session.
That's where we wrote A Shogun Named Marcus and
Rats, which were faster and had more of a sense of humor.
I discovered that I could make stuff up and
tell a story.
And to support the [A] album Clutch would open [G] for the likes of Sepultura, [D] Monster
Magnet, Biohazard, Voivod and [F#] Fear Factory.
[G] The experience opening for these [F] bands would get mixed
[F#] reviews from the members themselves with [Gm] Fallon telling Vice.
I remember doing [E] shows opening up
for [F#] big metal bands and just [G] being hated because it looked like we were having a good [A] time.
Metal is [G] a very conservative genre and there are a lot of close [A#]-minded guys and gals.
There's an irony [F#m] to it.
There are a lot of metal [G] fans who claim to be only [D#] into extreme things,
[Bm] but their list of extreme things is very, [C] very narrow.
By late 1994 [D#] the band would enter Uncle
Punchy Studios [G] in Silver Spring, Maryland to record their self-titled sophomore album.
Considered some to be their most commercially successful work, their self-titled record would
see an eclectic range of influences including metal and classic rock.
Fallon would tell Revolver
magazine.
Prior to this album we were listening to a lot of metal and hardcore like prong, bad
brains and chrome [F#] eggs.
Then we rediscovered classic rock which [G] added more swing and more
riffs and less power chords to our music.
The [F#] album itself would peak at number [G] 33 on the
album charts moving over [F#m] 200,000 units and the record [D] itself would be held in high regards as
one of the best stoner rock albums of the decade.
[Cm] By the mid 90's the band [D] soon signed with Columbia
[G#] Records who put out their 1998 album [G] The Elephant Writers, but the band ran into problems.
[C] Musical
tastes had changed [G] and grunge and so-called alternative rock was gone, now replaced with
nu metal.
[D#] The band started recording [E] sessions for the album [F#] renting a house in West [G] Virginia.
And the area [A#m] the band was staying in was [F#m] rife with Civil War history and Clutch [D#m] wanted the
surrounding area's stories to seep into their [D] new album.
[Cm] But the label Columbia [D] was disappointed
[G#] with how the record turned out and they forced the group to re-record [G] it in New York City
with veteran producer Jack Douglas who had [N] previously worked with John Lennon, The Who
and Aerosmith.
Fallon would tell Revolver It was a great luxury to go to New York and record with
Jack Douglas, but at the same time, it wasn't the easiest record to make because of the label's
involvement.
It's embarrassing to think about [D] how much money Columbia [G#] dumped into this record.
It wasn't even money in our pockets.
[G] That's not to say I don't like the record.
It's just I
associate it with things that the listener doesn't.
While the album charted, it wasn't enough for the
label and Columbia soon dropped Clutch.
Their follow up record in 1999 saw the band go back
to their indie roots and release the album Jam Room.
[D] Once again major labels showed some interest
and the band soon signed with Atlantic Records who put out their 2001 album Pure Rock Fury.
Atlantic like their previous label didn't know how to market Clutch and that created problems.
A perfect [G] example of this was when a program director for the North Carolina radio station
Rock 105 [C] or WXQR Brian Rickman told the label they should change their first single from the album
[D] and the label agreed.
The first single from the album which was largely influenced by [G] rap rock
which was [C] popular at the time [G] and the song soon started to get airplay.
However Fallon didn't
agree with releasing the song as a single because he was worried that people would think [Dm] Clutch was
cashing in on what was popular at the time.
The band would eventually depart Atlantic signing
[C] with an indie label DRT and they [F] would end up releasing their follow up [Em] album in 2004 titled
Blast Tyrant which had a hit with the song Mob Goes Wild, [B] which band Margera directed the video
for.
From what Neal Fallon would tell [F] Song Facts the song was a rare social commentary around the
second Iraq war [Dm] revealing that was written at [G] the beginning of the Iraq war.
I don't want to
open the door and go into that, but I found [C] it to be kind of surreal on a bunch of different levels.
[A] That was my way of transcribing that onto paper.
I think it [C] was some kind of [F#] civil discontent on [C] my
part he'd say.
Soon enough more [D] publications started taking notice of the band and their music
started showing up in other mediums including video games such as Tony [Gm] Hawk Underground,
Hitman [Dm] and the video game Rock Band.
Clutch would follow that up with [C] 2005's Robot Hive Exodus and
it marked the addition of a new member to the [A] band Keyboardist Mike Schauer.
By 2008 the band was
done dealing with other record labels and formed their [E] own label.
Drummer John Paul Gaster would
tell Metal Express Radio why they went this route [C] revealing in the early days working with the
was always a great source of frustration.
We bounced around from label to label quite a bit
in the first half of our career.
You end up thinking about a lot of stuff that has nothing
to do with making music or playing music.
And as soon as we started our own label all of a sudden
that was no longer an issue.
The music can work hand in hand with the business as well he'd say.
He would go on to reveal how the band was very hands on with their label with [Gm] him being involved
in personally packaging [B] and shipping albums to Europe as well as other parts [D] of the world.
The
band has a lot to be proud of considering they've consistently [C] charted on the billboard album charts
with each [F] release they've put out on their [G] own independent label since 2008.
[Em] Their most recent
release the book of [A] bad decisions came out in 2018 and peaked at number 16 [D] on the album charts.
That does it for today's video guys thanks for watching.
Be sure to hit the like button
and subscribe and we'll see you again on rock n' roll true stories.
Take [G] care.
_ _ _ [C#] _ _ _ _
they've [D] also survived a huge shift in the [E] music industry in the 2000s and 2010s.
Their fans known
as [D] Gearheads have learned that [E] Clutch's sound continually evolves and [D] today let's talk about
the history of the band.
[G] _ _ _ _
[C#] _ _ [B] _ For many people Clutch first became popular in the early 90s with their
first full length [E] record Transnational Speedway League Anthems, Anecdotes & Undeniable Truths
which produced the single Ashoga Named Marcus.
The band's origins dated back to around 1988-1989
when Clutch would be formed by four friends who attended Seneca Valley High School in Germantown,
Maryland including vocalist Neil [B] Fallon, guitarist Tim Salt, bassist Dan Maines and drummer John Paul
Gaster.
One story I read claimed the band didn't actually form until after high school, at least
according to guitarist Tim Salt.
[A] When the band originally formed they called themselves Moral
Minority before moving on to the name Glut Trip.
The band would try out a few new singers in their
early days before Fallon fronted the band.
By the summer of 1991 they officially changed their name
to Clutch [F#] telling people it stood for City State Liberation Union to cleanse humanity.
Due to the
proximity of Washington D.C. the band would be influenced by groups like Fugazi and Minor Threat
and the band's early sound was more representative of hardcore [B] punk.
Frontman Neil Fallon would tell _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G#] In a separate interview Fallon would tell Psychology Today how punk influenced him early
on in his life revealing I got into singing just because it was something cool to do in high school.
I hung out with people that were into music that were on the margin, kind of in the periphery of
There was a time when punk rock, hardcore and heavy metal were [F#] shunned whereas now it has become
much more acceptable.
It seemed that much more of a threat involved and I think that's what attracted
me to the [F#] taboo of it he would say.
While politics would play a heavy part in the bands who originated
from D.C. it never really found its way into Clutch's music.
And it wasn't just bands like Minor
Threat and Fugazi who influenced Clutch's music as the go-go scene was as equally influential.
Go-go music would incorporate elements of funk along with hip-hop, blues as well as R&B and
audience participation.
Clutch would soon become known for their visual lyrics written by Frontman
Neil Fallon.
He would tell Psychology Today I've always been attracted to the idea of a tall tale
where you take a truth and you exaggerate it, but any story like if you take a myth for example,
it may be filled with exaggeration and half-truths, but ultimately it's to arrive or depict a universal
truth.
The band would release their [C#] first EP Pitchfork in October of 1991.
Following the
their first EP the band would attend a Corrosion of Conformity concert where they [B] gave out their EP,
[F#] which eventually found its way into the hands of [D] a kid named James Grah.
[E] Grah for his [B] part ran a
fanzine in [F#] Kansas and it turned out earache records advertised in that magazine [B] and they
soon signed Clutch.
The following year they would release their first major commercial EP
1992's Passive Restraints and labels at the time were signing punk metal bands like Helmet,
a band that Clutch bore some resemblance to.
The group's second EP would get them noticed by major
labels and they [G#] would soon sign with Atlantic [B] subsidiary East West.
By 1993 Clutch would
release Transnational Speedway League introducing the band to a larger audience with [E] the track A
Shogun Named Marcus.
[B] Clutch would soon establish themselves as one of the best groove bands out
there and they also soon started to get labeled as stoner rock alongside bands like Kias who i've
done a video on.
The link to that video is down [G#] below.
The MTV show Beavis and [E] Butt-head also
gave the band some love featuring the video for A Shogun Named Marcus.
Neil Fallon would tell
Revolver.
The stuff [B] we recorded, there was a lot slower and representative of our early influences,
stuff like the melvins and swans, but I got burned out at that session pretty quickly.
[A#] We came back to New York for a second session.
That's where we wrote A Shogun Named Marcus and
Rats, which were faster and had more of a sense of humor.
I discovered that I could make stuff up and
tell a story.
And to support the [A] album Clutch would open [G] for the likes of Sepultura, [D] Monster
Magnet, Biohazard, Voivod and [F#] Fear Factory.
[G] The experience opening for these [F] bands would get mixed
[F#] reviews from the members themselves with [Gm] Fallon telling Vice.
I remember doing [E] shows opening up
for [F#] big metal bands and just [G] being hated because it looked like we were having a good [A] time.
Metal is [G] a very conservative genre and there are a lot of close [A#]-minded guys and gals.
There's an irony [F#m] to it.
There are a lot of metal [G] fans who claim to be only [D#] into extreme things,
[Bm] but their list of extreme things is very, [C] very narrow.
By late 1994 [D#] the band would enter Uncle
Punchy Studios [G] in Silver Spring, Maryland to record their self-titled sophomore album.
Considered some to be their most commercially successful work, their self-titled record would
see an eclectic range of influences including metal and classic rock.
Fallon would tell Revolver
magazine.
Prior to this album we were listening to a lot of metal and hardcore like prong, bad
brains and chrome [F#] eggs.
Then we rediscovered classic rock which [G] added more swing and more
riffs and less power chords to our music.
The [F#] album itself would peak at number [G] 33 on the
album charts moving over [F#m] 200,000 units and the record [D] itself would be held in high regards as
one of the best stoner rock albums of the decade.
[Cm] By the mid 90's the band [D] soon signed with Columbia
[G#] Records who put out their 1998 album [G] The Elephant Writers, but the band ran into problems.
[C] Musical
tastes had changed [G] and grunge and so-called alternative rock was gone, now replaced with
nu metal.
[D#] The band started recording [E] sessions for the album [F#] renting a house in West [G] Virginia.
And the area [A#m] the band was staying in was [F#m] rife with Civil War history and Clutch [D#m] wanted the
surrounding area's stories to seep into their [D] new album.
[Cm] But the label Columbia [D] was disappointed
[G#] with how the record turned out and they forced the group to re-record [G] it in New York City
with veteran producer Jack Douglas who had [N] previously worked with John Lennon, The Who
and Aerosmith.
Fallon would tell Revolver It was a great luxury to go to New York and record with
Jack Douglas, but at the same time, it wasn't the easiest record to make because of the label's
involvement.
It's embarrassing to think about [D] how much money Columbia [G#] dumped into this record.
It wasn't even money in our pockets.
[G] That's not to say I don't like the record.
It's just I
associate it with things that the listener doesn't.
While the album charted, it wasn't enough for the
label and Columbia soon dropped Clutch.
Their follow up record in 1999 saw the band go back
to their indie roots and release the album Jam Room.
[D] Once again major labels showed some interest
and the band soon signed with Atlantic Records who put out their 2001 album Pure Rock Fury.
Atlantic like their previous label didn't know how to market Clutch and that created problems.
A perfect [G] example of this was when a program director for the North Carolina radio station
Rock 105 [C] or WXQR Brian Rickman told the label they should change their first single from the album
[D] and the label agreed.
The first single from the album which was largely influenced by [G] rap rock
which was [C] popular at the time [G] and the song soon started to get airplay.
However Fallon didn't
agree with releasing the song as a single because he was worried that people would think [Dm] Clutch was
cashing in on what was popular at the time.
The band would eventually depart Atlantic signing
[C] with an indie label DRT and they [F] would end up releasing their follow up [Em] album in 2004 titled
Blast Tyrant which had a hit with the song Mob Goes Wild, [B] which band Margera directed the video
for.
From what Neal Fallon would tell [F] Song Facts the song was a rare social commentary around the
second Iraq war [Dm] revealing that was written at [G] the beginning of the Iraq war.
I don't want to
open the door and go into that, but I found [C] it to be kind of surreal on a bunch of different levels.
[A] That was my way of transcribing that onto paper.
I think it [C] was some kind of [F#] civil discontent on [C] my
part he'd say.
Soon enough more [D] publications started taking notice of the band and their music
started showing up in other mediums including video games such as Tony [Gm] Hawk Underground,
Hitman [Dm] and the video game Rock Band.
Clutch would follow that up with [C] 2005's Robot Hive Exodus and
it marked the addition of a new member to the [A] band Keyboardist Mike Schauer.
By 2008 the band was
done dealing with other record labels and formed their [E] own label.
Drummer John Paul Gaster would
tell Metal Express Radio why they went this route [C] revealing in the early days working with the
was always a great source of frustration.
We bounced around from label to label quite a bit
in the first half of our career.
You end up thinking about a lot of stuff that has nothing
to do with making music or playing music.
And as soon as we started our own label all of a sudden
that was no longer an issue.
The music can work hand in hand with the business as well he'd say.
He would go on to reveal how the band was very hands on with their label with [Gm] him being involved
in personally packaging [B] and shipping albums to Europe as well as other parts [D] of the world.
The
band has a lot to be proud of considering they've consistently [C] charted on the billboard album charts
with each [F] release they've put out on their [G] own independent label since 2008.
[Em] Their most recent
release the book of [A] bad decisions came out in 2018 and peaked at number 16 [D] on the album charts.
That does it for today's video guys thanks for watching.
Be sure to hit the like button
and subscribe and we'll see you again on rock n' roll true stories.
Take [G] care.
_ _ _ [C#] _ _ _ _