Clutch in Gear

Clutch plays rock music. There are lots of flavors to what the band does -- at various times, strains of punk, funk, go-go, alternative metal, even blues, are discernable in the band's atypically smart, typically loud rebranding of classic riff rock.

People who like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath like Clutch. So do people who snuggle up to Helmet, The Deftones or Queens of the Stone Age.

It's rock music -- the same, but different.

Clutch has never sold millions of albums. Several early songs -- "Careful With That Mic," "Immortal," "The Mob Goes Wild" -- enjoyed modest radio play, but nothing emerged that qualified as a hit single. It didn't matter to the band.

"We never really got the hang of that radio thing -- but it never really seemed to matter, thank God," said Tim Sult, the band's guitarist. "We have never really aspired to rock stardom. We never wanted to be Metallica. Nobody is Metallica -- not even Metallica."

He laughed. "We manage to make music without a personal stylist. Our idea of style is no style."

Since 1991, Clutch has been a band that does what it does, how it does, when it wants to do it. The band has worked for a couple of major labels over the past 17 years, but the experiences, said Sult, were ultimately more hindrance than help. The band now puts out its own albums -- Clutch's latest release Full Fathom Five: Field Recordings -- 2007-2008, is available as a DVD (Video Field Recordings) or as a CD (Audio Field Recordings).

"It's a lot easier releasing our own albums," Sult said. "We've released the last several, and the profit margin is way better. People have this mistaken idea that all bands that have hit records are rich, and that record companies are standing there waiting to give you a million dollars in tour support.

"The truth is the major labels don't have any money, and if they did, they aren't going to give it to the bands. These days, you are on your own out there. The days of the giant bands are over. So you are better off running your own show. We know we don't have any money."

Clutch is often described as a cult band, given its ability to survive without benefit of hit albums or singles. Sult doesn't particularly like the word ‘cult' -- he prefers ‘niche' (tongue firmly in cheek) -- but he does agree that Clutch "is hardly a big band in the grand scheme of things."

And that is fine with Sult.

"We never expected to big some kind of huge band," he said. "Besides, didn't that whole idea go away with Whitesnake? Sure, there is a certain buzz that comes from playing to 5,000 people, not that we have had anything more than a little taste of that. At the same time, we tend to really like working smaller rooms and clubs. It sounds better. You can feel the sound. And we like being in such close proximity to our fans. Maybe we are crazy, but we really like our fans."

And Clutch's fans really like the band. The band's devoted fan base -- a faithful legion that accepts all musical shifts without question -- is what keeps the band alive.

"We have pretty much built our fans through constant touring," Sult said. "We are different than a lot of bands in that we like to play little places that other bands don't play, places that aren't even secondary markets. When's the last time U2 played some little town in Idaho? We like going to play for kids who don't otherwise get a chance to see many bands. It's a gratifying experience for everybody involved."

Sult said that Clutch will play up to six months a year, around 100 shows. Then the band spends time working on other projects. Four of the five members of Clutch also tour and record as The Bakerton Group -- a spinoff band that writes and performs instrumental music (singer Neil Fallon is the only member not involved). But working on Clutch material remains the priority.

"I think it says something that we have been doing this so long, and we are still friends, and still a damn fine band," Sult said. "And it's never become a job. We still love to make music. It's still fun.

"To me, a job is something that you want to avoid. Making music you like, with people you like, and playing it for people you like -- there are worse things."

If you go

Clutch will perform at 7 p.m. next Thursday at The Millennium Center. The Sword and 3 Quarters Dead will open the show. Tickets are $20, $25 day of show. For tickets, visit www.ziggyrock.com or call 336-682-6332.