surfing was definitely one of those kinda things
that was on my radar – it was something I never
had the opportunity to do growing up but the
last time we did go to Australia I tried to surf
for the first time in my life and I think it was at
Bondi Beach. The person who took me out is a
good surfer himself and he said that particular
day the waves were pretty rough, and they
were – they pretty much ate me alive. I got
to the point where I was on my knees but I
could never get up on my feet long enough
to say that I was actually surfing. I’d love to try
it again when I come out, but I’ll er, start off
with a longer board I think.”
Leaving that to us, we get back into his forte,
the music. Dan says he’s looking forward to
seeing fellow Soundwavers Gwar, who are
‘from the same neck of the woods’ as Clutch,
and Mastodon, who are old tour mates of
theirs. He’s promising a solid set of old and new
…”The good thing about Earth Rocker is that
I think every song on it translates well to the
stage. But I would say that over time, giving
it an honest listen, this record would probably
be the record out of the last few we’ve made
where I feel like we came as close as possible
to really achieving what it was that we went
in to the studio to do.”
People seem to agree, with the album
charting at #15 in the Billboard Top 50 and
flying into #1 at Metal Radio in the USA, with
critics hailing it the best record of the band’s
career. A pre-Soundwave bonus will be the
release of Earth Rocker Live on January 17, a
limited edition, double vinyl picture disk set,
that features one LP of the studio recording,
and one LP of live tracks recorded from
various shows around the world to mirror the
track listing of the studio LP. (Available through
Weathermaker Music and MGM)
Dan himself is a big fan of vinyl … “As far as
really listening to the music, I do prefer the vinyl
and I think that’s something a lot of people
are starting to realise now we’ve had so many
years to experiment with the digital side of
music. There’s certainly some conveniences
to that – each platform has its strengths - but
as far as sitting down in the chair and listening
to the music, most people would agree that
the vinyl is a better experience.”
Clutch are double dipping here which will
be awesome, playing sideshows including
Brisbane at The Zoo on February 21, the night
before Soundwave invades the Brisbane RNA
Showgrounds on February 22.
A band now entering its third decade, how
the hell do they keep up their intensity and
energy for all this? “Ahhh, we’re avid fans of
Starbucks – we’re definitely a caffeine fuelled
group of people. I keep it simple - strictly
espressos.”
Soundwave line up, dates and ticketing at
www.soundwavefestival.com
The Zoo Feb 21st sideshow tickets are $50 + at
www.tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=40273
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