I didn’t originally have any Clutch songs on my list for bands to cover. But then I got talking to my man Bobby Johnson about the project and he offered for his band to tackle something. I threw a few out there, knowing his band Canyons had already done an entire EP of Clutch covers, thinking they would rather try out something else. But nope. They went with my recommendation of “Rock N’ Roll Outlaw”, which is quite possibly one of the the most badass Clutch songs out there.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Clutch has some major impact on the sound of Hex Records by any means. But they’re a band that take me to a particular time in my life. When I first heard Clutch they had that heavy angle I enjoyed, but there were also those outrageous vocals from Neil Fallon. Not only does he have that gravely, commanding voice, but his lyrics are ridiculous- deep-pocket pop culture references, too-smart-to-be-goofy cobbled together nonsense- or are they genius? Whatever the case, my friends and I loved it. Their first two full lengths were in constant rotation when we would all pile into our friends car each morning on the way to school and we would sing along to it all.
In a way, I am always seeking out bands not doing the typical thing, who mess with convention. Clutch have certainly been a band like that, always doing things their way, on their terms.
And I suppose that’s where Bobby and Canyons fit in. Since coming across Bobby’s label The Ghost Is Clear it was immediately evident that this is also a dude that does things his own way, on his own terms, and is always pushing forward. It’s always cool to talk shop with other label people about how they do things, their approach, and so on, and Bobby and I chat a lot about that stuff. So respect.
It’s all about people doing their own thing, doing it their own way, and being weird as hell about it. Perhaps that makes us all rock and roll outlaws.
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