Interview with Clutch; frontman Neil Fallon Talks About the New Album ‘Earth Rocker’

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Neil Fallon, guitarist and vocalist of the hard rock act Clutch. The band released their latest effort, Earth Rocker, back in March of 2013 and since then have been touring the globe in support of this new release. Here is what Fallon had to say.

Now that your new disc Earth Rocker is complete, are you satisfied with the outcome?
Fallon: Yeah I am very excited about it and I am more than satisfied with it.

When listening to the advanced copy I received I couldn’t help but notice that it seems to be a bit more organic and raw than previous releases. Was that something that was intentional or is it something that just sort of came about?
Fallon: Well we knew when we went into record Earth Rocker we wanted to make a more efficient, straight to the point rock record. One thing that was really beneficial for us this time is that we did some very extensive pre-production which that gave us the ability to go into the studio and just track it rather than playing the songs live for months. We knew those songs pretty much frontwards and backwards before we started tracking.

Check out the song “Earth Rocker”

What is your writing process like?
Fallon: It is a democracy and that is why producers are important for a band like Clutch. It is not so much as them providing ideas as it is allowing us to really focus on the music. I often make the analogy that it is like renting a dictator for a month.

Sure and I think that hiring a producer takes out all or most of the personal issues and emotions involved, right?
Fallon: Yeah but at the end of the day we always have the final stamp of approval and you know at this point we have been doing it for more than 20 years so I would hope we know what we are doing.

When you guys are writing, are you writing with the live setting in mind, or do you write the song just for the song’s sake?
Fallon: We write the songs for the song’s sake, but without fail the stage is always the crucible because some songs can sound great in the studio with multiple tracks, delays and reverbs, but when you play them onstage they just fall flat. We try to, as much as we can, play the songs live before we track them.

When you say live, do you mean the four of you guys running through them or do you mean in front of a crowd?
Fallon: Yeah in front of a crowd. For years we have been playing works in progress in front of a audience. The vocals and lyrics are always nebulous right until the very end, but at least we can get a feel for how the songs work.

That is kind of cool though because you can get immediate feedback.
Fallon: Yeah that is true and also just the environment because sometimes you write a riff for the first time and you want to hear it sixty-four times, but when you get to the stage and you realize that maybe you should only play it four times.

You guys toured with Thin Lizzy and Motorhead just recently. What was it like touring with such musical icons?
Fallon: It was fantastic. Those are bands that were enormous when we were very very young. They were big in our world because that is when we were first discovering Rock ‘n’ Roll. Now that we are touring with them and hearing them play it is great. I like to think we have older, more educated Rock ‘n’ Roll ears and listening them play to sets where every single song kicks serious ass was pretty inspiring.

Were the crowds receptive to your music and you guys?
Fallon: Yeah it was real good. It is tough opening for iconic acts like that though. I remember we did a week with Iron Maiden and it was done I remember thinking, well thank god that tour is over because that Iron Maiden crowd just wanted nothing to do with us; I get that. Sometimes people say that we should open up for a band like Metallica or AC/DC and I think that often times that is the last thing a band needs because the shadow is just too big.

We have all been there, I remember as a kid hanging out in the parking lot while the opening acts were on and only going into the show to see the headliner. Now as an adult I want to see every act on the bill. But I guess that can make it kind of rough on bands.
Fallon: Yeah I think for people like us, those who write about music and those of us in bands, there is a level of music appreciation that runs deeper than your average Joe. People that invest a lot of time, money, heart and emotion into music want to see the whole show.

I know you are all musicians, but it still must have been kind of cool being onstage and looking off to the side and seeing Lemmy looking on?
Fallon: Yeah it was great. It was great to watch them play too. We did two tours with them, one about six years ago and one last year, and I think they were even better last time. But probably the coolest thing is I got to sing a song with them on stage which was just mind-blowing. I sang “Killed By Death” with them and at one point on the tour Lemmy told me that “Electric Warrior” was our “Ace of Spades” and if he had to play that song every night than we had to play “Electric Warrior.” I was pretty speechless when I walked away from that conversation.

Check out the song “Crucial Velocity”

We touched on it earlier, but did you ever imagine you would still be playing Rock ‘n’ roll so many years later?
Fallon: No, to be honest I always naively thought that this was something we were going to do until we got jobs that we hated. It didn’t work out that way though once I finally accepted the fact that this is something you can do if you just dedicate your heart and soul to it. Listen, the worst day in Rock ‘n’ Roll is better than the best day stuck in morning traffic.

Along those same lines do you find it difficult keeping up with the physical demands of a tour as you get older?
Fallon: No, actually I find it easier now because I don’t do as much stupid shit. One thing I took away from the tour is that people on the outside see such madness and insanity, but it is a very disciplined operation, sure there is some kookiness that goes on but you can’t do it for that long without an immense sense of self-discipline. I am not saying I wake up and do a hundred pushups a day; it is really more about what you don’t do.

So work smarter is the moral then huh?
Fallon: Well, it is a marathon not a sprint.