With Rock Carnival Music Festival tonight, anxious fans scramble for last minute plans for the 3
day rock n’ roll extravaganza in Lakewood, New Jersey, featuring 60 acts including TWISTED SISTER, ALICE COOPER, HALESTORM, MONSTER MAGNET, BLUE OYSTER CULT, DAUGHTRY, THE USED and CLUTCH.
JP the drummer and founding member of CLUTCH had a quick chat with me about the upcoming show. Here’s our interview:
Rock revolt: Hi JP! How are you? What’s going on?
JP: We are home. We just wrapped up a European tour last week. And it’s nice to be home for a few weeks before we go out again.
Rock revolt: And the next leg is a USA tour?
JP: That’s right!
Rock revolt: so I know that you’re the drummer. You will so I know your drummer your founding member and it’s only original member still clutch correct and it is the same guys for 25 years now. How do you keep such a great solidarity and stick together?
Well, we don’t want to get real jobs. It really just boils down to when we started the band and we only had really to goals in mind. We wanted to make good recordings and play good shows. That was really the beginning and the end of it. We didn’t look at this as a career. We didn’t think we could make a career out of this thing because the bands that we looked up to were not big bands. They were bands that played clubs, and they didn’t necessarily get played on the radio. They were bands that were in it for the music and those of the bands that we looked up to like BAD BRAINS, and the MELVINS. These were bands that we looked at as role models. Because of that the idea of fame and fortune were not even on our radar and it still isn’t. I think that’s the part of the job we’re the least comfortable with.
Rock revolt: what is that, the fame of the fortune?
I think it’s a little weird when somebody comes up and asked me for an autograph. I think what you asking me for an autograph for: I’m just a guy playing drums. I think having that kind of mentality eliminates a lot of peripheral nonsense that goes on with being in a band. People get into bands for a lot of different kinds of reasons and that’s all legitimate. We got into it because of the music. We are still making music. Luckily we were able to make a career out of it but at the end of the day the music serves as our beacon, that’s our reference, that’s our perspective.
Rock revolt: so you don’t play any arena rock shows? I’m with you with that. I’ve seen been seeing concert since the early 80s and I always prefer a more intimate room with the band then these massive arenas.
JP: and I think there’s a certain mindset that goes along with that. There’s a elements of preconceived notion that goes with the show and playing the same set list every night. A lot of those venues look the same as well. In my mind it would be very much like Groundhog Day. But every musician does it differently, and who am I to say that’s not a legitimate way to make music?
Rock revolt: so you’re going to be playing rock carnival which is a big deal for us to New Jersey! I know you usually play at the Starland ballroom in Sayreville around New Year’s,’s but since you’re playing rock carnival will this be your only show in the New Jersey area?
No were not planning on playing Starland this year. We’re planned Friday night at the Rock Carnival.
That’s cool! Friday night is the classics night, and ALICE COOPER is playing with ALMOST QUEEN, ZAKK SABBATH, BLUE OYSTER CULT and some others.
That’s one of my favorite things about the festivals that you get to see bands that you normally wouldn’t and plan for people who wouldn’t normally be there. It’s a good thing to do, and having those new fresh ears there makes it all worth it.
I’m looking forward to see Zakk Wylde doing Black Sabbath. Joey Castillo is playing drums in that project, and he is one of my favorite drummers. The base player Blasko we’ve known for many many years. So that’s gonna be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing ZAKK SABBATH.
Rock revolt: so how is the new album? I see you made a new video called “a quick death in Texas”. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
We shot it in June 2016 in New Jersey at a place called Western World.
Was that the old Wild West City?
Yes! That’s the one! It was a blast! It was a really cool experience. We got to work with the people who run the facility. We watch them do their thing. It was fine, kinda goofy. We did stuff we never done before.
How is the new album Psychic Warfare doing?
It’s doing great! It’s even better because it’s on our own label that’s what makes it the sweetest of all. For many years we were assigned to other labels and it was a difficult time: major labels, independent labels, in between labels. At the end of the day all these people want to make money off of you and it’s amazing to be able to release music on our own terms the way we want to, how we want to. That is what makes the success of psychic warfare even sweeter
That’s excellent! Good for you guys! You guys rock!
[embedplusvideo height=”345″ width=”560″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/2drTUUc” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/6Sj76eCy6ag?fs=1&vq=hd720″ vars=”ytid=6Sj76eCy6ag&width=560&height=345&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep2385″ /]
See CLUTCH live at Rock Carnival Music Festival on Friday, September 30, 2016. Get your tickets here!
Connect With Clutch (click icons):
Read more about Rock Carnival Music Festival 2016 here!
by Jen Rubino 9.30.2016
