CLUTCH Frontman Says He Is His Own Biggest Critic

Melanie Sheridan of Australia's Beat magazine recently conducted an interview with CLUTCH frontman Neil Fallon. A few excerpts follow:

On the band's rabid fan base:

"I think people either love us or hate us. And those [past] shows in Australia were particularly unique because there was a lot of pressure on us since we knew that some people had been waiting a really, really long time. And sometimes when something gets worked up that much, you can almost set yourself up for disappointment because it becomes like a romantic myth and the reality might be something completely different. So I hope everyone left satisfied."

On the band's new album, "From Beale Street to Oblivion":

"It's not a blues record. It's got some of that flavour, slide guitar and harmonica. There's a couple of tracks that smack of that but just like the other records, we never started it saying we want this record to be like this or that. It's just when it was done we listened to it and realised that having followed our instincts we ended up with this album.'

On being a band that can't stop evolving:

"Progress can be good and bad, just from a social standpoint, but change is inevitable. And I think for us there's a fear of repetition because it's really boring. And to make a career out of this [music], boredom is one's worst enemy because music — and any art — has to be exciting. And that means taking a risk and if then sometimes failing at that, that's okay. But you've gotta do that in order to keep it interesting. It shouldn't become a commodity of safety-ness. It's a living thing and you gotta roll with its momentum.

"I think I find myself much happier now that we're putting out albums with much greater frequency. The period of time between 'Elephant Riders' and 'Pure Rock Fury' was a long time, and it was just like beating these songs to death and it really became chore-like and that kinda defeats the purpose.”

"I'm my own biggest critic. I listen to the records and I'm never happy with them, just because we are a live band. And I'd rather it be that way. I'd rather people say, 'They're great live but their albums aren't as good' than say, 'They're great in the studio but they can't play worth a damn onstage.'"

Read the entire interview at this location.