Clutch: a band that seems to have it worse than ANTHRAX

[TD]

Things really seemed on the up and up for these guys. I saw them open for Sepultura, then Prong, then get a major label deal after all the touring!! At one point (summer 1996) Anthrax played a show w/ Clutch, and Clutch was the headliner. A tour with Pantera soon followed. But, every album since the self titled one has been a flop (commercially speaking) and now they are playing clubs for FIVE BUCKS. They are playing the Newport w/ 4 other bands for $5. Does that leave Neil w/ enough $$$ for a Big Mac, or should I bring canned food!! I'm gonna go watch, I haven't seen Clutch for a while, but $5 is less than the cover at my favorite bars anyway.

 

[jdelpi]

The Clutch/Anthrax/Misfits show was in Clutch's hometown.

 

[TD]

No it wasn't, it was in Detroit!

 

[jdelpi]

Then from where are they?

 

[TD]

West Virginia and Maryland.

 

[jdelpi]

Then I stand corrected.

 

[TD]

That show was the day after the World Series of Metal 1996. August 7th I believe. It was outdoors, at the Phoenix Plaza in Pontiac. I was gonna go, but had a g/f at the time who was already mad that I spent a weekend in Cleveland. Some friends of mine went on up. Clutch was the headliner.

 

[TD]

The exclamation mark in my initial response was just for laughs.
I think the show was a "radio fest." so I guess, technically, Clutch weren't bona fide headliners.

 

[Steve M]

the clutch shows in ohio are kinda sorta a thank you because we've always been good to em... plus newport and the agora are under the same managment... i dunno how big newport is, but the agora theater (where they are playing) is a pretty decent sized place. i know the cleveland show is sponsored by one of the major radio stations here as well.

they, of course, do not play clutch.

i'm kind of upset that sixty watt shaman isn't coming around with em, like they were originally supposed too. we're getting brand new sin instead. they're pretty kick ass, as i've said before.

 

[TD]

The Agora holds close to 2000 people. I've seen it full, and I've seen it nowhere near full. The Newport, which used to simply be the "columbus Agora" holds about the same, and yes, Promowest owns both of them.

 

[InfernalKeith]

Don't cry for Clutch just yet. They got a great deal when they "moved" from EastWest to Atlantic (same co.) and they seem to enjoy playing to their diehard fans and selling records to the same 60,000 people, some of whom follow them around like Deadheads, comparing set lists and the like.

Clutch has a pretty strong Ohio/Michigan following (I saw them pack a dangerously oversold Harpo's a couple years back). Once in a while they go out and do a bigger tour, like opening for System of a Down or Slayer, but then they go back out on their own circuit, taking bands they know and respect (Sixty Watt Shaman, Five Horse Johnson, etc) as their openers.

They're making a living, touring all the time, and doing what they want. That's about all you can hope for in the music business, unless you're retrofitted with fake tits or you sell your soul for fifteen minutes of overexposure.

My band's career goal is to be where Clutch is, with that many fans and that much control over their music and direction.

 

[redeyes]

good insight

 

[Krycek]

I just saw Clutch at Lamour in Brooklyn friday night, they rocked the place, I thought Pure Rock Fury was the best album they've done since Transnational Speedway League, Jam Room was a fun album too. I was going to put one of the pictures I've got from the show on here but I can't seem to figure out how to add one one, oh well, but speaking of bands that have it rought even worse than Anthrax and Clutch, is Therapy? they're probably one of the best bands that nobody has ever heard of



Krycek

 

[TD]

Originally posted by InfernalKeith
Don't cry for Clutch just yet. They got a great deal when they "moved" from EastWest to Atlantic (same co.) and they seem to enjoy playing to their diehard fans and selling records to the same 60,000 people, some of whom follow them around like Deadheads, comparing set lists and the like.

Clutch has a pretty strong Ohio/Michigan following (I saw them pack a dangerously oversold Harpo's a couple years back). Once in a while they go out and do a bigger tour, like opening for System of a Down or Slayer, but then they go back out on their own circuit, taking bands they know and respect (Sixty Watt Shaman, Five Horse Johnson, etc) as their openers.

They're making a living, touring all the time, and doing what they want. That's about all you can hope for in the music business, unless you're retrofitted with fake tits or you sell your soul for fifteen minutes of overexposure.

My band's career goal is to be where Clutch is, with that many fans and that much control over their music and direction.

Good insight, but my question is this. Although I'm sure they recieved a "great deal," how long can they make a career out of this. Anthrax also received a reportedly "great deal" when they got out of their deal w/ Elektra. However, in Anthrax's case (well at least Scott, Charlie, and Frankie) they have a back catalog that sold 15 million worldwide. I think you see where I am going with this. Clutch has a back catalog that maybe has sold a million total units. So it's not as if Clutch have the same bank account, or the same brand name. I have to think that Clutch are in the same boat as Type O Negative. As recently as last week a member of Type O mentioned that within 5 years, it's back to getting "real jobs," for themselves.

 

[InfernalKeith]

Good point. A lot of it depends on your lifestyle choices, and what you really want to do. I've interviewed Peter Steele several times over the course of their career, and he's made no secret of the fact that he dislikes extensive touring. He's also pushing 40. Add to that the fact that the band's popularity seems to sink further with each album, and I could see them breaking up (and needing to get day jobs) within a few years.

But then again, how utterly few people ever get "set for life" by playing rock and roll? If Anthrax, Inc. never took in one more penny starting today, would Charlie, Frank or Scott make it the rest of their lives without a "day job" of some sort?

I've always gotten the impression that Clutch enjoy touring a lot, and that they aren't gonna stop any time soon - that's where the money comes from if you're a rock band at their level. Plus, regarding the "hard luck" thing that started this thread, Clutch has been at roughly the same level, popularity-wise, since "Transnational Speedway League." They slooooowly increase their fanbase, and they've never had a big height to come down from, like Anthrax (and to a lesser extent, Type O) have.

I'm not saying they're gonna retire to the Bahamas and lead an old age of luxury, but I still maintain that Clutch is doing all right for themselves, particularly given the terminally-ill state of the music business. I'd rather have a loyal, hard-won 50,000 fans that I know will be there in 2008 than a platinum album and six months' fame, followed by a lifetime of "where are they now?" questions. The "Alien Ant Farm" method of career management is fun for a year or so, but when your sophomore album is piled up in the bins at Record Exchange next to all the copies of Ugly Kid Joe's "Menace to Sobriety," the fun's over...

Cool thread!! And nice to see some Clutch fans on here. My band got to open for them a year ago here in Toledo, and it was one of the most fun shows I've ever had the privilege to be part of.

Keith

 

[TD]

This is a fascinating thread! Alright, I'm a nerd, anyway. I understand that Type O Negative's new album is called "The Dream Is Dead" because, all joking aside, this is their last album for Roadrunner, and that is how they feel about their career - it's just about over.
As for Anthrax, Scott Ian said in an interview for Stomp "if we stopped making music, we'd have to get day jobs, we're not that rich (sic)" That was before Elektra bought them out. Scott had's two divorces though, so you know that hasn't helped him (and according to Billy, IRS trouble brought SOD back - that is actually believable on Milano's part) Anyway Infernal Combustion Keith - how much $$$$$ do you think a band like Anthrax draw's on royalties and the like. None of them seem to be hurting financially, but certainly, their days are numbered in the biz. Not because they are gonna start sucking, but seriously, do you really see a 47 year old John Bush w/ no hair still belting out "Bring the Noise"

 

[aztattooedsean]

I used to see them all the time in columbus and detroit. after moving to arizona, I thought I would be one of the few clutchheads but damn if they didn't fill up clubs with clutch maniacs.

I dig them. they are cool,laid back,and put out killer music.

 

[InfernalKeith]

I dunno, I'm fascinated by this stuff too, not just because I'm in a band and would like to see the inner workings firsthand, but just because as a fan, I'd love to see "where the money goes." Oh, yeah, and plus I'm a nerd.

I know that at Anthrax's level, there's always trickles of $ coming in, from radio airplay (believe it or not) worldwide, music used as background for TV shows, licensing for compilations (all that "publishing" money that no one seems to fully understand or grasp), plus of course catalog sales. But those just aren't the big deal they used to be -- for one thing, the "CD era" has existed long enough, that there aren't still thousands of people replacing their cassettes and LP's. For another, many people will download the songs they want - a casual 30-something metalhead might just want "I Am the Law" or "Caught In a Mosh," and he's not gonna drive all over town or spend $10 at CDNow ordering the whole CD.

So how much does Scott Ian actually get in a pay envelope from Island Records for the couple thousand old CDs they probably move in a year? I have no idea. It can't be all THAT much... then again, Anthrax have released only two albums (counting WCFYA) in the last 7-8 years, with not all that much touring, and we haven't seen him down at the Sizzler bussing tables just yet. So maybe it's more than we think?

Going back to the Clutch comparison - I think being a band in their position would lead to MORE catalog sales than Anthrax, actually. There aren't piles of their used CDs around (one of the reasons I think the recent reissues sold so poorly - hard to rationalize paying $16 for an album that's always in the $2 bin used, bonus tracks or no), and their releases are periodic enough that there's always a small, steady influx of new fans, who discover the newest album, then go back and get the old ones.

I hope this happens for Anthrax when WCFYA makes it out in the US - imagine if "Safe Home" took off, and a whole new generation of kids went back and checked out "Persistence of Time" and "Among the Living" (and maybe finally gave the Bush-era catalog its due, too)!

Finally, one of the times I talked to Scott, I asked him about money (I couldn't resist asking if they'd really gotten a million to leave Elektra - he said they didn't). His answer (not a direct quote) was "I've been rich, and then broke, and then rich, and then broke, a few times in my life, and i doesn't really affect me one way or the other. If I've got it, I spend it." Pretty healthy attitude to take, if ya ask me (of course, I've only ever been on one side of that rich/broke see-saw, so what the hell do I know?).....

Keith

 

[TD]

I've always been fascinated by the business end of music scene as well. Read Kiss and Sell by C.K. Lendt, KISS' old finance manager. It is amazing to see how a band can sell out a place night in and night out, and still lose millions! KISS spent the entire 1980's tying to pay off the damage they did to themselves from 1978-1981.
A band like Anthrax I find more fascinating though, like you said. We know which bands are rich beyond our wildest dreams (Kiss, Ac/Dc, Aero, etc.) but with Anthrax, it's hard to imagine they make any money any more but, they seem to live the "high life"
I'd like to see what is in Anthrax's kitty.

Me - I don't make a whole lot, and I'm horrible at saving it. I know I'll have the job I have for 30 years, and then I'll make the same retirement, so on payday, it's gone. What isn't used for car payments and bills, is spent on FUN stuff.

 

[dutchy]

Originally posted by Krycek
I just saw Clutch at Lamour in Brooklyn friday night, they rocked the place, I thought Pure Rock Fury was the best album they've done since Transnational Speedway League, Jam Room was a fun album too. I was going to put one of the pictures I've got from the show on here but I can't seem to figure out how to add one one, oh well, but speaking of bands that have it rought even worse than Anthrax and Clutch, is Therapy? they're probably one of the best bands that nobody has ever heard of

Therapy??? Good??
they used to be , if they stopped bringin out shit like "Suicide Note"and "Semi Detached"



Krycek