CLUTCH Drummer: 'We Were Having Fun Before, But Now We're Really Having Fun!'

Dennis Jernberg of CriticalMass.se recently conducted an interview with drummer Jean-Paul Gaster of Maryland rockers CLUTCH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

CriticalMass.se: The latest album, "Strange Cousins From The West", was released a year ago. Is there a new album cookin'?

Jean-Paul Gaster: We have some new riffs that we are putting together. We'll also be recording some acoustic songs when we go home. That's gonna be pretty fun! We recently got a chance to play at the Bonnaroo, which is a big festival in the States, and it's a big deal because the States doesn't really have many big festivals, and Bonnaroo is a really great one… so they asked us to do something special there, where we would play on a smaller stage — in addition to the regular show — and maybe we could do something more intimate. We thought about it and we figured, "Let's try some songs in an acoustic way," but at the some time we didn't want to just play the songs with acoustic guitars because that's pretty boring for us, so we kind of reworked it a little bit and thought about the dynamics that would be involved in making these things acoustic. It's gonna be good. I think we're gonna record those in September, and I don't think it's gonna be a full album worth of stuff, but there will be a few songs…

CriticalMass.se: Have you decided on which producer to use on the next album?

Jean-Paul Gaster: No, we haven't really thought about that much at all. We really need to get more music together and get a better idea of which direction we're gonna go. This acoustic thing we're doing now is becoming a little bit of a sidetrack, an interesting experiment, so there will be a reaction to that and that's what's gonna be the next record. What direction it's gonna go in, I don't know.

CriticalMass.se: You released "Strange Cousins" on your own label, Weathermaker. And from what I understand, the label was started because the band got fed up with a struggle too many with your older labels. What's it like being self-employed in the music business?

Jean-Paul Gaster: It's fantastic. It's really great! Running a label on our own really takes a bit weight off our shoulders. Pretty much for the entire life of the band, there's always been a struggle with labels, from the very, very beginning and up through the time with DRT. There was fights with them whether you could even put a record out, what direction the records needs to be in, what kind of studio you should record in, how many it's going to sell, you know. All these things that don't really have very much to do with making music. So, when you can take that out of the picture, it makes everything we do so much easier. It really makes it a lot more fun. We were having fun before, but now we're really having fun!

CriticalMass.se: And all the legal hoopla with previous labels — is it all sorted out now?

Jean-Paul Gaster: It's sorted out now, it's done with. Lawsuits are no fun at all — they are draining mentally and financially. But sometimes, that's the only way you can do anything, you have to take matters into your own hands. It was a long struggle, but it was a great feeling to get those albums back, and being able to release them on out own label is pretty great.

CriticalMass.se: When you're writing new songs, do they come together in jam sessions?

Jean-Paul Gaster: Yeah! Some times it starts just out of the blue. Sometimes somebody will bring a riff over. Neil's [Fallon] pretty good at coming over with stuff that sounds like a full song. He'll do that a lot. So, it happens in a lot of ways. Sometimes it will be something that I was practicing that morning, some kind of concept, and for me the trick is to try to make the practice stuff into music. Because it's great to sit there and shred, playing all your rudiments and stuff, but you gotta make it music. Oftentimes it will just be an experiment, like a concept I've been working on and I'll just throw it out there and something will happen with that. It's a very organic thing. There is no set way that it happens.

CriticalMass.se: How do think you have developed as a drummer through the years?

Jean-Paul Gaster: Well, hopefully, I have a better sense of tempo, and I think I'm a lot more cognizant of the quarter note these days — quarter note is king! So, I think about that a lot. I think about clave, 2–2 patterns and 2–3 patterns. These rhythms are prevalent throughout rock music, and sometimes it's almost subliminal and you don't really hear it. But I think about these kinds of phrasings a little more than I used to. I practice all the time and hopefully I'm getting a bit better. I still don't know how to play the drums yet, but I hope to, one day. (laughs)

CriticalMass.se: So, you practice regularly, even on tour?

Jean-Paul Gaster: Yeah, I practice on a pad, almost constantly. For me it's fun, I enjoy practicing. It's important to me to challenge myself and try to always re-evaluate the way I play. And at the same time, this is a blessing. What I do here is very special, and I don't take it for granted. There's nothing worse than seeing guys that just don't do anything all day, just sitting on the tour bus — they don't even think about music, they don't even listen to music, you know. They play video games all day. You know, I play drums, man!

Read the entire interview at CriticalMass.se.

Video footage of CLUTCH performing live in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 19, 2010 can be viewed below.