Clutch is a Maryland-based Rock band that has been grinding across the World for over 20 years. In that time they have seen great success across ten studio albums and their songs featured across different forms of media from television to movies to video games. The band will be performing as the final act on the Jagermeister Stage on Saturday at 5:45 at Rock on the Range. Amy was able to get some time with Dan Maines, the band’s bass player to preview the show and talk about the longevity and progression of an independent Rock band.

Amy: What has been the highlight or best touring moment of the last year?

Dan: Highlight? We had a really good show in London last European run. We did a good show at the Coco. London is one of those cities for us that has grown quite a bit. Just within the last year the clubs we have played have doubled in size. The last show we had there was probably around 1500 people but that was by far the biggest headlining London show that we have had. We are getting ready to go back there next month and we are going to be playing a different club that has a capacity of about 2300 people and it looks like that show may sell out. We have been having some really good luck and some great shows all over the place. It has been a really, really good year for us touring.

Amy: Do you feel the rock scene is bigger in Europe than it is here in the U.S.? Do you feel like the fans are more engaged with Rock music today?

Dan: I do feel like just your straight ahead Rock n Roll band is doing better nowadays than ten years ago. I don’t really have an explanation for it. We have been doing this for 20 years now and we really haven’t changed the formula much but for whatever reason the past few years things have picked up for us and I think people are tired of going to see a band they have heard on the radio and they like a song and then they go to a show and the band never delivers. People are tired of that mentality. They want to see good music. They want to see a band that can pull off on stage what they put down on tape in a studio.

Amy: It’s tough when you show up and it doesn’t sound the same. It is fantastic when bands deliver live and I think that is what really grows the audience over time.

Dan: Yes

Amy: Your band has been together with same lineup for over 20 years. It is like a marriage. What is the secret to keeping the band together?

Dan: I think we all have the same personalities. There is not an ego with any band members and we all have similar goals to what this band is all about. We are not one of these bands that is ever going to cater to other people’s expectations. We just do what we want to do. We just write songs we want to write. We are a band that really enjoys playing shows. We really enjoy going on the road and touring. That is one thing that breaks down a lot of bands for the most part. Touring is not an easy thing to do. You have to go for it. I have seen a lot of good bands who just couldn’t stick together because of the stresses of touring which are overwhelming for one person or another. We have always been eager to play as many shows as we can. Without that mentality, we probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have. We aren’t the kind of band that is surviving on a particular song we wrote that gets played on the radio. We are a travelling band. I don’t really have a secret recipe for keeping the band together. We are just very fortunate to have been able to do it, and we will continue to do what we do.

Amy: Is it still fun for you to be on the road?

Dan: It is still fun. Playing shows is easily more enjoyable to us than being in a studio. Even when we are at home and writing the material that is always a good time but you are eager to play the material for an audience and that is what we exist to do.

Amy: What makes you laugh the hardest when you are on the road?

Dan: I don’t know, maybe seeing people who might be seeing us for the first time and get caught up in the moment and try to sing along with Neil without actually knowing the words. Sometimes it can be as simple as what snacks our road manager decides to get for the dressing room.

Amy: Where do you think you will be in 15 more years?

Dan: Hopefully doing the same thing and not really paying attention to how many years have passed. Doing what we are doing but on a larger scale and going to places we haven’t gone yet.

Amy: Who knows where you will be going by then, maybe outer space.

Dan: Hopefully it will be something more local like South America.

Amy: What is the name of the first band you were in?

Dan: Oh that’s embarrassing.

Amy: Oh I want to hear.

Dan: I guess the first band was called Moral Minority and that was myself with a couple other members of what became Clutch but that was the high school incarnation of my first band and it was probably six or eight months later when Clutch was formed.

Amy: Were your parents supportive?

Dan: Always. They never really gave me a hard time about it. They never really laid down a lot of expectations to whether they wanted me to go in one direction or another, and they have always been very supportive of the band. Obviously now, but even way back in the beginning when we were travelling in a van getting stranded in cities on the other side of the country and figuring out ways to get back home. They never once said, “Maybe you should consider doing something else,” and I really appreciated that.

Amy: What bands are currently influencing you?

Dan: I have been listening to a lot of Galactic lately. You know what I have been listening to, I don’t know how recent it is but Public Enemy still makes records and it came as a surprise to me that they are still doing it. What is more surprising is they are still making great records.

Amy: I photographed Public Enemy last Sunday. Flavor Flav still jumped six feet in the air across the stage. It was unbelievable. Not only are they making records, they are touring and killing it. It was crazy. That is what everybody should aspire to do. You guys have your own record label that you do. What are the challenges of releasing your own music?

Dan: We have tried to keep the challenges down to a minimum from the very beginning and just try to make it strictly an outlet for Clutch music. Nowadays it is not that difficult to take this DIY approach to putting out music. Recording costs have come down a lot and the overall costs of promoting and marketing a record have gone down a lot because you have tools like the internet where you can do so many things for such a low amount of money that the actual costs of producing a record, manufacturing, and distributing it is not that high. It is just being in a position that we are luckily in where we have relationships with people who kind of help fill in the blanks in areas where we are not experts. It has worked out well for us over the last five years putting out a couple live CDs and two studio CDs. Who knows what could happen in the future? It could come to a point where it goes beyond the scope of Clutch. Right now it is just putting out Clutch related material. We have also put out side projects for various members of the band. We have John-Paul who has been working with a band from Sweden called King Hobo and hopefully those guys will have something that we can put out on the label. We have tried not to get overambitious with the releases and taking it very slowly.

Amy: What can the fans expect at Rock on the Range next weekend?

Dan: Four bearded men playing Rock music. We will be playing a lot of material off The Earth Rocker. I think on this tour we have been playing, on average, six songs out of 16 off the new record. We probably won’t be playing 16 songs at Rock on the Range. We will probably have a shorter set so it is harder to predict what we will be playing. We are definitely going to be playing. It will be heavily loaded Earth Rocker loaded set for sure and some of the classics thrown in as well.

Amy: You guys change your set list every day right?

Dan: We try to. We have this system. We actually take turns writing the set list. Last night was Neil’s night so tonight would be Tim’s night. It is something we can do that keeps things less monotonous and kind of keeps us on our toes and makes the sets more enjoyable for us which is going to be more enjoyable for everybody else watching.

Amy: If you could trade places with anybody for a month who would it be and why?

Dan: That’s a tough one. Maybe George Porter Jr., the bass player. He is a huge influence on me and just definitely a hero. It would be nice to spend some time in his brain and steal something.

Amy: Do you play any other instruments?

Dan: No, I barely play bass.