An Interview with The Clarks

An Interview with The Clarks’ Rob James

by Lisa Hummel

Far removed from being “the best kept secret in Pittsburgh” the Iron City’s hottest musical product, The Clarks — lead singer Scott Blasey, guitarist Rob James, bassist Greg Joseph, and drummer Dave Minarik — have more than made their mark on the Central Pennsylvania region — and on the industry. What began as a ‘garage band’ at Indiana University of Pennsylvania some 14 years ago has turned into a musical staple of sorts, with the band releasing six albums, including June’s Let It Go on the Razor and Tie record label. Not long ago, the band won the mailing list category of the rewards and grants program of StarPolish, a new music website. With that honor, The Clarks and the site are releasing a limited edition disc, Strikes and Gutters, available only at www.starpolish.com.

The last time MODE spoke with The Clarks’ Rob James, the band was preparing to play at WQXA’s A Day in the Park concert in Reservoir Park in August. A lot has happened since then.

MODE Weekly: Since we last spoke, the singles from Let It Go (including “Chasin’ Girls”) have done well, and you’ve been back, playing in the area a numerous times since then —
Rob James: Yeah, we’ve had a lot of great support there. It’s been phenomenal. The X is really kicking butt for us.

MODE: And the record has really taken off. Any ideas on what the new single is going to be?
James: The record label is actually going back to “Better Off Without You” as a single, which I’m really happy about. I think the first time around they never worked it to alternative, they only worked it to rock, so this time they’re going to work to more of a modern adult contemporary, more pop kind of situation.

MODE: How is the band’s relationship with Razor and Tie?
James: It’s fabulous. They don’t seem like they’re ready to give up on us. They keep putting money behind us and some time and some effort. It’s been great.

MODE: And label support means more touring. Is that something the band enjoys?
James: Definitely. We’re expanding the region through the Midwest, across Pennsylvania, and to the Southeast. We’ve been as far south as Atlanta. We had a really good response our first show playing there … You start to see how 14 years of being together and sticking to your guns starts paying off. And not necessarily paying of in the sense of financial, just seeing faces singing your music.

MODE: How has your view of success changed in the 14 years you’ve been together?
James: I think it’s a really good chemistry we have with the band because we’ve always been sort of focused on just getting to the next level from wherever we were and not really set our goals too high so that they were unrealistic … Fortunately, I think the way that we’ve adjusted our view of success is that we just kind of get from one level to the next. And now that we’re at the level we are, getting to the next level of success doesn’t seem that far out of reach.

MODE: Speaking of your chemistry — not many bands make it 14 years together let alone with the same line-up.
James: Right. I can’t say enough about the great situation that we have working together. Somebody always seems to be picking up the ball and running with something that’s going to propel us forward, creatively or business-wise.

MODE: Can you tell me a little bit about the band’s involvement with StarPolish. How did that come about?
James: Our management somehow got connected with them. The whole concept seems really cool, it’s another resource for bands and artists in general who are doing music. So, it’s cool that there’s a source where people who are looking for new music can go.

MODE: What is Strikes and Gutters? Is it compiled of material that didn’t make it on Let It Go?
James: Exactly. And a few other odds and ends. We saw it as an opportunity to get that work out there and sort of get it behind us. Because the demos we ended up doing were slightly better than just the average demos, it wasn’t like we just set up one microphone. It’s good to get them out there, on something for people to hear.

MODE: What’s next on the agenda for The Clarks?
James: I think we’re in the early stages of writing some things as individuals — we haven’t actually sat down and worked anything out with each other — but there’s still a lot of work to be done behind this release, especially if the single does well. We’ll probably start working on stuff, we’re starting to feel that in us, but it still really depends on the record and how far it’s going to go.

MODE: And it seems like you’re still having fun with the album.
James: Oh, definitely. There’s so much potential out there for people who haven’t heard the band yet, I think we can take this a very long way. We were very inspired when we wrote the songs and recorded them and it would be a real shame to not have a wider audience exposed to it.

MODE: Do you see the band sticking around for another 14 years?
James: I don’t see why not. There has never been any hands being tied as far as ‘oh, you’re the lead singer of this band and you can’t do anything else,’ … and I think that’s very important. It sort of makes us all feel like we’re not tied down. This has afforded us the opportunity to go and do those things — nobody feels like we compromise ourselves greatly by being committed to doing this right now because we know that in the future, when we, as individuals, can get our shit together, we can go and do our thing and come back and do this.

The Clarks will be at Gullifty’s in Camp Hill on March 2. Opening for The Clarks is another Pittsburgh-based band, Grapevine, who were recently in town performing for the Millenium Music Conference. Check clarksonline.com and grapevinepage.com.