The Clay People – Demon Heroes Don’t Wear Capes
The highways and back-alleys of the Capital Region’s punk-industrial landscape would arguably be best put to the music of The Clay People. This Albany based band is as much a movement as a collection of musicians. Through the current line-up of Daniel Neet on lead vocals, Brian McGarvey on guitar and Dan Dinsmore on drums, and Vegas Nacy and Eric Brayner on back-ups, beats, and bass respectively, the Clay People have been able to cultivate a sound that has evolved over decades to be just as razor’s edge as it was before many of us had to shave. We sit down with Dan Dinsmore and Brian McGarvey with our usual brand of oddball questions. Let’s hope they’re good sports.
RRX: I remember seeing you guys at the QE2 back in the 90’s, maybe ’94, ’95. You were opening for Fear Factory, I think. There was a ton of energy back then, I mean, we were hanging off the walls. Part of it is that QE2 is such an intimate (read: small) place. In all of your touring, both back then and even recently, can any of you talk about places, here or elsewhere, where you felt the energy really matched what you guys do?
Dan: All of the shows have had that vibe since we started touring The Demon Hero record. We really were not sure of what the reactions would be but it has been unreal. It is the same feeling you describe and in bigger places. We just got back from playing the Gramercy Theater and The Starland Ballroom and it was people having a great time and letting go. I think that The Clay People really evoke a community togetherness vibe like there is no difference from being in the crowd or being on stage we are all there together letting go and celebrating the ridiculousness of everyday life.
Brian: We’ve been fortunate to play many iconic venues that no longer exist like CBGBs, Limelight, and Coney Island High, also The Whisky in LA, Metro in Chicago, but really any venue where we can feel the energy of the crowd with us. It makes the show fun. Otherwise it can feel like work. The Chrome show we played in August was a highlight. It was such a triumphant event for us. New material with a new lineup after so long. It felt like everyone in the room was a part of it.
RRX: Being that The Clay People is as much an institution as it is a band, are there any rituals, rites of passage, etc. – even if they’re normal everyday things that would tell a new member, “Well, you’re in The Clay People now!”?
Dan: I think it is just the insanity of the constant joking and laughing. There always seems to be some sort of drama flying around we are just trying to pinpoint where that insane dark comedy comes from but I think we all have an idea. There definitely is a unique vibe to the band. We are all very different people with our lives and very different musically.
Brian: I don’t think we do anything consciously. I think we all just sense when the chemistry works. And we’ve all been friends for over 20-25 years, so we know each other. Jared Weed is half our age and probably twice as wise. He is an asset to any band and he just seamlessly meshes with the rest of us. We couldn’t be happier with the vibe in the band right now. It’s alot of fun. It feels so natural for all of us to be playing together.
The Clay People. Photo Credit: Jim WertmanRRX: There have been long breaks, and for whatever reason the group has gone dark before. Was it totally dark? Were there moments that didn’t rise to the level of a resurgence like you’re having now, but could’ve been? May a tasty jam session, or listening to a shitty band (no names) that you all knew you could’ve taken what they were doing and blown it up? Can you talk about any moments or scenes like that?
Dan: Sure, There were definitely times we had gotten together and even did some one off shows. I was always in touch with Dan, Brian and Mike. Brian and I would jam when we could and I was very busy with Overit and the band OWL for about 9 years. We always had it in mind and knew we would probably get to writing at some point but it just kept getting pushed. Brian and I started recording Demon Hero like 3-4 years ago and we always had a vision but the timing just was not right for me and I knew when the time arose we had to be 150% to do it right. So here we are.
Brian: I never wanted to take the breaks, but when we did, I took the opportunity to play solo and with other bands and other styles and discovered musical dimensions that I was not aware of, including writing the Outlaw Mystic record that featured Dan Dinsmore on drums. In the long run, it made me a better more well-rounded musician when I came back to TCP. And nothing else really felt as comfortable and natural to me.
RRX: You’ve had your songs in movies, such as Strangeland and Universal Soldier. And your music, and I’m talking Demon Hero, which we’ll get to later – would just fucking slay in so many movies. So this is a weird question: If Demon Hero was being used as the soundtrack to a new movie coming out, what’s that movie about? Bonus points if you can give me the director.
Dan: Well I’m a bonus points kinda guy so I would say David Fincher or Tim Burton if he did something darker. I also am still holding a flag for M Night. Im sure the other guys have strong opinions on that but those are some I think we would be awesome in. The movie could be about underdogs overcoming hardship and misery or could be about the utopian lie we are all living with right now. Ah hell maybe a creature living under your stairs.
Brian: I’d love to have a tune in a Christopher Nolan Batman film or one featuring a misunderstood villain/anti-hero figure. Or anything that features fast cars and monsters. I think our music fits the darker action stuff.
Photo credit: Tomoko Sawamura.RRX: With a band that has history, been around in some form or another for as long as The Clay People, you have a good timeline on the changes that have occurred between getting the music and the word out before social media, and how it is now. The way we’ve democratized production and crowd-sourced funding and developed DIY platforms… What does all this give, and what does it take away? And examples would be great.
Brian: Thanks to the internet, we now have people from all over the globe following us. Countries and areas we’ve never been too. That’s really cool.
Dan: This could turn into a long documentary answer. I can remember when as a kid I would know every members name, could recite orders of songs on albums and really dug into a band i loved. Those days are now gone with the amount of data being thrown at us on a 24/7 basis. It’s kind of sad to not really grab onto an artist and really give it the time to tap into your soul. This was a big factor in what we set out to do with Demon Hero. We wanted to create a record and not try to write some shit box single. We wanted to write material that people could grasp but also something real and personal.
I think this record is anti-industry and that is okay by me. As far as social and DIY, Overit and Magnetic Eye Records have been developing a new digital marketing system we have built out that is proving to be very successful in reaching new audiences that will like what we are doing. We are going to continue building this out and I think it has a shot to really help a lot of emerging artists get in front of the right people. You have to be in front of the right audience and let people hear your music or see your videos and content. That has not been easy it’s a ton or work and it’s about time the industry needs a shot in the arm.
RRX: You have a new album out, Demon Hero and Other Extraordinary Phantasmagoric Anomalies & Fables. For someone who grew up on Clay People, it is a little bit of a change. Not in any bad way; it seems that it’s evolved. The sound is tight as ever. Would you like to talk about the direction that you went with Demon Hero, and where you see yourself musically going forward?
Brian: We had no preconceived ideas regarding direction. We never discussed anything or were even in the same room together during the whole process. We just knew we wanted to bring our A game. For more than half the record, I played to my demo tracks with just an engineer in the room. Then I conducted Dan [Dinsmore] through the glass when he tracked drums. For the other songs, I received drum and vocal mixes and wrote guitar to them at home. There really was no band until we had to get a live show together or shoot a video. This may seem unusual, but it allowed us an incredible amount of freedom to develop ideas and express ourselves in the most authentic ways. We’re never trying to be anything other than what we are. So that’s what constitutes our sound.
As far as the future goes, I have unlimited amounts of more of the same and am always recording new demo ideas, but I also am open to adding to our repertoire and evolving.
Photo Credit: Eric Durkin.Dan: I would love to hear how you feel it has evolved / changed. It is interesting you say that because it definitely has. We want to always keep the energy and angst that we have always had but we have grown as people and wanted to expand musically and also be more real or as real and open as possible lyrically. Dan [Neet] has gone through a lot of experiences as we all have but I really think he relates to a lot of people and is being very honest. We also wanted to tap into statements of what we have experienced and taking a stance / drawing a line in the sand as to what we believe in.
I think we will just keep writing and have a lot more to do. We already have enough tracks laid down for the next record but we also have a bunch more ideas. I think Brian has ideas daily. It is so inspirational when you have folks just churning ideas and creativity. We really forgot how creative this unit is and I think we all have so much more appreciation for the band and each other. Moving forward I am sure we will dig deeper and push ourselves. We also have some new blood in the band that really brings many new ideas and influences.
RRX: I like to ask every band or musician about influences, and as important, people who are contemporaries that you wish more people had heard about. Seeing as word of mouth is still the number on way for bands to get exposure. So let’s combine influences and shout outs into one; give us a mix-tape of bands past and present, local and national, that you would throw onto a cassette tape and chuck into a time machine that was heading back to each of you when you started out. Who would be on that mix-tape?
Dan: Again your going to get different answers from each person in the band. BIG differences.
If i could send a mix tape back it would go something like this.
Tool
The Jackson 5
Jane’s Addiction
Sunny Day Real Estate
Pantera
21 Pilots
One King Down
Rage against the machine
Soundgarden
Section 8 & Ill remembered
Clutch
System of A Down
Justin Timberlake
Fat MooKeN
Super 400
NIN
Brian: Early Metallica and Iron Maiden were untouchable in my formative years. Pantera, Sepultura, Prong, Fear Factory, all brought metal to a new level for me. Then there’s the laid back heavy of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Kyuss, Clutch, Monster Magnet. Ministry, Neurosis, Massive Attack, and Dead Can Dance altered my musical perspective as well.
Locally speaking, an aha moment for me was when Cranial Abuse, who later became Stigmata, played my high school and I saw guys my age on stage playing original heavy music.
I’ve seen Super 400 at least 50 times and they always bring the rock as well as anyone ever. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like what 1000 Young was doing. Very cool band.
Be sure to check out The Clay People’s newest, Demon Hero and Other Extraordinary Phantasmagoric Anomalies and Fables. I have it; it is great. And if you are feeling a winter road trip down south, check them out on The Art of Dissent Tour with Otep and One Day Waiting in December, kicking off in Atlanta, GA and finishing off in Memphis, TN.
Super 400 – Three People in a Room
Lori Friday. Photo credit: James Wertman.
Any musician who’s gotten past the lottery dreams of fast cars and decadent hotel rooms knows the story of the rock trio Super 400. It’s one of cigarette haze, dimmed lights and pick up sessions, trying to find the right fit and the right sound, and of course, hand-blistering jam sessions in nondescript groove stations clad in concrete and stone-shattered windows. Singer Kenny Hohman, drummer Joe Daley and bassist Lori Friday tour endlessly, making new music classic as soon as it comes out of the speakers, or carries its way to the back of that small club. And they’ve been doing it since the late nineties. The band has agreed to sit with me to answer a few of my probing questions.
RRX: So, of course I’ve got to pick on the first time you all officially met. Word around the internet is that Kenny brushed off Lori at first. Seeing all the magic that’s happened since then, were any beers or mixed drinks owed by anyone to anyone after that first jam session?
Kenny: That is a true story and I fully own up to it! Joe and I were playing at Pauly’s Hotel in Albany one night when Lori introduced herself to me and asked me to join a band she was starting. I was in a serious relationship at the time. I was attracted to Lori so I thought ditching [her] number was the best way to stay out of trouble! Super 400 was just getting started and even though we needed a bass player, being the uneducated fool that I was at the time, I didn’t even consider the possibility that a “girl” like Lori would be an option. How good could she possibly be? We were not looking for some cute girl to get on stage and hold a bass. We were looking for that Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Berry Oakley and Paul McCartney stuff! Unpredictable, hard driving, melodic, exciting, thunderous bass…. which turned out to be exactly what she was bringing! The credit – and drinks for life – belong to Steve Candlen. He called me and asked if Joe and I had met Lori and if we were going to get together with her. He informed me that she was a “for real” player with a great natural feel. Joe found out that she was working over at Last Vestige record shop and he asked her to come over to our loft on River Street in Troy a few days later to play. After a brief hello, and no discussion of what we would play, she plugged in and we started into a jam that lasted about 45 minutes. It was obvious by the time we played the last note that we were a band. Whatever “thing” we have as a band was there from the first note. I continue to learn from this amazing woman that I am still so blessed to play with to this day… and that I am also now lucky enough to call my wife! Thanks Steve!
RRX: My last question leads to this question. That first jam session. Now I know you all work extraordinarily hard to develop your own sound, and to work out the musical space. Thinking about the influences that you all had in common, what issues did you have in creating something new? How did similar tastes help? Where did they hinder things? Were there key differences?
Lori: When we first came together, the three of us had so much in common, musically, but there were a few influences that we each brought in. I had never dug into the early Van Halen catalog before meeting Kenny; now I love VH, I went through a phase where I listened to them every day for 4 months. Joe introduced Prince, who I’d not known much about. The three of us each have some musical loves that aren’t shared mutually, but when we get together, the pieces fit. A really fun part of being together for 23 years is that we’ve been turned on a so much great music during this ride, together as a band. When we were signed to Island in 1997, they offered us our picks from anything in their catalog. The open candy jar! We left their London office with bags of cds, and soaked it all up.
When I listen to Super 400 records I can hear the echoes of the stuff we were heavily into at the time we recorded them. At its core, though, our music still sounds a lot like that first jam session in 1996. Three people in a room, connecting.
Kenny Hohman. Photo Credit: James Wertman.
RRX: Super 400 plays internationally as well as locally. I watched the DMTv segment where you all talked about the feeling of playing Europe. I know that you can’t honestly say which fans, U.S. or European, you like best, but can you talk about the norms of let’s call it “show etiquette” that exists in Europe, as opposed to the U.S.? For example, do cell phones come out more in Europe than here during concerts?
Lori: I’d like to comment on the fans in Spain, especially. They wear their passions with pride and honesty. The music fans there show their love very openly. We’d never witnessed such a demonstrative reaction to our music – they sing along, pump fists, crowd the stage; and afterward, give hugs and laughter til the sun makes an appearance. There are cell phones, but it seems as though most of them would rather experience the moment with their senses instead of a screen.
We haven’t been back to Spain since I had a bad auto wreck in 2011. The fans there still write to us, asking when we are coming back. That kind of love has motivated us to start recording our next record this winter, with an aim to return to Spain, maybe this summer.
RRX: I guess mentioning phones in concerts brings us to another question. Super 400 considers itself a “taper-friendly” band, meaning that you encourage people to tape live shows and trade those tapes. Is that right? If not, please clarify, and, if so, was this something that came about as a matter of practicality, or is it a purposeful statement about art and performances?
Lori: We’ve always felt that once our music goes up into the air, it should be available to anyone who wants to hear it. In the days before YouTube, we hadn’t started heavy touring yet, and it made us happy to know that bootlegs were being traded. I get excited when I’m able to hear a recorded performance by a band I like. It brings me closer to the them.
RRX: Here’s the ‘influences’ question. I could spend an hour here, because as I am very much in love with blues and classic rock, among other genres, I’d love to swap references. But I like to play with this question. I’d like each of you to mention one group, performer, etc. that’s an influence, and tell us one thing about them that few people know but has made you love them even more.
Kenny: Well, I don’t think that it is much of a secret to most musicians, but it may not be known by the general public that some of my favorite artists are multi-instrumentalist super heroes! Stevie Wonder, Prince and Paul McCartney come to mind. Any one of them could have made a name for themselves as a non-singing instrumentalist on any number of instruments…and they are the best singers you could ever hope to hear. Oh, also they wrote some of the best songs of all time. Crazy talent. It’s hard to give them more credit than they have already but somehow they really still deserve more!
Lori: I love the magnetism and confidence of David Bowie onstage. The way he connected with his audience, it was like witnessing a purer and more powerful level of being. We saw him at Roseland Ballroom, it just about knocked me off of my feet. It’s surely been an influence; I’ve always tried to shed my insecurities before we step onstage, so that I can be in that precious moment, really experience it. It’s such a blessing to have any opportunity to perform.
Joe Daley. Photo credit: James Wertman.RRX: Again, one question leading to another. The last album I could find of yours after exhaustive trawling of the internet was Sweet Fist, in 2009. Your website mentions that you had the album recorded and the vinyl cut at a studio famous for classic rock and other genres. Would you like to comment on that?
Lori: We recorded Sweet Fist at Ardent Studios in Memphis, where Cheap Trick, Issac Hayes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Big Star, REM, The Replacements, ZZ Top, and so many others have made records. Larry Nix was the mastering engineer there. In his studio resided the famous lathe from Stax Records, the very machine used to cut wax on all the Stax recordings in the 60’s and 70’s. And, Zeppelin III was cut on it! It sat there, inoperable in Larry’s studio, like a museum artifact. I started bugging him to have the lathe repaired so that we could cut vinyl for the Sweet Fist album. He told me that the parts needed were no longer being manufactured, and that we were out of luck. I trusted my instincts and I became a bit persistent, which paid off. A couple weeks later, Larry told us that he had found someone who would supply the parts needed. Before long, we were back in Memphis, witnessing the lathe in action, cuting grooves in wax.
We videoed the whole thing, it was like watching sorcery! That was a magic time. There’s a cool article about the lathe, here: https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/prosound-news-blog/1636
RRX: This is where I harness the power of social media. You all have seen bands out there that are top shelf, but maybe haven’t had so much success in building a buzz. What bands locally are the bands that everyone must see once? Who should I be looking to interview in the future?
Kenny: The best new band I have seen locally recently is Motorbike, Mike O’Donnell’s band. They will be opening for us at Hangar on the Hudson Dec. 8th.
Solo artist Steve Candlen is also amazing.
Check out Super 400 at the Hangar on the Hudson on December 8th at 8 pm, with special guest Motorbike.
Erin Harkes and Cursed Ice Cream Trucks
There are people in the area who haven’t heard the music of singer and comedian Erin Harkes. I feel bad for you if you’re one of them. With a powerful voice and a surgically sharp wit, Erin has been making the rounds, not only here in the Capital Region, but beyond, even appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
From my own limited experience with her, I’d be hard-pressed to find a harder working entertainer. I had a chance to sit down with her (well, we both sat at our computers and exchanged emails, but it counts) and ask the probing questions I thought you all would want to know.
Erin Harkes. Photo by Kiki Vassilakis.RRX: I started writing these interview questions by reading your Wikipedia article. I know that people joke about Wikipedia, but not everyone gets one. How did it feel knowing you had an entry?
EH: At first it felt pretty cool. Then I realized my uncle made it. Which I appreciated for sure but it felt a little less cool. Then I kind of forgot all about it. Recently someone brought it to my attention and there’s so much inaccurate information on there that I’m afraid to look again. Someday…..
RRX: You’ve been a fixture in the upstate music scene through a fair amount of change. And I’m sure you hear people, in their nostalgia, lamenting that the scene is dead. But how do you see the change in “the scene” being that you’re not just in music, but in another performing art? Is the scene not what it used to be, or are we not what we used to be?
EH: It’s definitely not what it used to be. In fact it’s why I try to travel as often as possible. There is some amazing talent here but it’s so hard to get people out. I absolutely cherish and appreciate the fans I have locally, but there is a lot of apathy in this area. That’s not meant to offend anyone. Obviously if you’re reading this and you’re thinking “I go out all the time! I’m a big supporter of live music!” then what I said doesn’t apply to you!
RRX: I would love to ask you who your musical influences are, but everybody asks, and it’s hard to answer fully. So I’ll ask an oddball variant; name a song by one person that you wish would be performed by another. Pretend you have ten million and can make it happen. And why that song, that artist?
EH: Hmm. I’m not feeling particularly creative because I can’t really think of anything like that. Usually when I love a song as much as I do it’s because it’s being sang by the exact right person. I would however give anything in the world to be a tiny third harmony on “Dimming of the Day” by Richard Thompson when he sings it with Bonnie Raitt. Like I could finish that song and go straight to the grave. I’d be complete.
RRX: I read (in the Wikipedia article) that at one time, you drove an ice cream truck. It got me thinking that your sense of humor may have gotten you hired and/or fired from a whole host of interesting jobs. Do you have any war stories on the work front?
EH: I only ever got fired from one job and it was after I gave my notice anyway so it isn’t that much of a story. The ice cream truck driving job was apocalyptic though. I had just graduated college and was looking through the want ads, stoned. The ad had a smiley face. I thought I would be spreading joy and ice cream through the streets of Albany. The first truck I drove broke down in the projects and I was shot at with (luckily) paint ball guns. I was able to get it started and got it to safety. The owner came to meet me, fixed it up and said “get back to work”. I was shaking. But I pressed on. The second truck caught on fire. A little girl yelled “you’re on fire!” and I jumped off the truck and saw the flames through the grill. A woman let me use her phone to call 911. I then got back on the truck and grabbed my sweater and the cash box just as the fire department arrived. I had the box under my arm and soot under my nostrils when one of the firemen said “you went back on the truck?” I shook the box and said “I work on commission.” Then the third truck electrocuted me. Sent me flying to the back of the truck. My arm went numb. I brought the truck back and quit.
RRX: If you had to merge your comedy and your music into some mutant hybrid, would you be on the side of a singer that can make the crowd piss themselves in between songs, or a comedian that sings parody songs so good you have people telling you you’re wasting your pipes on comedy?
EH: That’s a good question. I’ve obviously thought about what I would want to do should I ever combine them. Nothing has occurred to me organically and so I’ve not made the attempt yet. I’ve seen it done and more often than not it’s been horrible. I don’t want to do something unless it’s gonna be amazing. I don’t want to make a bad first impression that can’t be erased.
RRX: Watching your comedy set, what I noticed the most was a pretty no-holds-barred honesty. You dig deep at your life and your past, but your delivery of it all just pulls out the laughs. What parts of that are just you being you, and what part is more, say, a hard-fought-for skill?
EH: It’s mostly just me being me. Sometimes it just clicks the first time you tell a joke/story. Sometimes you have to tell it a few times to for it to develop into a worthwhile bit. So it’s about half and half. Usually the first time I try something out it’ll be too long and too wordy and a few minutes long. Then I shave off the unnecessary words; the redundant parts. It gets more succinct and funnier. Occasionally you tell something for the first time and it’s just perfect. That’s very rare though.
RRX: Being that this is the last question, I’m going to ask you to be an influencer. Who’s out there that doesn’t get the press? Where are the diamonds in the rough? Shout-outs, acknowledgments, and all of that. It can be people or places.
EH: Oh boy. I feel so far removed from the scene, ashamedly. I mean I work so much myself that if I’m not being paid to be out I’m probably at home resting. Being sober as well it’s not always enticing to go out. I love hearing other musicians and comedians but for me going out on a night I’m not working is like going to the office on a Sunday morning. The ones that I have gone out to see or have gotten the chance to work with are getting pretty ample (and much deserved) press thanks to outlets like this. The local press has always been very generous to local performers. I mean maybe that’s easy for me to say but I’ve always felt like they’re paying attention. Whenever I’ve won a readers poll it’s usually followed up with some article – and I’ve seen the same for others. They listen to the community and then in kind listen to what the community is listening to. That being said the second I log off I’m sure I’ll think of about 100 people. 😉
Erin is hard to keep track of, whether it be her music gigs or her comedy spots. But she has a website – a good one too, and you can follow her exploits at ErinHarkes.com
Music Submission
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“Trash Talk”: Five Q&A with Mike Trash of The Erotics
RadioRadioX’s Shuffle and Local Lunch host Ralph Renna fires off Five Q&A “quick shots” with the Erotics singer and lead guitarist Mike Trash.
RRX: What are your top five influential albums and why?
Mike Trash: Cooper, Kiss, AC/DC, Elton John; a lot of 70’s rock more than 80’s which somehow shocks people for some reason. I can’t really name albums though, all those artists have too many albums I love.
RRX: Touring Europe. Tell…
Mike Trash: We just got back in September from our 8th. UK tour,best one yet by far, bigger crowds, bigger venues and even areas. We were on tour supporting our latest ep “Stuck Between Venus & Mars” we even shot a video over in the UK for one of the new tunes called ‘I Dismember You’.
RRX: Are you Cock rock or Glam Metal?
Mike Trash: Glock Metal
RRX: What is The Erotics plan for 2019?
Mike Trash: We are getting ready to record some new tunes, and hope to have something new out by May 2019.
Release will coincide with our next UK trip, in the end of May. We also are playing a few dates and some festivals that week. We plan to hit a lot of US markets in the summer.
RRX: Did you ever dream that you would play a mall on Black Friday?
Mike Trash: I remember working in the mall as a kid, on Black Friday, and wishing rock an roll would take me away. I guess 25+ years later it has. To literally be playing rock n roll in a mall.