PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Clarks are at a point that few bands reach.
The Pittsburgh rockers are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year – an achievement made all the more unusual because the band still consists of the four original members.
To celebrate, they released “Live from Graffiti,” an album that was recorded in 1995. It’s a rare gem for fans that captures the act’s early sound and sheds a light on its musical evolution.
The Clarks have become the face of Pittsburgh rock.
In January, their song “Better Off Without You” was used on the acclaimed television series “The Pitt.” The show, set in the emergency room of a Pittsburgh emergency room, strives for Steel City authenticity.
To capitalize on the moment, the band released an EP, “Echoes from The Pitt,” in January.
The Clarks will be in Boardman on Friday for their annual headlining gig at the Ribs-N-Rock Festival at DeBartolo Commons at Southern Park Mall.
Live Album
The “Live from Graffiti” album, released in mid-May, came as a surprise. Recorded in 1993 at Graffiti, Pittsburgh’s premiere rock club at the time, it gives fans a rare peek into the band’s past.
Scott Blasey, lead singer of the Clarks, remembers that show well.
The band was still on the rise – fired up to play the venue, and exhilarated that the show was to be broadcast on WDVE-FM, Pittsburgh’s rock powerhouse.
“We loved playing there,” Blasey says in a phone interview. “It was called a showcase, a club that showcased musical acts. It wasn’t a bar with a stage. And when we first started playing in Pittsburgh in the late ’80s, that was the holy grail.”
Graffiti, which had a capacity of about 600, closed in 2000.
The band knew the show was also being recorded but that wasn’t on their minds.
“When we were doing it, I wasn’t thinking much about it being recorded,” says Blasey. “It was live on WDVE, so I was thinking about the fact that this is going out live over the radio to a lot of listeners. It was part of a series that WDVE was doing at that time. Donnie Iris was in one and it was a really big deal for us to have one, to be live on DVE.”
The Clarks perform these days with six or seven on stage – Blasey, guitarist Rob James, bassist Greg Joseph, drummer Dave Minarik, and a few others to round out the sound.
But in 1993, it was just the original four, and their sound was a tad more garage-y.
“The first thing I noticed [from listening to the recording] was the sound of my voice,” says Blasey “It’s really raw, and I like that. I love hearing how I used to sing. I sing differently now. I sort of learned how to sing, and I guess there’s pros and cons to that. There’s a certain rawness, a certain energy to that recording, and partially because of my vocal style, which is a lot more aggressive and not nearly as … I don’t want to use the word relaxed. But it just sounds a lot different, and the band is really, really tight.”
Despite being recorded live in a club, the “Graffiti” album is stunningly crisp and clear.
The recording equipment was top shelf, Blasey says, but that’s not the only reason.
“A lot of credit needs to go to our producer, Sean McDonald,” he says. “He was able to take individual guitar tracks and drum tracks, and somehow isolate them and work on them. … Sweeten up the guitar tone, or this or that, and then remix it, which I think even 10 or 15 years ago [was almost] impossible to do. He had that ability to remix all that stuff, and it made a big difference in the audio quality.”
Despite its great sound, the recording was put on the shelf after the show. The band figured they’d release it one day but it was on the backburner so long that it was nearly forgotten.
“It was never in the plans for our 40th anniversary,” Blasey says. “Rob [James] was the driving force behind the idea that we need to release it at some point, because it’s really good, and it captures a moment in time that isn’t represented anywhere else. It captured us as still a young band, still evolving, still figuring out who we were.”
James began the push to release it a couple years ago, “and then we saw this 40th anniversary come up, and said this is the perfect time to do it,” Blasey says.
‘The Pitt’
Because “The Pitt” is flavored with the sights and issues of Pittsburgh, its music has to be a soundtrack of the city.
Scott Gemmill, showrunner of the series, wanted a local song for the scene that opens the first episode of season two. He found what he was looking for in The Clarks’ “Better Off Without You.” The episode aired Jan. 8 on HBO Max.
Hearing the song on television was a triumphant moment for the band, says Blasey, who is a fan of the show.
“[Gemmill] had gotten in touch with our management company and said, ‘hey, we would love to feature this song and this band in our season 2 premiere’,” Blasey says.
That marvelous news reached an even higher level when the band learned its song would open the second season of the show. The first season of “The Pitt” had just won five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Television Series-Drama.
“The profile of the show was really, really high, and there were a lot of people who were going to watch it, millions and millions of people,” Blasey says. “It was one of the highlights of our career. I was standing in my living room and when you could hear Dave [Minarik’s] drum going, and then the guitar and the vocals hit, and the skyline [of Pittsburgh] opens up on TV, I had my hands in the air, like I won the Super Bowl. It was the coolest experience ever.”
It also had a quantifiable effect. The band’s Spotify numbers doubled in the following month, Blasey says.
To capitalize on the moment, The Clarks released “Echoes from The Pitt” in January. The EP includes a rerecorded version of “Better Off …” that sharpens the song’s vocals and guitar, two newer singles (“No. 9” and “Supernatural”) and versions of two cover songs (“Walk Away” by the James Gang, and Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It be Good”).
Songs by The Clarks have been heard on national television before, although not with the stature of “The Pitt” appearance.
NBC often uses the band’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” as bumper music – played in the background when action fades into a commercial break – during telecasts of Steelers games.
And the band’s version of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” was used in an episode of “The Simpsons” about a dozen years ago.
Return to the Valley
The Clarks’ annual appearance at Ribs-N-Rock has become a tradition, and Blasey looks forward to it.
“I just have nothing but love for Youngstown,” he says. “We’ve been playing up there since the late ’80s.”
The band’s first shows in the city were at Cedars Lounge, when it was downtown. It also played at The Cellar, which used to exist in Struthers.
Last year, the band opened for John Mayer at Wean Park and returned a few months later for a show at Westside Bowl.
“Youngstown’s always been great to us,’ Blasey says. “We love coming back up there and seeing our fans, who at this point are now friends.”
Corey Ward, owner-operator of Ribs-N-Rock, had been booking The Clarks on the festival’s opening night of Thursday, and plugging in national acts on Friday and Saturday. But last year, he moved The Clarks to the bigger Friday night slot.
“Northeast Ohio loves The Clarks,” Ward says. “Year after year we watched as they maintained a consistent draw on Thursdays. Last year, we thought, due to their consistent draw and popularity, why not move them to the Friday night headlining slot? It proved to be a great decision because even more people came out to see the band perform.”
Ribs-N-Rock will take place Thursday through Saturday. Four rib makers will set up shop at the event, which will also feature a lineup of vendors, beer sales and a covered seating area for dining.
The rib vendors will be Carolina Rib King, Spartanburg, S.C.; Cowboys BBQ and Rib Co., Fort Worth, Texas; Off the Bone, Mobile, Ala.; and Porky Chicks BBQ, Farmington, Ark.
Gates open at noon each day, with free admission until 3 p.m. After 3 p.m., admission is $7 on Thursday, and $10 on Friday and Saturday.
Live music takes over each evening. Here is the schedule:
- Thursday: Trapt, 8 p.m.; and No Funk No Justice, 5 p.m.
- Friday: The Clarks, 9 p.m.; Rajma, 7:30 p.m.; 7% Superstar, 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday: Puddle of Mudd, 9 p.m.; AC & the Heat, 7:30 p.m.; Mr. Miyagi, 5 p.m.
Pictured at top: The Clarks. (Photo by Erica Dilcer)
