Hitting you like a freight train: Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster, singer/guitarist , bassist and guitarist

“My favorite drummers were in Go-Go bands,” he says enthusias- both Fallon and Gaster give credit to the Washington, D. C. hardcore tically. “Certainly, there were a lot of metal drummers that made an punk scene that emerged in the early ‘80s for presenting a method of impression on me early on, but when I sat down to start making our handling life as a musician with a degree of dignity and integrity. very first Clutch songs, I was thinking about Ju Ju House and Brandon While living in Germantown, Md., they only had to drive a short Finley. These are guys that played big, fat, deep Go-Go pockets. It took distance to see live bands in nearby Baltimore and D.C. “I missed the me very little time to realize that that fits hand-in-glove with heavy early stuff, Minor Threat and Teen Idols and what have you. I was too riffs. It’s a no-brainer.” young for that,” says Fallon. “But, I did see Fugazi quite a bit early on Gaster took lessons from Walter Salb, a sharp-tongued Washington, and they made a real strong impression on us. We would all hop in the D.C. composer, talent agent, bandleader and drummer who performed car together and go see them. in Big Bands and show bands for touring singers. The move allowed “One of the things that really impressed me—maybe I didn’t real- Gaster to broaden the options he could incorporate into his playing as ize it at the time—Fugazi never used a light show. Usually it was fluo- well as soak up the knowledge of the veteran. “I could tell him about rescent lights in the house that were on. They came on and they just some crazy thing that happened on the road and he’d be able to relate jammed really hard. And it felt wrecked when they were done. I really to that story and tell you something that happened to him 40 years appreciated that.” ago—almost the exact situation. In so many ways, traveling musicians Gaster took inspiration from Fugazi’s live show; their commitment encountered the very same hurdles today that they did 40 years ago. to playing as hard as possible every show was a benchmark for what a That was always fun.” live show should feel like. Though the influence is not immediately heard in Clutch’s sound, In Fugazi’s post-hardcore and punk sound, he began connecting

OCTOBER 2009 | RELIX