10th Anniversary Special - Andy Martin from CLAMFIGHT Interviews Steve Howe from OUTLAWS OF THE SUN

It's hard to believe that I've been doing Outlaws Of The Sun for ten years when I started the blog back in 2015. Time has flown. I was going to keep this very low-key as I'm not really big on celebrating big landmarks anymore. However, Andy Martin (Drums/Vocals) from the mighty Sludge/Stoner Metallers CLAMFIGHT asked if he could interview me for the blog.

And I was highly intrigued by that idea. It's been a while since I was interviewed. So I agreed. Andy had complete control with this interview and it was quite refreshing being the actual subject matter for a change. Anyway, read what I have to say about everything Outlaws Of The Sun.

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Hi Steve! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and happy ten years of Outlaws of the Sun! You’ve been a huge supporter of Clamfight and a ton of other bands and I want to say that we all really appreciate you and all your hard work. Now’s let finally hear a little about the man behind the riff-curtain!

Can you give a brief history of how Outlaws of the Sun came about and where it is today.

Hi Andy. Thanks for having me and for doing this interview. Outlaws Of The Sun came about quite quickly as I left The Sludgelord blog that I created back in 2011. As I felt that site was moving further away that I wanted to achieve with focusing upon bands within the underground scene.

The original plan back in July 2015 was to have a long break and see if I wanted to come back. As I was burnt out by this time. However, some folks contacted me saying if I ever decided to come back that they would love a review from me. So with that amazing support I started the blog.

Ten years later I’m still here. Didn’t expect this to last. I’m still featuring the usual mix of news, reviews, interviews and premieres. I’ve had a few breaks due to personal issues but I always come running back. 

What’s your earliest musical memory?

My earliest musical memory is seeing a Pop Concert back in 1983/84 which was like a Radio Roadshow featuring the best upcoming artists of the time. The only band I can remember was seeing Musical Youth (Yes, the dudes who released Pass The Duchie). 

Then mostly listening to Pop-Music when I was younger and perhaps getting into Dance/Rave music for a while back in my early teens. Nothing exciting to report with my earliest musical memory. Was kind of a late bloomer to all things LOUD and HEAVY.

Where did you grow up? How has that shaped your taste in music and art?

I grew up in a place called Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne based in the North East Of England. Well, we do have a certain musical pedigree where I’m from. STING is from Wallsend, Bryan Johnson from AC/DC is from Newcastle upon Tyne.

We also provided the world with VENOM and SKYCLAD. Two different kinds of HEAVY METAL were formed right here. We’ve had a few other famous musicians from this area. 

Growing up where I lived was a working class area where the main areas of industry was to do with Shipbuilding and that did install a sense of grittiness and realism that I like my music with. 

My brother moved me over to the areas of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal when I was about 18/19 years old. As I said previously I was a massive Dance / Rave fan. Though, I have to thank Soundgarden’s BLACK HOLE SUN which warped my fragile little brain with it’s brilliant video and groundbreaking sounds. 

Is there a record, movie, or any other piece of art that’s important to you today as it was when you were a teenager?

SOUNDGARDEN - Superunknown. The album that started my love affair with HEAVY ROCK music and opened the door to many other bands though I was a huge fan of THE WHO and THIN LIZZY in my formative younger years. But this record changed my whole outlook. Redefined my whole world with Black Hole Sun, Fell On Black Days, Spoonman and The Day I Tried To Live.

HARD BOILED - Another big hobby of mine is movies and Hard Boiled blew my mind when I watched back in 1994. As I was kind of bored with Hollywood action movies and to a certain extent Hong Kong movies. However, this John Woo / Chow Yun Fat masterpiece came to may attention and I loved its tone, execution and overall story of how it played. Perhaps the greatest action movie ever made. Yeah, this riffs on DIE HARD big time but this is GUN-FU and HEROIC BLOODSHED of the highest order. 

NEUROMANCER - William GIbson. This book came out in 1985 but I didn’t read it until 1993 when I was bored at home and bought a copy for £1. Such a groundbreaking book which still confuses and delights me to this very day. The whole CYBERPUNK movement wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for NEUROMANCER and films such as THE MATRIX either. 

Outlaws of the Sun traffics in bands that are certainly more on the underground side of things. What was your gateway band or record to the underground?

Well, before I started covering Doom, Sludge and Stoner bands I used to cover the more extreme stuff along with Thrash Metal for a while for different webzines. I grew disillusioned with the Doom and Stoner scenes though I still loved Mastodon greatly around that time. 

However, around 2008 I heard a record that took me back into the scene as it completely blew my mind. That record was MEANDERTHAL by TORCHE. I loved it’s mix of Punk, Psych, Fuzz, Sludge and Stoner grooves wrapped around Pop based movement. The song Grenades just showed me a side I hadn’t heard before. It felt fresh and that reignited my passion for the Stoner Metal scene. Then I started discovering other great bands and listening to records of bands I loved years ago that I missed the first time round.

How’s the local scene where you live? Any local favorite bands or venues we should all know about?

The local scene isn’t as popular where I live in Newcastle Upon Tyne. We have some bands from the Doom, Sludge and Stoner scenes that visit amongst the superb local venues we have. 

There’s a very good Rock / Metal scene for places such as Trillians Rockbar, The Cluny, The Grove, Little Buildings, Think Tank and The Lubber Fiend are some very cool venues that I enjoy.

We have some very cool Stoner Rock/Metal bands with PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS being the most well known. DUNES are from here and fastly making a name for themselves.

Cult Drone/Doom Metallers BONG are from the area as well. So we do have some great pedigree within the underground scene. 

Can you name three bands you think more people should know about and why?

This is a tough one. And apologies to the bands who I’ve missed out.

MOON DESTROYS - An amazing band featuring Juan Montoya and Evan Diprima in their ranks. A stunning mix of Doom, Shoegaze, Psych, Grunge and Alt Metal vibes makes their debut album She Walks By Midnight such a standout. They’ve just signed to Blues Funeral Recordings who will be re-releasing their debut album and another record is being planned for next year.

https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/she-walks-by-moonlight

TORSO - A one-man wrecking crew by Graham Bywater. On their new album Annihilation Day blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Grind, Thrash, Noise Rock and Black Metal to devastating effect. TORSO fuses classic horror styles from John Carpenter, Italian Horror Movies and American Horror Stories are the main influence for the storylines but maybe some Italian seediness comes into play as well. TORSO adds brutally funny storylines into their music. The music is quite ELECTRONICA obsessed with a grindcore style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal developing at full throttle.

https://hereliestorso.bandcamp.com/album/brain-cells

ALPHAWHORES - You can Come Out Now. A brilliant band that blends Alt Rock, Shoegaze, Psych, Fuzz, Sludge, Grunge and Stoner melodies to great effect. They have a deep love and respect for the 90’s scene but also incorporate modern day elements. This is their second full length record with members Massiel Pinzón (Drums/Vox) and Juan Carlos García de Paredes (Guitar/Vox) both adding their own distinctive vocal delivery which is quite commercial at times but never takes away from the superb enjoyment of the whole album.

https://alphawhores.bandcamp.com/album/you-can-come-out-now-album

What’s three things you wish bands knew about you and your website?

Hmm. I don’t know how to answer this one. I think the only one I can think of is that I’ll try to feature as many bands and artists that I possibly can. If I missed your original request then please contact me again and I’ll do my best to get back to you. However, I only have so much time in the day.

The other one is that I do this in my spare time and there maybe moments where I don’t get everything right the first time so please be patient. I also have my job and personal life to focus upon as well.

Apologies if that seems like I'm complaining but I’m not. I love doing the blog and promoting the underground scene. I still need some time away to recharge my batteries.

What’s the wrong way to reach out to you for an interview or review?

Email is my preferred choice but I’m happy to be contacted by Facebook Messenger but not on a constant basis or across different Social Media platforms.

What’s the worst interview you’ve had?

Worst interview I ever had was with a UK Progressive Sludge Metal band who shall remain nameless. They were performing locally in my home town and I just wanted to go to the venue and see them perform. However, they convinced me to do the interview which I did. However, it was a complete fucking shit show as the band were drunk and just not interested in answering my questions. So I managed to get about 5 mins from a 30 mins discussion. I put the interview together but the band wanted the final say on what I put together.

They wouldn’t let me publish the interview as they felt it put them in a bad light. I sent the interview off to their PR Rep who agreed with me. They apologised and asked me not to publish the interview which I agreed to. That whole experience put me off that band full stop. Never listened or featured them on the blog since then.

The best?

The best. I have to say John Garcia back in 2017. As he was so down to earth, warm hearted and such a lovely guy to discuss things with. He’s brilliantly funny and gives truthful answers.

https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2017/01/speaking-in-tongues-interview-with-john.html

Brant Bjork. One of my all time favourite artists. I’ve interviewed him about 10 times over the last decade or so and every time is such a different experience than the last time. However, this was my all-time favourite as we chatted about so much that I left out a great deal of the conversation. I wish I did a two part interview but folks tell me this is the best one I’ve done with Brant Bjork so who am I to argue or disagree with…

https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2016/08/music-for-people-interview-with-brant.html

What keeps you and Outlaws going? We live in an age of constant distraction and are subject to a steady stream of bad news. How do you tune that all out and write about music?

Outlaws keeps my mind completely sane. I have a stressful job and music helps to keep me grounded. I manage to do two reviews a day which is a great help to me for my mental heatlh and all round well being. I completely zone out of the news as I’m not political as much now. I’m getting old and I still care about the horrible shit currently going on around the world.

When I’m not reviewing music I like to listen to old albums I haven’t heard in years. Watch movies and TV Shows. Hanging out with my friends and supporting my beloved Football team Newcastle United.

We occasionally chat about movies or tv over social media and that’s got me wondering, what’s a movie that is as important to you now as when you were a kid?

Damn. That’s a great question. I could have easily put Star Wars but I’m going to say Enter The Dragon. As that was the whole gateway into the Martial Arts world and Action Cinema in general. That led me to discover Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Li and Donnie Yen.

This also led to my love affair with Asian Action Cinema.

If I had a second choice then I will definitely say Star Wars. I’m not too keen on the recent Sequel Trilogy but I did love some of the recent Disney+ TV shows such as Andor (Amazing Show) and The Mandalorian (Well S3 was bit of a shit show).

What’s the best movie you’ve seen recently?

I’m going to say SINNERS. I adored that film. Love the mix of Horror, Thriller, Action and Crime Thriller set against a brilliant backdrop of Blues Music, Soul, Hip-Hop and even Rock music.

This is followed closely by SUPERMAN. Huge James Gunn fan and he brilliantly delivered this great movie.

2025 is almost through. If someone demanded your favorite albums, movies, tv shows of the year what would they be?

Top 5 Movies

SINNERS
Superman
F1
The Gorge
Warfare

Top 5 Albums

Slomatics - Atomicult
BREATH - BRAHMAN
Museum Of Light - Diviner
Pelican - Flickering Resonance
KAL-EL - Astral Voyager Vol 1

TV Shows

Andor Seeson 2
Daredevil Born Again
SMOKE
The Pitt
Dept Q

Thanks again for all you do, and for taking the time for this interview. Again, I hope all your music-writing compatriots are to all of us in the scene. Any parting words of wisdom for your readers?

Thanks for allowing me to do this interview. I had a great time doing this.

My only passing words of wisdom - Take care of yourselves out there. Look after your family and friends. Don’t take nothing for granted. Thanks to everyone for their awesome support for the last ten years or so. Here’s to the next ten!

Words by Andy Martin and Steve Howe

Thanks to Andy for doing this interview. Thanks to everyone for their amazing support over the last decade or so. It really means a lot. Thanks again.

CLAMFIGHT Links

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CLAMFIGHT Return With A Vengeance. An Interview With Andy Martin From Doom/Sludge Metallers CLAMFIGHT

Doom/Sludge Metal veterans CLAMFIGHT make a welcome return after a seven year absence with their new self-titled album. The album is more primal, aggressive and technically impressive compared to previous CLAMFIGHT records. However, the record has a lot of emotional depth, heart and melody which allows the “GRUNGE” aspect of the band’s music to fully shine through.

The album took a different creative turn thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic which I discussed with Andy Martin (Guitar/Vocals) from the band in this interview. 

So let’s get straight down to business with this great interview.

Hi Andy. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today. 

Pretty good, thanks! The new record comes out this week and I just got married so despite the state of the world I’m pretty stoked.

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

The four of us have been bands together since we were teenagers and Clamfight has existed since 2002 with our first show in 2025. Currently we’re a lot older and grayer than when we started, have a lot of family and work commitments but are incredibly excited to get out there and play some shows.

We last spoke back in 2018. What have you guys been upto since then. As it’s been over seven years since Clamfight’s last album with III released back in 2018.

There’s been a lot of big life changes since, three kids between Joel and Sean, new jobs, but somehow, we keep on keeping on. Show wise, since the release of III we have yet again covered the East from Maine to Florida.

Obviously the COVID-19 Pandemic had a big effect for you when making this album. Can you describe how this impacted the band itself and changed the musical dynamic for the original plans for the new album.

Speaking for myself, it made me realize how much Joel, Louis, and Sean mean to me. That changed the entire lyrical direction of the album. Logistically speaking it made recording a much slower process. We finished the drums the weekend the East Coast shut down and then I think it was 5 or 6 months before we were able to get back to the studio.

With that in mind, are you happy with the way the new album has turned out. Has it changed dramatically to Clamfight’s original plans for the record.

We are. The extra time allowed us to really flesh this record out and expand it sonically. It’s absolutely the best record we’ve ever made and I’m not sure it would have been if we’d knocked it out as planned in 2020. 

What can people expect with this new album. As it’s your most aggressive, heaviest and bleakest release to date.

It’s certainly got some of the heaviest stuff we’ve ever done on it, but also, I sing more than on any prior record. Sean’s guitar work is beautiful. It’s blistering when it needs to be but there are a lot of quiet moments and also hooks ha ha ha. I think when you hear it, I’d hope you think, “wow, these guys love Soundgarden and Converge in equal measure.”

Are you prepared to surprise your fanbase with quite a challenging and complex album to your previous records whilst still maintaining that core “CLAMFIGHT” sound.

Ha, I hope! The reviews so far have been super kind, and since it’s been done for so long a lot of our friends have heard it already. I’d like to think that since we’ve been quiet for so long people will be happier to get something different from us as opposed to a rehash of the same old thing. 

You have some fantastic guest vocals on the new album with Sam Marandola (Oldest Sea) appearing on “Brodgar” and Stephen Murphy (Kings Destroy) and the legend that is JJ Koczan (The Obelisk) both appearing on “Clamfight”. How did these collaborations come together. 

Friendship. We met Sam after shows started again and immediately hit it off. She is stunningly talented and super fun to be around. Having her not hesitant when we asked her to be on this record was an honor. JJ and Steve are hugely important to us. No one would know who we are without JJ.

My memory is a little fuzzy but I’m pretty sure we met JJ within a year of us starting to play live, so we’ve known him for 20 years? Steve and the Kings Destroy guys are like our big brothers. So yeah, when we had this 7-minute autobiographical song, we knew these were the guys to sing on it and were over the moon that they said yes.

You’re releasing this album yourselves. Was that an easy or hard decision to make. 

It wasn’t an easy call, but it was the right one. It was a lot of work for us, and between families and our jobs, it’s not like we have a lot of free time, but we didn’t want to be beholden to anyone else’s schedule. Also, we didn’t want to let anyone down if we got too busy to properly push this album.

Did you have any label interest in releasing the new album. I’m surprised that you’re releasing this yourselves. As you’ve worked with some cool labels in the past.

We talked to some great people about it and appreciate the opportunities we were offered but they just weren’t right for us. 

What formats is the album being released upon.

For right now just digital and CD, but I think vinyl is inevitable.

The artwork is stunning for the new album cover. Very primal and showcases your heavier organic sound. Who designed the artwork and how much influence did you have with the final design.

Thank you! The art was by Morgan Russell, an old buddy of mine from my Scottish archaeology days. She’s done some T-shirts for us and has done some killer beer labels in the UK. There is a lot of forest and ocean imagery on the record, and I made a hilariously bad sketch of what I thought it should look like, sent Morgan that and the lyrics and she went off and crushed it. Morgan sent us stuff throughout the process but basically all we ever said was, “that’s incredible, keep going.” She did an amazing job.

What inspired CLAMFIGHT when writing, recording and making the album.

There weren’t a lot of conscious decisions about how we wanted this to sound beyond wanting some shorter songs than the ones on ‘III.’ We didn’t set out to make a prettier record, but it happened, and I think that was due to the extra recording time and our main dude Steve Poponi pushing us to be better musicians.

Lyrically, I was influenced by the Pandemic and where we all our in lives. We’re in our mid-forties, and you just start to lose people at this age, so instead of being about Vikings or something, the theme of the record became, “life can change in an instant, love the people around you as hard as you can.”

CLAMFIGHT have been a band for over twenty three years now. What have been your high points and low points performing with the band within that time.

The high points are that we keep enjoying each others’ company and still love jamming and playing shows. We lost Steve Poponi in 2023, who was a very good friend and recorded all four of our records. That was brutal. 

Looking back would you change anything about your time or things experienced with CLAMFIGHT.

Haha, same answer as always, probably just our name? Although I think I’m coming around on that.

Will you be touring this record at all. Will you be touring locally or further afield to promote the album.

Certainly, the whole East Coast, but we’re eyeing the Mid-West now too. Honestly, if people want to see us somewhere we haven’t been before, reach out and we will try our damndest to be shirtless in your town. 

If you are, how would you describe the live CLAMFIGHT experience?

Chaotic. Furious but also fun? We’re not super serious people and I think that comes through when we play live. Honestly, as much as we can’t get out there and tour for three weeks straight, I consider us a live band and really believe that’s where we’re at our best.

Thanks for your time Andy, Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your fans at all. Or anything else you would like to add.

Thank you Steve for all your hard work on this site. We’re always grateful to anyone that’s supporting heavy music.

Things are obviously tough all over these days, so be good to each other. Lean on your friends, and be someone your friends can lean on. 

Clamfight loves you.

Words by Steve Howe and Andy Martin

CLAMFIGHT is available to buy now on CD/DD from all good stockists.

Links

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An Interview With Andy Martin From CLAMFIGHT

Clamfight are returning from a 5 year absence with a new album and a heavy new sound. Newly signed to Italian Powerhouse Label – Argonauta Records. Their new album III will be released on January 18^th 2018. T

III sees Clamfight drastically changing their sound to a more Progressive blend of Sludge/Stoner Metal, Taking influence from bands such as Mastodon, Neurosis, SLEEP and YOB that sees Clamfight with a a more cohesive and braver sound compared to their last album.

I caught up with Andy Martin (Drums/Vocals) to discuss the evolution of their new sound, signing to Argonauta Records and their journey as a band.

This is what Andy had to say.....

Hi Clamfight. How are things with you today.

Pretty spectacular, thanks for asking. Sean and I spent the day on the water, caught some fish and saw a whale. Pretty impossible to beat that, and honestly it’s going to be tough to not make this whole interview about that damn whale.

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

The short version is that we grew up together. Joel, Louis, and I first jammed together when we were 14 (or just shy of 25 years ago). We picked Sean up a little later in high school, played a million firehall shows with our hardcore band in the early 2000s and when that broke up formed Clamfight. Currently we’re about to release our third record, and first for Argonauta records. It’s called ‘III’ we aim to spend the foreseeable future balancing pushing it as hard as we can while keeping our jobs and home lives intact.

How would you describe your overall sound.

Big. Though we have very consciously trying to experiment with dynamics and melody recently, subtly is not our strong point. It’s loud and aggressive and despite all the classic rock and literary influenced nerdery, I also think it’s really obvious that we’ve been butchering songs from “And Justice for All” during band practice our entire lives.

We are here to talk about your debut album – III. I've only had a brief listen recently but it sounds fantastic so for. What can people expect from the album.

Well our homeboy and label mate Brent from Hollow Leg called it “questy” the first time he heard it and I really like that. We went all out on this one, it’s only five songs but it clocks in at 45 minutes, and we really let all our most epic (read pretentious) tendencies fly. We initially had a lot of material but we spent a lot of time deciding what songs would make the cut. We really wanted a record that would be giant and sprawling but cohesive at the same time. It’s half us putting our Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin love on full display but because I can’t sing so it also ends up being as close to a death metal record as you’ll ever get from Clamfight.

When will the album be released.

January 19^th, 2018.

You've signed to Argonauta Records for this album. How did you manage to hook up with them. Gero's a great guy who is doing a brilliant job.

When we finally finished the record we let some good friends hear it and the name that kept coming up was Argonauta. I feel like we’re in a bit of weird spot musically; we really aren’t a full on-sludge band, but we’re not doing the Kyuss rip-off thing either so I think there’s some labels that we aren’t heavy enough for, and some label that we’re probably too aggressive for.

I was aware of Argonauta, and knew that Hollow Leg loved working with them so I asked Brent to put us in touch and that was pretty much that. Gero got it instantly and he’s been really great to work with. Our schedules are nuts and he’s Italy, and for a time the email chain was Sean in Jersey, Gero in Italy, and me in Scotland, and he was just so patient about that. You can tell the guy has a real passion for what he’s doing so it’s an honor to be part of the Argonauta family.

What influenced you all when recording the album.

It basically all came down to our comfort in working with Steve Poponi at the Gradwellhouse in New Jersey and our faith in his abilities. Steve’s a ballbuster but holy hell is he good at his job and he’s versatile. He did the last Fight Amp record, which rules, but is a very different kind of heavy from ‘III’ and it really shows his range as an engineer and producer. Steve’s also done live sound for us a lot, including for songs which ended up on ‘III’, so he’s very aware of how we sound live and what we were aiming for.

What is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it a group participation or down to one individual.

Sean and I do the majority of the writing, though Joel and Louis write their own parts. They both came up with some killer stuff on this record. I handle all the lyrics.

What influences you when writing music.

For this record I think there was a lot of influence from all the Pink Floyd and Dire Straits that we listen to in the truck. We really don’t listen to a lot of metal when we’re out playing shows, and basically never after we play a show, then it’s all David Gilmour or Mark Knopfler.

We also wanted to make a very different record than “I Versus the Glacier’. We’re really proud of that record, and a lot of the songs on it are personally really meaningful for me, but that record is full-on. We wanted to do something a little different with this record and try to take people on more of a trip.

Lyrically this record is influenced by Orkney and my archaeology hobo life. I have the best job in the world, but as of now I’ve been on the road for a year straight. On one hand I’m doing exactly what I want to do with my life, on the other, I’m missing my partner and family. That heavy dynamic of loving what I do but knowing that it’s keeping me away from the people I love is what this record is largely about.

I just framed it against Orkney because writing about Vikings doing Viking shit while simultaneously missing home is more interested than me writing about skyping my lady.

Why the long wait for your new album. As you released your last album almost 5 years ago. Any specific reasons why.

The long wait this time was mostly due to our jobs. If you added up the amount of time we spent in the studio it’s probably only 7 or 8 days, but those 7 or 8 days were spread between early 2015 and 2017. We’d get close to wrapping it up and then I’d leave the country for 2 months, or Steve would have a tour pop up, and then all of a sudden it’s two years later. If I can be home more in the future maybe it won’t be 5 years until the next one.

You're coming upto your 16^th year as a band. Did you ever think that the Clamfight musical journey would last this long.

Ha, that’s a great question. I remember when we were a lot younger we swore we were going to hang it up when we all turned 28. That was 10 years ago. We all have a lot more responsibilities these days but we all love making music and hanging out with each other so I don’t see us hanging it up anytime soon. Personally I have ideas for other records that I think we’ve still got in us, and if it takes us longer to get them out because of our lives, that’s fine. They’ll happen eventually.

What have been your high points and low points with the band.

We’ve gotten to open for some our heroes, like Eyehategod and Scott Kelly and Bruce Lamont, and those shows were really great experiences. The other more continuous high point is the connections with other like-minded weirdos that we’ve managed to make. Having made really close friendships with bands and promoters up and down the east coast is really rewarding, and honestly it gets even cooler when you start seeing your rock and roll buddies without amps in the room. There’s a long list of incredible people we just wouldn’t know without Clamfight, and those folks are the unquestionable best thing about being in a band.

As for the low points, that’s a slightly more difficult question. We’re brothers, and sometimes we fight like brothers, but honestly now that we’re older even a nasty post show fight can get chalked up to booze and buried with a hug and an “I love you” the next day. The real low points are the life events, the unexpected tragedies that can come out of nowhere and crush you as you get older.

But at the same time, when you get that 3am phone call and someone you love is just gone, having the other guys in the band to lean on is its own kind of beautiful. We’ve all had our fair share of loss, but when I look back at the kindness and patience we’ve had for each other its sort its own high point. So ultimately, there isn’t a low point really, just occasional mild shit-fits backed up with a lot of love.

Would you change anything about your time with Clamfight.

Just our dumb name.

Are you all involved with different musical projects or is this your main band.

Clamfight is everyone’s main thing. There’s been sporadic jamming with different people over the years, and I think that sort of thing is important for growing as musician, but personally our schedules get in the way of being reliable bandmates for anyone else. Sean and I do have a growing collection of riffs that don’t really make sense for Clamfight and we have every intention of them seeing the light of day at some point.

What is your musical setup when performing or recording live. Is it an advanced setup or a basis setup.

Sean’s got a little bit of weirdness going on with his pedals but otherwise we are real basic meat and potatos guys, set-up wise. My drums sound like garbage at most shows because I’m just going to break them anyway.

How hard is it for Clamfight stand-out from the crowd. Or do you not worry about things like that.

In terms of song writing Sean and I tend to swear off new music when we’re in writing mode. That’s probably why you’ll never see us wearing bell bottoms and writings songs about cars or sex witches or something. Maybe it’s because we’re boring guys but I feel like I’ve been listening to the same 5 records since the year 2000 and I feel like that helps us avoid a little of the ‘doing what everyone else is doing’ stuff.

In terms of live, we just try to play as hard as we can. Sound sucks? Had a long day? Tired? Sick? Argued over where we ate dinner? Fuck it, just play as hard as we can. That and being polite and punctual. When we first starting out as band and sucked pretty hard, saying ‘thank you’ and showing up when we said we would got us a lot of shows.

Do you perform many local gigs or do you have to travel further afield.

I’d consider us a regional act if that makes any sense. We’re all pretty tied down workwise so we tend to get by on weekenders, but we’ve covered 1,100 miles in a weekend before, and once did 2,800 miles in a long weekend, so we still try to cover as much ground as we can. Since “Glacier” came out we covered the whole of the east coast of the US from Maine to Florida, and we’ll hopefully do all that again in support of ‘III’. We’re also eyeing something a bit further afield for the fall hopefully (like the West Coast).

With 2017 drawing to a close. What have been your favourite albums you've listened to this year.

I caught Mutoid Man a few weeks ago and consequently ‘War Moans’ has been a daily listen ever since. Iron Monkey’s new one shreds, and I loved that Bloodclot record. That was my summer jam.

Hellrad’s ‘Counting Sins’ just crushes. Mother of God does that record rule and they’re great live and great dudes. I jammed the hell out of Kings Destroys’ ‘None More’ EP as well.

My record of the year though is probably Shroud Eater’s ‘Strike the Sun.’ They’re family, and guest on ‘III’ so I’m obviously biased, but it’s a pretty fine thing when people you love make a record that that’s damn good.

Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

Thanks for giving a shit, really. For a band that can’t really properly tour, the support we’ve gotten from all over the US as well as Europe and Australia has been hard to wrap our heads around. Anytime someone drops more on international shipping for a copy of the record or a T-Shirt I kind of want to hop on a plane and go hug the ever loving shit out of them. So all I can really say is thanks, and that you guys are the absolute best.

Words by Steve Howe and Andy Martin

Thanks to Andy for doing this interview. III will be available to buy on CD/DD via Argonauta Records from January 18^th 2018.

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