u/Clutch_Vinyl_414

This Week In Clutch - Week of May 17, 2026 - May 23, 2026.

A weekly review of the goings on in Clutch history and related parties. Brought to you by the Clutch Compendium Facebook Group.

#thisweekinclutch #TWIC

• May 18, 2018: 7 years ago, Clutch released a pre-album digital single ‘Gimmie The Keys’ on Weathermaker Music and simultaneously released the lyrics video on the same day. Gimmie The Keys was the first song released from the Book of Bad Decisions album and the first-time fans got to hear a Clutch recording with Grammy Award winner producer Vance Powell out of his Sputnik Sound studio located in Nashville, TN. A video commentary on the track featuring Neil Fallon was released shortly after (on May 28, 2018) and linked in the comments. https://youtu.be/htSvzWy-WcY?si=HrCC-NjBLjScfnHu
• May 20, 2017: Eight years ago, the inaugural Earth Rocker Festival took place at Shiley Acres in Inwood West Virginia. The acts featured for this year’s fest were: The Sword, Lucero, Bad Seed Rising, Apollo's Prophecy and the Let There Be Rock School Band. Merchandise promoting the festival included shirts a poster and cozies featuring artwork by French artist Emy Rojas. https://youtu.be/zivmnYl9mKM?si=l0cwvhY8KWlu8yPc and https://youtu.be/MICgV0lNIPU?si=Spgu4wgWsGh4_jrP
• May 21, 2021: Four years ago, Joecephus and The George Jonestown Massacre (fronted by Joey "Joecephus" Killingsworth ) released their tribute album "Heirs Of The Dog (A Tribute To Nazareth)" on Saustex Records (Catalog #SEX2101). The LP version released on the 21st was the limited edition 140-gram colored vinyl (light purple) limited to 200 copies. Later copies of vinyl were issued on black vinyl and a compact disc was eventually released. This album is their take on Nazareth's iconic and career-making, best-selling double platinum LP 'Hair of the Dog.' Special guests on this album include Blaine Cartwright (Nashville Pussy), Ruyter Suys (Nashville Pussy), Greg Martin (Kentucky Headhunters), Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers), Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys, Ignitor), Manny Charlton (Nazareth, and producer of the original album), JD Pinkus (Butthole Surfers, Honky, Melvins), Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Neil Fallon (Clutch) and Harvey McLaughlin. Neil appears on the track 'Please Don't Judas Me'. All of JGJM's profits from sales benefit The FSHD Society for fshd muscular dystrophy research in memory of Jonelle Spicer. Artwork was done by Ronnie Lewis & cover art was based on design by David Fairbrother-Roe. https://youtu.be/gV91kRT4-ws?si=DKpJ8HoLA2-PaWxu
• May 23, 2006: 19 years ago, Toledo, OH blues band Five Horse Johnson released their fifth album, ‘The Mystery Spot’ on compact disc on Small Stone Records. Jean-Paul Gaster (Clutch) plays drums on all songs from this album. The LP was released much later (July 2011). https://youtu.be/DRwqUNFVjXg?si=7Gb2QeWU_bQIZGCV

I made these physical CD-R’s in 2024 for Clutch albums that are digital only. These are just unofficial versions made for my collection (1 copy each). Here we have Spacegrass: The Collection (digitally released by Warner Music Group in 2019) and Monsters, Machines And Mythological Beasts, (digitally released by Weathermaker Music in 2020). The MM&MB CD was pretty short (10 songs), so I added a few more songs from the early major label CDs that fit the CD's theme. I made/included art from others to compliment the cover and build the layout. Neil said in an interview how ridiculous the Spacegrass one was. The Mythological Beasts artwork is by Brazilian artist Wildner Lima. I added some additional pieces (details and sketches) by him to compliment the final one used for the cover art. Printed parts all on glossy photo paper which really make the releases pop. I'll post some others I did in the near future.

This Week In Clutch - Week of May 10, 2026 - May 16, 2026.

A weekly review of the goings on in Clutch history and related parties. Brought to you by the Clutch Compendium Facebook Group.

#thisweekinclutch #TWIC

• May 10, 2011: 15 years ago, Clutch released the expanded edition of the 2004 full-length album Blast Tyrant on compact disc as a 2-disc set of Blast Tyrant + Basket of Eggs on & Weathermaker Music (WM017). This edition of Blast Tyrant included ‘Basket of Eggs’ as a second disc that had a handful of acoustic-styled arrangements of previously released songs, a live acoustic song (Drink to the Dead) and an unreleased cover song (Boxcar Shorty’s Confession – originally by Cousin Joe & Sam Price Trio 1949), plus several demo songs recorded at the Polar Bear Lair with Chris Kozlowski (R.I.P.) including three previously unreleased songs (Cattle Car, Steve Doocy, Walpole Man). The expanded edition was housed in a cardboard slipcase (O-card) with silver foil stamping.
• May 11, 2009: 17 years ago, Clutch released the promotional digital single “Pure Rock Fury” – in support of their live album, ‘Live At The Googolplex’. The single was released digitally by Megaforce Records (no known catalog number).
• May 11, 2021: 5 years ago, Clutch’s live in the studio recording ‘Live from the Doom Saloon Vol. 3’ was released on vinyl as a colored teal and red vinyl (2xLP) on Weathermaker Music (WM133). The vinyl album was exclusively sold on Clutchmerch.com webstore prior to the airing of DS III. The 2xLP was offered as part of a bundle or as a standalone record. The bundle featured: a virtual ticket to the streaming event, a T-shirt and the 2xLP recording of the concert autographed by each band member. The 2xLP was shipped separately from the other physical items one the vinyl was pressed. Only enough albums were pressed to accommodate pre-orders. The cost of the bundle ranged from $99 to $103 depending on shirt size. The cost of the 2xLP sold separately was $60. Clutch provided a few short video clips of status updates, the LP jackets getting made, the LP jackets getting signed and the vinyl being pressed. The LP jackets are wrapped and printed on metal foil (metallized polyester film) which makes them very shiny. The jackets were produced by a company that was different than the vinyl pressing plant. The logistics as pieced together by the released videos of production: LP jackets made by an outside company; shipped (empty) to the Doom Saloon in Maryland for the band to autograph them; then the covers were shipped to URP (the pressing plant) in Tennessee to be stuffed with the soon-to be pressed records. The finalized records were anticipated to be shipped in early April however, the records were finally shipped mid-May. Many of the autographs are hard to see on the metalized foil jackets. The brilliant artwork is by JimBob Isaac (UK). The imagery of the two robots battling was inspired by the lyrics to ‘10001110101’ with “…robot lords of Tokyo”. The signs on the buildings include references that should be familiar to Clutch fans including: Galaxy 500 (a Spacegrass reference), Cliffside Inn (a Soapmakers reference), 9:30 (reference to the 9:30 Club in Washing DC), Flanagans (a nod to Jack, their manager and Weathermaker Music co-owner who passed in 2019) and the images of a geisha and emperor and ‘pigsty’ (a reference to A Shogun Named Marcus). I’m not sure what the tie-in to the 8-bit Space Invaders alien that’s depicted is. Finally, there’s a sign indicating ‘Clutch Lockdown 2020’ and unfortunately we all know what that was. https://youtu.be/yc7e1E8BlR0?si=mrlH7oAwXHbFpjeT
• May 12, 2016: 10 years ago, Jay A. Turner released a solo album titled, ‘Art Music For Bass’ and which was self-released as a digital release and a compact disc. Aside from Jay, the band for this album was Justine Miller - trumpet and vocals, Dave Fairall - saxophone, Jean-Paul Gaster (Clutch) - drums, Michael Sauri - guitar, Chris Brooks (Lionize) – Organ, Josh Howell - percussion, Jacob Smith - saxophone, Susan Alcorn - pedal steel guitar and Melissa Wimbish – vocals. https://jayturner.bandcamp.com/album/art-music-for-bass
• May 13, 2016: 10 years ago, Dunsmuir's 7-inch single ‘Deceiver b/w Orb Of Empire’ was released on the Hall Of Records label (HOR 003). This was the third of four 7-inches in the series from Dunsmuir, a supergroup comprised of members from Clutch (Neil Fallon), The Company Band (Dave Bone), Fu Manchu (Brad Davis) and Black Sabbath/Dio (Vinny Appice). The four 7-inches have a similar theme featuring a solid black background and a stylized stone face of a band member split open and lava pouring forth. This 7" features Brad Davis. The vinyl matrix inscriptions include latitude and longitude (degree-minutes-seconds) which, when mapped, are locations of volcanoes & volcanic activity. For this particular 7-inch, the volcano for Side A is Huaynaputina “young volcano” in southern Peru known as having the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historic times and Side B is Crater Lake, a caldera lake located in south-central Oregon by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. The record was limited to 500 copies. https://youtu.be/wnfPjOTDko4?si=WrLw5Dyo3RoC0IfQ and https://youtu.be/8no5Xx6hbqc?si=RiTKvYFpR34zk7CJ
• May 14, 2021: 5 years ago, Sandhya, a jazz-pop artist and writer Sandy Asirvatham released a full-length album on compact disc titled 'Innocent Monster'. Jean-Paul Gaster plays drums on all tracks. The album features many local Maryland musicians and several who have worked with JP and/or Clutch before. Some of them include Nathan Bergman, Mark Stanley and Mike Westcott. J. Robbins also mixed a song or two at the Magpie Cage studio in Baltimore. You can listen to and purchase her CD through her Bandcamp page. There's also an option to get a personalized/limited edition CD as well. https://sandhya.bandcamp.com/album/innocent-monster
• May 14, 2013: 13 years ago, Polkadot Cadaver released their third full-length album titled, ‘Last Call In Jonestown’ on compact disc on their Razor To Wrist Records (no known catalog number) which features Neil Fallon's vocals on one of the tracks - 'Transistors of Mercy'. The album was also issued on LP and CS on different dates. The LP was recently re-issued as a 2xLP special edition (which included very limited versions on Wax Mage Records). https://youtu.be/rv-Xmx-xxaY?si=IoxlG2E5B1OGbhNR
• May 14, 2021: 5 years ago, Clutch released the compilation album Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 on black vinyl on their label Weathermaker Music (WM 134). There were two versions of the vinyl, an Indie Exclusive Limited Edition white vinyl LP (limited to 2500 copies) which was issued in January 2021 and the black vinyl version (THIS) released in May 2021. The LP compiled 10 singles, 9 of which were previously-released and issued digitally during the COVID pandemic. Some of the songs were re-recordings of Clutch songs while others were cover songs of other artists including: Cactus/Willie Dixon, ZZ Top, Creedance Clearwater Revival and Pappo. Guest vocalists included Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) on Passive Restraints and Shawna Potter (War On Women) on Willie Nelson. https://youtu.be/MOZVHtgG2M4?si=oERZagLkITIo47No
• May 15, 2020: 6 years ago, Clutch performed a mini-gig (3-song) live stream from the Doom Saloon promoting their forthcoming Live From the Doom Saloon vol. II. It is titled "Fortune Tellers Make A Killing Nowadays" and the following tracks were played: “Big News I”, “Big News II” and “Animal Farm”. The gig name and all the tracks come from the self-titled album which turned 25 years old a few days before this gig. https://www.youtube.com/live/tZNcnsH3bXs?si=C7A12qOGpUOqv6tr
• May 16, 2024: 2 years ago, the Northern Irish band, And So I Watch You From Afar reissued their 2022 album, ‘Jettison’ on their new label, Pelagic records (PEL274) as a digital release. They also reissued the album on CD and LP (several variants). Neil Fallon from Clutch, provides some spoken word on the album. https://youtu.be/zgXs6-vYnXY?si=_FD9-S3bZ8zo-9ox

 This Week In Clutch - Week of May 3, 2026 - May 9, 2026.

A weekly review of the goings on in Clutch history and related parties. Brought to you by the Clutch Compendium Facebook Group.

#thisweekinclutch #TWIC

• May 3, 2024: 2 years ago, guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and owner of Gratitude Sound, Bryan Porter Hinkley, released his first full-length solo record titled ‘99 Shots’ as a digital only recording. These 7 songs were recorded at Clutch’s Doom Saloon in Frederick, Maryland and was co-produced by Hinkley and Jean-Paul Gaster. The 99 Shots recording featured Bryan Porter Hinkley, Jean-Paul Gaster, Chris Brooks (Lionize), and Jay Turner (The Monuments) It was co-produced by Jean-Paul Gaster. Since the release Bryan put together a live band and plays out using 99 SHOTS as the band name. https://youtu.be/H4a94Co_oCY?si=FsmKyZ5srOkXFmy9
• May 4, 2026; May the Fourth be with You.
• May 4, 2004: 22 years ago, the magazine High Times released a stoner rock compilation album on their label High Times Records called "High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection" (HTR-116) and Clutch's "Willie Nelson" was featured as part of the line up. It was released on compact disc only and the comp also featured Corrosion Of Conformity, Orange Goblin, High On Fire, Nebula and The Hidden Hand, among others. https://riffipedia.fandom.com/wiki/High_Volume_-_The_Stoner_Rock_Collection
• May 4, 1993: 33 years ago, Clutch's 2nd EP 'Passive Restraints' was released on cassette on the Earache Records label (88561-1167-4). The 12" vinyl and CD were released in April. https://youtu.be/C67qSCPrZmk?si=VWIT_jY5lLCtPCVm
• May 8, 2012: 14 years ago, the experimental DC-based band, Black Clouds, released their first full-length album titled ‘Everything Is Not Going To Be OK’ as a digital format which is credited to having been released on the Pax Aternum label (PAD195). Vinyl copies were released a year later in July 2013. Black Clouds featured Justin Horenstein, Jimmy Rhodes and Ross Hurt. The album was produced by Black Clouds and J Robbins; engineered and mixed by J Robbins at The Magpie Cage Studios, Baltimore, MD; mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio in Cornwall, NY; cover photo by Adam Kissick; layout and design by Steven Mercado. The song “Santorum Sunday School” on the album features lyrics written by and vocals performed by Neil Fallon of Clutch. In 2024, Neil and former Black Clouds (and current Burial Waves) bassist Ross Hurt teamed up once again for an EP of synth drone ambient sci-fi music under Hurt’s moniker Cogents titled Desolace. https://youtu.be/ZQYE0xdO0Yo?si=FLt6wegtJ1PhVOQ3 and https://cogents.bandcamp.com/album/desolace-feat-neil-fallon
• May 9, 1995: 31 years ago, Clutch’s second full length, their self-titled album, Clutch was released on compact disc, cassette, and vinyl on their record label EastWest (catalog no. 61755) the on Atlantic Records when EW stopped. The vinyl was only pressed and sold in Europe in very small quantities. The CD & CS were manufactured in a couple different countries for different markets including Canada, USA & West Germany. Singles promoted from the album include: Tight Like That, Escape From The Prison Planet, Big News & Spacegrass. https://youtu.be/aCVkm2QBG-Q?si=ZJJuon5eCKNvaP3_