Tons of bands are taking the time during quarantine to work on new material. While Clutch is certainly one of those bands, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster tells the Cobras & Fire podcast they're finding it hard to stay inspired. Gaster later adds that Clutch likes to try their new songs out live first before deciding if they're good or not, which of course isn't possible at the moment.
"On paper, you would think that this would be a creative time for artists, and maybe there are artists out there who are doing some of their best work ever right now, writing their best songs," said Gaster. "I can tell you, for us, we've concentrated mostly on trying to figure out how to stream shows and figure out that technology. And while we have started to write, we are not living in very inspiring times. So it's difficult to get those wheels turning. Not only that, but also knowing that once we have this recording done, it's difficult to say when we're gonna be able to get out there and play these songs."
"We've always been a band that writes songs and immediately puts these songs into the set. That gives us the opportunity to play these things, and the songs take shape. We really rely on that live environment to bring those songs to life, because oftentimes what sounds great in the jam room does not translate to the live setting. And you can tell that within the first 10 seconds of playing that song; you know right away if something works or not. And so I think we're missing that element. That's not to say that we will not record. But I think for us the challenge is gonna be how do we try to emulate that with this new dynamic. And we're gonna figure that out, no doubt."
