History The Clarks

1 history

1.1 formation , years (1986–90)
1.2 rising success (1991–99)
1.3 niebank, razor & tie , height of touring (2000–07)
1.4 self-released projects (2008–present)

history
formation , years (1986–90)

around 1985, singer scott blasey, guitarist robert james hertweck , drummer david minarik, jr. enrolled @ indiana university of pennsylvania (iup), located in indiana, pennsylvania approximately 45 miles northeast of pittsburgh. hertweck , minarik (along bass player , saxophonist) putting new band, , through mutual friend, recruited blasey lead vocalist. band, calling administration, played cover versions of songs. after administration s sax player graduated , bass player transferred schools in spring of 1986, greg joseph brought in round out band. settling on quartet of blasey, hertweck, joseph , minarik, group decided upon adopting new name, ending administration. unceremoniously settled on name clarks. administration had been, clarks cover band in earliest months of existence. covered artists such replacements, rave-ups , hoodoo gurus, joe jackson , u2. however, began writing own material, helping them take second place @ tri-state rock competition in pittsburgh.

in 1988, of band finishing school @ iup , rest graduated, clarks began recording first album. teaming producer hank lawhead, band recorded @ aircraft studios free studio time won finish @ tri-state rock competition. titled ll tell man..., album released local independent label dahntahn records release party @ graffiti showcase in pittsburgh neighborhood of oakland. released on lp record , cassette tape, vinyl copies of album warped when left in delivery truck long. release date being close return them, band sent them stores as-is. despite this, album sold modestly in pittsburgh area. me out released single , received airplay on 100.7 fm wxxp, helping raise band s profile in area.

by summer of 1988, blasey, hertweck, joseph , minarik out of college, band relocated indiana pittsburgh. clarks closed out 1980s playing @ bars, clubs , college functions around western pennsylvania, heavily touring promote themselves.

rising success (1991–99)

in 1991, band began recording second album. self-titled release, album came out on august 1, 1991 on indie substitute records label. penny on floor, penned blasey, released album s main single. heavy airplay of penny on floor on popular radio station 102.5 wdve , promotion on scott paulsen , jim krenn s dve morning show, band reached broader audience in region. more 5,000 copies of clarks sold in pittsburgh area.

the 4 began recording third album in 1993. release album, band formed own label, king mouse records. scheduled released later year, delay in payment , legal dispute aircraft studios album cut pushed release june 30, 1994. love gone sour, suspicion, , bad debt begat single cigarette, (aside clarks home tri-state region of western pennsylvania, northern west virginia , eastern ohio) saw airplay radio stations across northeastern united states. album sold 5,000 copies within 3 months , went on sell 17,000. release, guitarist robert hertweck began using stage name rob james, derived first , middle names. on heels of success of cigarette, lead vocalist scott blasey released first solo album, acoustic don t try @ home, on band s king mouse label in 1995.

the band s growing popularity did not going unnoticed major label mca records, inked clarks two-album deal in 1996. working los angeles producer tim bomba, group recorded @ club house studio in germantown, new york—their first album produced away pittsburgh. mca released someday maybe in fall of 1996 intent of promoting stop! , courtney main singles. unfortunately band, mca instead decided focus energy in promoting blink-182, neglecting afford substantial attention clarks. make matters worse, label suffered financially in 1997 , result, mca dropped many newly-signed artists, including clarks. group, however, not discouraged, album had again sold in pittsburgh area , mercury , caroline being played on region s stations. following band s release mca, re-released someday maybe (with different cover art) , ll tell man… king mouse releases.

despite unfavorable experience mca, clarks moved forward. band released first live album, recorded @ nick s fat city night club on pittsburgh s south side , aptly-titled live, in 1998. scott blasey, in turn, released second solo album, shine, in 1999. group continued perform @ packed shows throughout northeastern , mid-atlantic states, did not record follow-up someday maybe. however, experience new chance @ broader success arrival of new millennium. in late 1999, band teamed producer justin niebank, had worked blues traveler, eric clapton , john hiatt, begin work on fifth studio album.

niebank, razor & tie , height of touring (2000–07)

in partnering clarks, producer justin niebank injected new energy band had been left weary dealing mca. hired national publicist promote band , secured tour bus them. having past musician, opinions valued when band re-entered studio after 4 years. securing record deal national razor & tie brand, band began recording let go @ hound s ear studio in franklin, tennessee, near nashville. album released on june 20, 2000, , band celebrated release party @ pittsburgh s i.c. light amphitheater, playing on 4,500 fans.

let go proved clarks biggest success date. unlike mca, razor & tie gave band significant promotional support. singles better off without , born late began receiving radio play coast coast, , snowman , let go received airtime in pittsburgh, johnstown, wheeling , youngstown. let go appeared in 2001 warner bros. film, summer catch, , better off without appeared in closing credits of e! s anna nicole show.the album climbed number 21 on billboard s heatseekers albums chart , went on sell more 25,000 copies. result of success, band began touring extensively around country.

the group wasted no time in aftermath of let go. in 2001, clarks independently released album of song outtakes recorded between 1997–2000 titled strikes , gutters on king mouse records. reunited niebank @ hound s ear studio begin work on sixth album. during rehearsals recording, september 11 attacks occurred. in response national tragedy, scott blasey penned hey you. happy ending released on june 11, 2002, spawning radio singles hey you, on saturday , maybe. album found way number 2 on heatseekers chart , 143 on billboard 200.

in 2003, clarks contacted record song light of day: tribute bruce springsteen. band chose river contribution. cover of song became fan-favorite , remains in rotation on pittsburgh radio. recording reappeared on own release, 2004 s strikes , gutters 2: doublewide outtake album.

the band worked once more niebank 2004 s fast moving cars, again recording in nashville. hell on wheels, shimmy low , fast moving cars released singles , album settled @ number 11 on heatseekers chart. in career highlight, on august 31, 2004, group performed hell on wheels on late show david letterman on cbs. fast moving cars band s final production niebank , label. after album s release, clarks departed razor & tie.

shortly thereafter, band joined high wire music, releasing first best-of compilation, between , in 2005. followed in 2006 second live album , first live concert dvd, both titled still live , recorded @ mr. small s theatre in millvale, pennsylvania. bassist greg joseph cut first solo album, american diary, in 2006 scott blasey s third, travelin on, coming in 2007. band retired widespread national touring of razor & tie years, playing shows in pittsburgh region, healthy dose of concerts throughout northeastern, mid-atlantic , midwestern united states.

self-released projects (2008–present)

marquee in indiana, pennsylvania clarks concert, 2014

in 2008, number of members in band unofficially grew additions of keyboardist skip sanders , pedal steel guitarist gary jacob. on forthcoming albums perform on, sanders , jacob merely credited additional personnel; however, 2 play live band on every concert date. though scott blasey, rob james, greg joseph , dave minarik remain official members of band, clarks became six-piece group sanders , jacob.

also in 2008, pittsburgh penguins of national hockey league (nhl) commissioned band record cover of louis armstrong s wonderful world promotional usage during 2009 stanley cup playoffs. interestingly, penguins won third stanley cup championship year, defeating detroit red wings 4 games three. wonderful world included on band s next studio album.

the clarks eighth studio album, restless days, released on june 9, 2009 after five-year gap without studio album. album co-released high wire music , clarkhouse entertainment, band s newly-formed label self-release own projects. restless days notably included wonderful world , radio singles true believer , inside. album followed band s first ep, digitally-released-only songs in g on november 9, 2010. ep featured re-recordings of 5 clarks classics, plus rendition of whiskeytown s 16 days .

on december 29, 2010, band played 2,000th career show @ pittsburgh s newly-opened stage ae on north shore. in honor of occasion, december 29 declared clarks day city of pittsburgh. days later, on january 1, 2011, group performed during first intermission of 2011 nhl winter classic @ heinz field between penguins , washington capitals. visiting capitals win game 3–1. additionally in 2011, clarks recorded commercial jingle toyota titled life ride.

in 2013, clarks announced beginning work on ninth studio album. fund production of album, band invited fans contribute crowdfunding campaign on pledgemusic. campaign succeeded beyond expectations, achieving 317% of desired goal. group reunited producer sean mcdonald, whom had worked on restless days, @ red medicine recording in swissvale, pennsylvania. feathers & bones released on july 8, 2014 , band s first album solely released via clarkhouse entertainment. album spawned regional radio singles take care of , irene.

less year after recording feathers & bones, clarks returned red medicine recording mcdonald begin work on new album, again produced in part donations pledgemusic. new album feature covers of songs bands had been inspired , covered during days @ indiana university of pennsylvania. tenth studio album, rewind, released on june 9, 2015.