Coming up Clutch: Maryland-based band keeps rockin'

Choosing a band name can be one of the toughest, and trickiest, parts of forming a group. Rightly or wrongly, it can define you, often serving as a first impression. It can provide an indication of the type of music you play, or it can be so arcane, it provides no clue as to who or what you do.

Sometimes a band just gets lucky and lands on a cool name that just works on several levels. Clutch is one such band.

"It works, doesn't it?" said drummer/percussionist Jean-Paul Gaster.

"We had about 10 minutes before our first show and we needed a name. We knew we wanted it to be short, like one word. It was either going to be Clutch or Helmet."

The name just sounds rock 'n' roll. There is the obvious car reference, and of course, you've got to be clutch when the going gets tough. It also fits for a group whose sound has been called hard rock, blues rock, Southern stoner rock and alternative metal.

Gaster joined fellow high-school classmates Neil Fallon, Tim Sult and Dan Maines in 1991 in Maryland, and the four have been together ever since. They built their reputation and fan base via constant touring and their live shows. They will be at The Signal on Friday, April 27.

To date, they have released 11 albums and will have a 12th out later this year. "The Walking Dead" fans might know them for "The Regulator," the first original song from an outside band to be included in the series. It shows up on the Season 2 mid-season finale.

Gaster said the band has remained together for so long because the four members like each other and they like making music together. They also have side projects, which allow them to explore new music.

Gaster, for example, played with blues rockers Five Horse Johnson and later with Opeth keyboardist Per Wiberg and Kamchatka guitarist Thomas Andersson in King Hobo. But Clutch is, and always will be, the main gig for all four.

"We have quite a chemistry because we spend so much time together. We have a language we all understand. It's a musical language where we don't even have to say anything."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfree.com or 423-757-6354.