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History of the Band
The Clarktones:
The History of Metalution is the History of Metal
By Don Kiote, Turn It
Up, Throw It Up Magazine,
June 29, 2004
The story of The
Clarktones is much the story of crash metal. A group of friends who set
out with the objective to meet girls and turn it up as loud as they could,
Joe, LV, Mark and Chris set out looking for fun. The result was something
much bigger as they became one of the most influential bands in the
history of music.
The story of The
Clarktones began in the early 1980s when Joe and LV formed a small band
called Dead On Arrival
with a group of friends in high school. Although DOA’s success was short-lived, it was easy to tell the driving influence
behind the group was Autry and Clark. Like all great writing combinations
of singer/guitarist, Autry and Clark were on the verge of joining the big
name duos of Plant and Page, Roth and Van Halen and Bon Jovi and Sambora.
Opening for a larger local act in 1987 at Queens College in Charlotte, N.C.,
Autry and Clark stole the show. Joining them in this venture was Chris
Clark, brother of Joe Clark, and Brent Stevens in his signature blond wig.
This later became known as the "Hit & Run Tour." Although that band was temporary from the
start, the Clark's and Autry's formed a musical bond that would last a
lifetime.
From 1986 to 1988 the brothers Autry were in and out of local club bands.
But their big break came when they joined with ultimate stage personality
Keith Pittman to form the revolutionary act,
The Screaming Frogs. Joe Clark joined with Mike Pressel and went on to form
Fried Dirt, which enjoyed huge
success in Europe. After several multiple platinum al-blums and mega tours
around the world and beyond, the Frogs called it quits in 1993. With the
Frogs defunct, Clark seized the opportunity to merge with his brother
Chris on keyboards, LV Autry on guitars and Mark Autry on drums. The super
band was formed, but the world-wide success of the Frogs and Fried Dirt
left questions of whether or not the Autry-Clark combination could even
come close to matching the success of those two bands.
In a very bold first move, the band decided
that instead of answering to the whims of a major record label, they
wanted to ensure creative control. The band fronted a huge amount of money
and started Vomit Records. Today, the band still controls 51% of the
company. With the business-end of the band stable, they went in the studio
for four months and emerged with a ground-breaking al-blum: Destroy the
Planet.
In 1996, Destroy the Planet shot to
the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 in just two weeks, where it remained number
one for eight straight weeks and in the top 10 for 13 months. It is still
in the top 200 today. The album was powered by the number one mega-hits
I Hate Baseball, Inhabit the Earth, I’m Gonna Kill Myself, and
AnyMinyMoe (You Gotta Go) which featured Jim Lewis on vocals. I
Hate Baseball recorded the biggest numbers for radio requests and
single sales in 1996. It stayed at number one for 11 weeks, almost
overtaking the Police’s Every Breath you Take all time best of 12
weeks in the top spot.
Because of the success of Baseball, MTV changed the rules for its
daily video top 10 by retiring songs if they have been in the top 10 for
two weeks. I Hate Baseball had been the number one video for two
months. Planet went on to sell nine million al-blums
world-wide. The executives at Vomit Records wanted to push a fifth single
off Destroy the Planet, but the band refused, saying four was
enough. After 11 months of touring, the mega-band was ready for a rest.
In 2000, The Clarktones returned to the top
of the charts with the number one al-blum Real American Heroes (With
Kung Fu Grip). Heroes was a more laid back approach with some
covers, including a remake of their own I Hate Baseball. After five
weeks on top, the al-blum dropped quickly. Although it enjoyed sales
exceeding the five million mark and three number one hits in Just Put A
Shotgun In Your Mouth, Autumn and Love Everything,
critics were harder on The Clarktones. The al-blum was considered an
attempt to capitalize on past successes. The band never really cared about
the critics as five million in sales was enough for them. But LV and Joe
knew the next al-blum would test the longevity of the band.
In September 2002 Metalution hit the
shelves being driven by the pre-released single This Ain’t Devil Music.
It debuted at number one where it remained for 41 weeks, shattering the
record set by Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1983. The al-blum is
still at number 43, although it will be two years old in two months.
Metalution has redefined the metal world. At 27 million copies sold,
it is the second best selling al-blum in music history and the number one
crash metal al-blum ever.. The al-blum also includes the massive hit
singles Meat and Potato, Happiest Day of My Life, Nasty
Creepy Man, I Can Smell It But I Can’t Spell It and a remake of
the Frogs’ Nursery Rhymes.
Metalution is an al-blum where every song could have been a top 10
hit, but after six number ones, The Clarktones pulled the plug. The
Metalution tour had only 21 dates which included only 50,000-plus
seating venues. It ended with a New Year’s Eve performance with only 200
of the closest friends of the band at Garo’s Pizza in Fayetteville, N.C.
The almost all acoustic set surprised everyone when The Clarktones brought
out several guest musicians and played all their heaviest songs in the
lightest fashion. It was another ground-breaking performance and one that
has been captured on video and audio. The CD The Clarktones: Nearly
Live and Unplugged will hit the shelves in the Summer of 2004. The video
performance will be released just before Christmas.
The early reviews are that this al-blum will
change the face of music, again.
The band is currently taking a break and
writing for their next al-blum which is said to be the happiest and most
angry at the same time. Although that does not make a lot of sense, the
Clarktones would not want it any other way. |
