Clutch’s Neil Fallon recently spoke to Pop Culture Madenss where he discussed his personal view on audiences recording live footage on their phones, the nostalgic of appeal of old-fashioned formats, and how illegally downloading actually helped the band. You can view the complete interview above, some excerpts from the chat can be read below.
Speaking about cell phone use by audiences during live performances, the frontman said:
“Music recorded is a static thing. Every time you listen to “Four Sticks” by Led Zeppelin, it’s gonna sound the same, but if you have the opportunity to see a band, that live experience—unless they use a lot of pre-recorded tracks—is gonna be a one-time event. And if you’re spending your time [holding a phone,] you’re not participating in it.
At least that’s the way I feel. I kind of treat concerts the way I do a dinner—turn your phone off, you know. I don’t get so irritated from the perspective of the stage. I mean, if someone wants to do that, fine, but just me, personally, I remember concerts much better from the ’80s and ’90s than I do a lot of these ones that have be en, kind of, with the phone.
Like, ‘Oh, I’m here.’ ‘I’m here too.’ ‘What are you doing?’ ‘The same thing you are.’ Who gives a shit?”
On the future of music the vocalist/guitarist said:
“It’s only going to make a comeback to a certain amount of people. I mean. I always keep in mind that the people I hang out with are music fans. Most people could care less how they hear their music—sad to say. The thing is, there’s going to be a day when people think CD’s are gonna be making a comeback.
Because digital is actually passé because—downloads that is—because it’s all moving to streaming. So actually having a physical way to buy and sell and listen to music will become very antiquated and nostalgic in any form.”
Fallon also commented on how the advent of pirating music potentially helped his band:
“In the 90′s we had the backing of every major label on planet earth; we got signed and dropped and signed and dropped. Nothing ever really happened for Clutch, we had very small shows—even if we got played on the radio.
It was only when people started pirating music that our shows got bigger. I mean I can’t say that for a fact, but I hazard a guess that… if someone liked the band that they heard for free, even though it was ‘illegal’, then they came to our show and bought a t-shirt and has become a lifelong fan, I’m alright with that.”