2008 Woodie Awards
Coming Home
Local act brings the rock back to SRU
By Alyson Dunn
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Entertainment
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The quintessential all-American rock band is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Even after performing for so long, The Clarks don't consider themselves to be celebrities.
They are laidback and seem to just like performing for the sake of a good time. There are no security guards for these guys; in fact, they found the idea of having protection funny.
The Clarks consists of guitarist and main vocalist Scott Blasey, guitarist Rob Hertweck, bass guitarist Greg Joseph, and drummer Dave Minarik. They formed their band in 1988 at IUP.
"We're all from around Pittsburgh. We went to school in Indiana, at IUP," Scott said.
Since The Clarks are from Western Pennsylvania, they really like performing around this area. They get the biggest crowds here.
"As long as there are a few people there that are having fun, getting loud, dancing, and singing along, that's all that matters," Blasey said.
Minarik started playing an instrument in fourth grade.
"Greg and I both picked up guitars when we went to college. Like Dave, I think Rob started playing very early," Blasey said.
Hertweck picked up a guitar early as well; he said his dad was very musical.
"I was like 20 years old before I picked up a guitar," Blasey said. "So, I always encourage people who are younger and are maybe just starting out, that are just teenagers. I say, 'Hey, you're already ahead of me.' You never know,"
Every band plays songs over and over again, and this means they get tired of playing certain things.
For The Clarks, that song would be "Cigarette." Minarik seems to be the one who disliked playing it the most.
Just like bands have a song they get tired of, there are also songs that they connect with.
"Born Too Late' is one of my favorites too. That's been around for awhile. I generally like the newer songs just because you play something for a really long time, you have to find new ways of making it fun for yourself," Blasey said.
A great experience for The Clarks was when they performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman." which was huge because if you're not from Pennsylvania, then most likely you don't know the band.
"(The) Letterman Show was really interesting. We had done television before, but nothing that big," Joesph said. "It was kind of like a wedding day. It goes by so quick and you don't even know it happened."
He said it really didn't sink in until they went out to the bar later and watched it there.
One of Blasey's best musical memories is performing at Station Square, in Pittsburgh, during summer. He said he had a blast there.
Recently, The Clarks performed at Heinz Field, which was a great show.
"That was really cool. That night was really special too. We we're playing 'Penny on the Floor' and the fireworks where reflecting off one of the buildings downtown. It was pretty neat," Blasey said.
The Clarks also write their own music. Joesph said they all write the music. The ideas for a song usually come from one band member, and then the rest decide if they like it or not. So it is a group decision.
If you're not from Pennsylvania, then you may not have heard of The Clarks. That may change someday. Scott said it would be cool to go out of the country with their music.
"We've been to Canada. I don't know if you can really call that out of the country," Blasey said. "There are no plans to go out of the country, although if the opportunity came up to go to Europe and do some shows that would be cool."
He thinks that European audiences would like their straight forward rock-n-roll music.
"So you never know. We're still young guys," Blasey said.
The Clarks have released 11 albumsover the past two decades. So, what's next?
"We're still working on the 'Between Now and Then' CD." That is only about six months old, so we'll continue to work on that," Joseph said. "Who knows what evil lurks? We'll see what happens."
