In this, our latest Reverbnation spotlight, we chat to Garrett Tovey, guitarist of Atlanta, GA blues-rockers The Claymores.
S] What, or who are your great musical inspirations?
G] “Robert, Katie, and myself all come from pretty different musical backgrounds. We try and bring small elements of these influences into our music as we create it. One can easily hear hard rock, blues, indie pop, and sometimes even folk elements in our songs. We love listening to and draw inspiration from bands like The Kills, Band of Skulls, Heartless Bastards, and The Dead Weather. As a guitarist, I am heavily influenced by Jack White, Dan Auerbach, and David Gilmour. Robert draws his inspiration from Danny Carey and local legend Allen Aucoin. Katie loves everything from old soul to new indie pop and psychedelic music.”
S] What about personally, what kinds of themes and ideas can inspire your songs?
G] “I think with any band that draws heavily from blues music, we tend to see a common thread of loss or relational strife in our music. We do add in amounts of carefree songwriting though, so not everything sounds dreary! Expect a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from anger to love, and everything in between.”
S] What song that you are working on right now best defines your sound, and why?
G] “I think our track ‘You Know What To Do’ best defines our current sound. It’s got a great vibe to it. Clean guitars are mingled with fuzzy leads, drums are pounding with additional foot stomps, and Katie’s vocals just spew emotion and passion. We’re really excited to get this one out!”
[like_to_read][/like_to_read]S] Do you have a message for any UK fans?
G] “First and foremost, thanks for listening! We’d love to plan a visit to the UK so feel free to message us ideas of where to play!”
S] What can people expect from your live show?
G] “We stay true to our sound. We put on a fun and entertaining show, but more importantly we recreate what fans are used to hearing on the album, with more goodies thrown in. We’re not a band that relies heavily on studio tricks and overdubs. Most of our recording is done live in a few takes, so if you hear it on the record, you better believe we can recreate it on stage.”
S] What are some of your biggest challenges right now?
G] “Right now I feel we are struggling with learning how to slow down as musicians. We are constantly writing. By the time ideas become songs, songs get recorded, recordings make their way onto an album and the public hears them, they feel old to us. We have to learn to give each song it’s fair amount of time and not be so quick to move on. We love to play live and thrive on the energy from the crowd. Our live shows give us a chance to showcase new material constantly.”
S] What’re your plans as we move into 2013?
G] “Well, currently we’re continuing our writing. We’re actually on the hunt for a permanent bassist as well. Our founding bassist moved across the country several months ago, so we’ve been playing with some great guest musicians lately. Hopefully we can find that right person and begin actively gigging again and recording into 2013.”
S] What keeps you passionate about mixing up genres?
G] “Music is always evolving. Our interests and influences are always growing as we mature and discover new music. I think to best represent yourself through your music, you need to display what makes you whole. We write what comes naturally to us. It’s a reflection of what we love, as well as why we appreciate music. We’ll always write what we love. That may involve bringing in elements from many different genres. I feel that if we’re passionate about something, the songs reflect that and the fans are able to feed off that passion. It’s truly a magical relationship.”
