The Clarks: Restless days but rock ’n’ roll nights

By John Benson

Youngstown has played a key role in the development of the Clarks, according to Rob James, guitarist for the much-loved Pittsburgh-based rock band.

“Because it is in such close proximity to Pittsburgh, we have quite a history with that town, dating way back to the early days of the band,” said James, who now calls Beaver, Pa., home. “So I think in a lot of ways that any development that we had as a band, Youngstown audiences were able to be a part of that. Also, because the people of Youngstown were interested in the band, we always felt a really good connection.

“It’s really supported us enough outside of our city, I think, to inspire us early on where we were like we can do this someplace else, other than our backyard, even though Youngstown is kind of our backyard.”

The Clarks return to the friendly confines of Youngstown on Friday for a show at The Cellar in Struthers in support of its latest effort, “Restless Days,” which was released in June. The album marks the band’s first studio effort since 2004’s “Fast Moving Cars.” Among the new tracks James is excited about are the upbeat and rocking “True Believer” and “Trampoline.”

These are interesting times for the Clarks, which enjoyed regional success in the ’90s and early ’00s with alternative songs “Penny on the Floor,” “Cigarette,” “Born Too Late,” “Snowman” and “Let It Go.” However, the band has noticeably taken a step back from its touring and recording schedule of a decade ago.

Aside from taking five years to record a new studio effort, the outfit appears content to play around its home base, as well as limited national runs, instead of mounting large, grueling tours.

“Man, I would love to be doing [more], but it just seems like that’s not the season that we’re in,” James said. “I don’t think everybody in the band would agree with that, but I think that some of us in the band are pretty much in the season of our lives where right now we have young kids. So being dads, we want to be a part of their lives. After so many years of boom-boom-boom, we’re now in a situation where I think there are other things that life is going to be presenting us right now, and the music is hopefully going to remain somewhat of a constant. And hopefully, these experiences you bring back into the creative pool, too.”

Considering the band has slowed down so much in recent years, have the guys considered taking a hiatus?

“We don’t do it enough to really consider just saying, ‘OK, for the next year let’s go on a hiatus,’” James said. “So I think it’s not something that we can’t maintain. Also, in the back of our minds we know that remaining a constant to some degree for our fanbase is very important. I think you can look around at any number of scenarios, bands that have had moderate or even great success, and then all of a sudden they go out and tour for two years and you don’t hear from them for five years after being burned out or members change or lose their deal, and then they’re gone.”

Considering the band’s mind-set, fans should be happy to hear the group, despite its midlife growing pains, has no plans to call it quits. Furthermore, James stresses that no member of the Clarks takes anything for granted. It’s for this reason that he remains optimistic about the group’s future.

“I remain very positive about it because I’ll tell you, there is nothing like playing in this band,” James said. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with many other people, and there is just something about the way these same four people play together now for 20-some years. There’s something about that noise that you can’t just replicate by just going and bringing someone else in. So it’s like you’re a piece of a precision machine. It’s really special, and I think we all know that.”