Interview with producer Jimmy "Clutch" Ingerman

Substance: Big UP's! Thanks for this fresh interview for the crew over at the Substance Portal!

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: Indeed, thank you for the chance to get some of my thoughts out into text form.

Substance: First I gotta ask what is your take on the Independent Music Revolution happening online with programs like Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Viemo and Youtube?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: Personally, I'm all for it. Way back in the day you weren't famous because you recorded a track that got played 100 times a day. There wasn't even exact "FAME" for being a musician. If you played music, you were invited to events and such in your area because you were entertaining and usually had a smile on your face. That is what music started as and it's slowly moving towards that again. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of, is the 100% digital aspect we are moving towards. But that's just the way of the times.

Substance: Do you feel there will always be that human part of the entertainment aspect? What do you feel makes an artist known?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: Of course there will always be a human aspect. Personally, that's what separates the greats from the goods. If you compare Skrillex to Calvin Harris, Calvin is always going to have that little extra life in his music that Skrillex never will, because he actually gets on stage with 5 other dudes and just jams out on real instruments. Except when he does DJ a set of course. And there are a handful of things that make an artist known. Take my old drummer for example. He plays shows every 2 weeks at secret locations with his current band, Mad Noise, and they are in the running for Best San Jose local talent 2 years running. They've never touched a real venue floor. But they hit the streets, stairways and tunnels to get their sound out every way they can. Of course there are also those people that get picked up by other famous people, such as, Drake and Deadmou5. Not that they don't have their own talent, but having the assistance of an already big name got them into the view of the masses and it just gave them the opportunity to get into professional studios and make tunes that sound like "radio-quality" tracks.

Substance: Being a producer, what is the separation between an artist that is a hometown favorite and someone with world wide mass appeal?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: That is a question that's left a little bit more up to the genre as well as things used. If your area is heavily interested in Metal, you aren't going to get very far rapping, or using a computer to play Metal music. They want to see you with a guitar in hand, and your hair down to your knees, spinning your head in such big circles you won't be able to move your head for weeks. Same goes for mass spread music. There was a time when that "Gangster to Gangstar" bibe was huge. That's when people like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and 2pac became BIG. Eventually it led into people like Lil Wayne, Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco taking over the scene. Of course now these guys are "Old News" and they have been replaced with the party that just never sleeps, which is EDM. There is just something about all the sounds that are coming out of EDM genre that people just CAN'T get enough right now. But you did say from a producer's point of view, so this answer might just work better: The big difference between the 2 is perceived quality. If you have to turn your speakers all the way up just so the now distorted sound that comes out allows you to, "HEAR" the drums and AND the guitar, or the "BASS" on top of that catch synth line, then you will not have a popular track. It needs to be "industry standard" which is usually a very squashed and "LOUD" track.

Substance: The internet age is giving more and more people access to following their sound of their liking which is a very cool thing now a days. If you take a look into the music industry say about 7-9 years ago, the music access was 3 different ways. You got a CD from a friend from a friend, whatever the major Television Networks were showcasing, or if you were really lucky, you had a subscription to something like an XM radio or AOLradio on 56k that had channels that played shit like FELIX DA HOUSE Cat or Haste The Day. What is your take on the musical FREEDOM in today's culture that is at the front steps of Musical Independence?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: I think it's great. To continue the idea I stated earlier, once music started being more popular and records were able to capture the wonders of music right in your own home, people started to want to see these people in particular. That's when big bands and the real artist such as, Frank "DA FUCKING MAN" Sinatra, The Rat Pack, Elvis and many people before/during/after them started touring and doing what they loved to do all the time. Now that people don't have to buy the CDs or WAIT for the stores to carry it. They are free to show a demand for that artist in particular. It's also slowly breaking the artist free of labels. I will use Attack Attack! as an example. When they first put out their own CD and was in the middle of getting big, I bought ever single one of their songs because I wanted to see THEM succeed. Then, sadly, they signed to a label, and their album (which was re-released many of myf avorites) was sorely weaker and much more "generic" than that of their own doing. An example of someone who did the reverse, or at least just stayed more productive, is people like Tech N9ne and E-40. T9 has been an independent artist since day one. And did 150 in a year and a half in 2010. He still puts out 13-17 track CDs and last time he was here, his show sold out. Now that's not to say he hasn't lost his edge a little, but he is making smart decisions and using those appreciated sounds and incorporating them into new artist, such as, Krizz Kaliko and Stevie Stone. Krizz is an amazingly talented artist, and Stevie is fresh blood from Strange Music and they both have those awesome Tech N9ne vibes that only Strange Music can bring.

Substance: It's a dope feeling to not deal with Corporate Politics. How do you feel about the art Renascence happening here in San Jose?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: Any combination of arts is always appreciated. A painter can capture the mood of the musical artist in a metaphysical way that we would never be able to do on our own. Sure we can take pictures, but there is no camera for the soul. My best example would be Gabriel Welch. He is an AMAZINGLY talented artist who captures such a current and invigorating ambiance in all of his art. My first personal experience of art at a musical event was the FUCKING Catalina Wine Mixer. Hosted by Blockhead Entertainment. I was about half way through the night and I noticed this girl sitting down doing some charcoal art of a dragon. It was so captivating and bizarre to me that someone could focus so intently on creating something, while all this noise and bass and dancing was happening, that I had to watch and admire the beauty being created in all the chaos.

Substance: It's amazing isn't it? All of this wonderful music and art all created in this place driven by technology and yet on the street level, nearly all of the drive towards the human experience comes down to artwork and music!

Any current Street Fashion or Local Cuisine at the moment?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: I've heard about The Habit, which is suppose to be a popular new food joint in my home area of Sunnyvale. Fashion wise I just couldn't tell you. I spend all of my "not-at-work" time at home working on bettering the art of production. I just bought my first V-NECK about a month ago!

Substance: Shout-outs?

Jimmy "CLUTCH" Ingerman: I'd like to re-shout Mad Noise. They really are on their own level.

Holden Howard, a DJ from Florida for being down to work across the country with me for the sake of his music.

Old Man, an artist straight out of SJ I spent the last 5 months producing a CD for. http://soundcloud.com/oldmansounds

Robert Maes, my current in-studio prodction. Working on a 10 track mixtape titled, "Bobby's World".

And finally a DJ by the name of Fernando who goes by the musical name, Pyrofist. He is up and coming, but a year ago, I was at his very first set and to be honest, this guy brought a set that hit on so many levels that he deserved a closing spot or at least, an encore later in the evening.

I'll close with a final statement. As a producer, I have worked hard at what I do. I've worked with over 50 artist in my short 3.5 years, and only about 5 of them stuck around long enough to FINISH a song. And their turnouts have been impressive. If you are dedicated to what you do, you will find people who are dedicated too. Keep your head in the game, your feet in your shoes and your ears towards your speakers. Good music isn't made in a day, but like Rome, it will constantly be re-bult and altered. Don't become one of the brinks that builds the sounds of today, be one of the architects that design the sounds of tomorrow. - Jimmy

http://soundcloud.com/Holdenhoward
http://soundcloud.com/oldmansounds
http://www.facebook.com/Clutchrecordings