The Clamour

June 8, 2005

By Glen "Raw Funhouse" Gubernat

Photos By Dania Campano

SugarBuzz Magazine
Like 95% of the Hollywood population I am not from here. So when I moved here a couple years go I was lost to find a mod/soul scene that put on all-nighters like the ones that I would attend in the warehouses in Brooklyn and Jersey City. Eventually I met some like-minded souls that pointed me in the direction of what I was missing. It was here that met Mike.

The first thing that I noticed about Mike was his attention to detail. Whether it is with his style of dress, soul dancing moves, or music. I soon became friends with Mike and got the scoop of what was going on around Hollywood in the Mod/Garage scene and it was not long before he started to tell me about the band he was putting together.

The Clamour started as a concept of guitarist/vocalist Mike and original bass player Jim before meeting up with Jon who took on the task of drummer. Deciding that a three piece wasn't going to work for the direction they wanted to take the band in, the Clamour set out to round out the line up. The first of these additions was guitarist Collin.
"I was at this house party in Long Beach," explains Mike, "were I meet this smartly dressed gent named Collin. He was the only other guy dancing to the early Who."

"Mike came up to me and struck up a conversation about the merits of the Small Faces' records and other such interest to see how I felt about music," insists Collin.

Collin knew Chris Bradley from the Huntington Beach bands The Intelligista and The Distraction and Chris knew Chris Barfield who plays/played in such acts as the Phantom Surfers, Fuzztones, the Headless Hearsemen, and the Regent Sound. With the addition of Chris Bradley on second guitar and Chris Barfield taking Jim's place on bass the group was in place.

L to R: Chris Bradley, Chris Barfield, Jon Beals (drums) Mike Eng, and Collin Whitley.
The band's roots are based in 60's R&B and garage but other relative genre are present such as indie rock, 60's surf, 90's Britpop, and punk . Even Trojan ska/raggie bleed through at times.

"Our sound is a byproduct of NOT actually living in the 1965, " Collin is quick to point out about the bands traditional roots with a modern flare.

"The sound just Clamoured together," jokes Jon. "It all fits, right down to our looks."

"Basically I think all of us are tired of seeing the same old people at the clubs and we want a change," Mike told me. We want a new generation of fans to embrace us and we want it now!"

That sums up the bands live shows. If you caught their performance at the Mod Mayday event in Los Angeles you noticed this in their energy. With the faithful up front doing classic dances such as the jerk and the mashed potato, the Clamour's set culminated in an explosive fury that destroyed both the band and their equipment. And if you missed it, what the hell are you waiting for?!?! Get your ass down to one of their shows. You won't be disappointed.

As of now the Clamour are writing material to record and shopping themselves around. They would prefer to stay with an independent label but would never turn down major as that would give them the chance to work with heroes like Andrew Loog Oldham, Shel Talmy, or Phil Spector (back before the afro day of course.).

Make sure you check out www.theclamour.com for the latest happenings and show dates.

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