For Las Vegas’ premier alt-country desperados, The Clydesdale’s recent Northwest mini-tour proved to be an experience in friendship.
Summoned to the two-day Seattle Beer Fest, the local country-punk quartet took the well-paying gig as an opportunity to break in its touring boots by performing to crowds along the way in Portland and Bremerton, Washington, from June 26 to July 3. “It was really fun; we had a really good time,” says Clydesdale guitarist Andrew Karasa. “This was our first real tour.”
According to Karasa, the tour was, in part, a test to see how the band, which will turn two next month, might do on a national or regional road trip. It also served as an opportunity for the band members to grow closer to one another. “We found out we really enjoy each other on the road, and we can get along,” Karasa says.
Despite an encounter with Washington police following a traffic violation and some overzealous fans who kept coming onstage, the tour was going well. That is, until news of Karasa’s grandfather’s untimely death found the 26-year-old guitarist and UNLV engineering student. “I was so excited to go on tour,” Karasa says. “But when I found out that he passed away, it really brought me down.”
Karasa credits his friends in the band for helping him through the mourning process and getting him through the tour. “I was worried I might be too sad to have a good time,” Karasa says. “But the shows and the tour were actually really good therapy for me and kept my mind off of [the death].”
The Clydesdale is currently finishing two separate follow-ups to 2005’s self-released All By Yer Lonesome: an as-yet untitled disc coming in September and Day of the Dead, set to be released in November. According to lead singer and rhythm guitarist Paige Overton, the first will complement the band’s aging debut effort while the second will push the group’s music forward.
Overton, who drove for the majority of the 16-hour trek north, says touring and the twin albums signal a new era for the foursome as they concentrate on bringing their sound to audiences outside of Las Vegas, daunting as that can be. “When we go on tour, I don’t expect anybody to come,” Overton says. “But even when there’s only five people there, the energy you get from a fresh crowd is great because you get to start over and really see if everybody is into the local hype or not. That is really what makes or breaks a band.”