Clockpole
Houston, Texas, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Practice normally makes perfect when it comes to music. The best bands are either workaholics who spend hours and hours rehearsing every week or at least good at fooling you into thinking that they do, right? Not so for Clockpole. Started by photographer and musician Joe Ortiz, Clockpole is far from the average Houston band as I found out last night while chatting at Brasil. Relying on a lineup of ten regular players, CP brings audience members on stage to join in and they almost never rehearses their material before shows. Once the music starts, it takes on a life of its own based on the character of participants.
One of my first questions for Ortiz was: why the name Clockpole? According to Joe he stumbled across the band name when busking for tourists in Galveston with Darwin’s Finches frontman, Justin Clay. Located in the immediate area was a pole with a clock on top. I was sort of puzzled at first but it was easier to understand later when I asked him to describe Clockpole in one word. “Clockpole. That’s how I’d describe it. The name doesn’t make any sense and the band doesn’t make any sense.” The lineup changes every gig and so does the music, so it doesn’t matter what the name is because one word will never accurately describe Clockpole’s sound.
Ortiz explained to me the challenges of having so many musicians playing in Clockpole all at once. The difficulties revolve around starting and stopping the music.
“Adam Clay, Justin’s brother, he’s an accomplished pianist and he was on stage with us so I was like ‘ok well Adam I want you to come up with whatever you want to come up with, make it about a minute or two, at some point we’ll come in and we’ll go from there’. But before he could do that all the drummers started playing.” Ortiz says has to stop performances by turning each amp off, one by one, or everyone will just continue to play.
Even though the band is starting to have more of their shows at normal venues they started out only doing guerilla gigs at house parties. Later they got the privilege to do a live session for KTRU which Joe says is really their only recorded performance. Since the music isn’t planned and the songs are radically different every time, Joe said that the band does not and probably will never produce any sort of album. “The band is not out there to make records and be famous,” Ortiz said, We’re just out here to have fun.” Musicians will often times feed this line to interviewers in an effort to sound like they’re not secretly fantasizing about riches and fame but when I heard it from Joe Ortiz, I actually believed it for a change. Clockpole is not about making it, Clockpole is about making music. - Free Press Houston
Discography
Check out Clockpole on bandcamp.com for all our free music.
Photos
Bio
Members may or may not include Joe Ortiz, Austin Rhoads, Chris Gerhardt, Chris Dunaway, Andrew Schmidt, Erik Broussard, Bradley Munoz, Justin Clay, Myra Morrison, The twin with the missing front teeth, Justin Corley, Paola Lemus, Bryan Hayes, James Holmes, Hawna Mumm, Lou Trevino, Jeff Smith, Juan Uceda, John Zambrano, Adam Clay, Metal David DeSoto, Benjamin Okonski, Blaine Lunz, Dan Collier, Emily Burton, John "The Prophet" O'Neil, Kelsi Branstetter, Maci Branstetter, a bunch of people at the January 15 2010 Mango's show, Ryan Valadez, Michael aka Mexican Andrew, Ana Quintero, Jakob Lindsey, Cody Greenwood, Poopy Lungstuffing, a bunch of people at the March 6 2010 SHFL show, Barbara Goforth, Dustin, Samantha Dallefeld, the emo kids, Michael Coffey, Holly Worley, a bunch of little kids on the Strand, Awesome Andrew, Matty Sullivan, Josh Bullock, Dallin Rhoads, Benjamin Wesley, Ramon Medina, Heather Dowling, Gabe Bravo, Joe Mathlete, Jake Goltiani, Erin Birgy, Jane Austin, Zach Shrekage, Trizted Jamsack, Fernando Alejandro, Jesus Sanchez, Gerardo Guerro, Jose Pineda, Glenn Chambers, Lawrence Tovar, Julien Jimenez, Karis Williams, Nichole Foster, Brian Smith II, a bunch of people at the October 6 2010 Fitz show, JT Popiel, Jenny Davis, Richey Alejandro, Ria Stubbs-Trevino, Cynthia Cannon (The Chiich), Erik Hitt, Dean Curtis, Naimah Hamid, and a bunch of other people at the November 21 2010 Super Happy Fun Land Show, Jack Daniel Betz, Rex Nabours, Rob, Roya Zaarrae, Garie Valerio, Amy Stanley, Jake Harris, Mellisa Soloman, a bunch of people at the December 2 2010 Mango's show, Martha Reyna, Michael Goodwin, Joey Jimenez, Zach Wright, Nikki Seven, Muna Javaid, Nydia, Joy Rice, Audrey Biddy, and a bunch of people at the February 5 2011 Mango's show, Alicia Plaza, Mark Gilmore, a bunch of people at the March 16 2011 Avant Garden show, Eric Johnson, Paul Chavez, Elliott Kozel, Kyle Sobczak, Karen Mazzu, Don Walsh, Kuang Chinatown Han, Mehdi Mourles, Jose Sanchez, Justin Gomez, Taylor Stolly, Leslie Hess, David Hess, Joey Yang, Anthony "Boo-Tay" Boutte, Mary McCall, Herbert, Patricia Bacalao, Colleen O'Conner, Aranza y Arietza las gemelas de Ciudad de Carmen, Santiago Andres Alarcon, a bunch of people at Free Press Summerfest June 5 2011, Trevor Donnelly, Alex Nunez, Melissa Melendez, Darren McKnight, Harrison Smith, Elle Stoenik, Terrence Jordan, Andre Overton, a bunch of people at the June 23 2011 Mango's show, Jennifer Houston, Hannah Houston, Gomer, Justin Morgan, a bunch of people at the June 29 2011 Fitz show, Craig Mickle, Max Kushner, Narcissa, Jessica, Ian Komouss, Stane Hubert, Lorac, Katey Qualls, Andrew Goldfarb, Will Schorre, Laurel T., Benjamin G., a bunch of people at the July 22 2011 Super Happy Fun Land show, a bunch of people at the August 4 2011 Fitzgerald's show, Dunnock, a bunch of people from the August 6 2011 Mango's show, Albert Fabian, Dominique Withoff, Jeff Goodson, David Lantz, Pete Hesher, Victor Resendiz, Chris Williams, Caleb Schram, Adam Asher, D.J. Ellis, Julie Ellis, Ned Hanley, Joel Bunker, Nam Ta, Elle Stuehrk, Kassaundra Stuehrk, a guy dressed like Dr. Rockso the Rock and Roll clown, and bunch of people at the October 29 2011 Anime Convention in Galveston, Shen Ge, Iman, Alvaro, Cosmos, Krissy Strimple, Sonia Parga, Rhonda "Topless Birthday Girl" C., Gavin Stabbin, a bunch of people at the November 21 Notsuoh show, John Stokes, Hunter the dog, April Lane, Sam Wiley, Casey Martin, Jovanna Torres, Megan Day, Sidney Stevenson, Chuck Jones, Clyde Wood, Yari Parsons, Monique Alexandria Ellis, Laura Raphael, DJ Meshak, Mike B, Lisa E, Wendy, Jennifer C, Beth Richards, Larissa Harris, Crystal Blanco, Elisabeth, Dylan J,.
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