Has the Guitar Hero Generation Produced One of it's Own?
Cetan Clawson Revolution Announce National Release of “White Heat”
SXSW Performance and new Recording Plans
When teenagers view punk as the older generation’s music, as something heard on cruise ship commercials, you can bet a revolution is about to take place. Weaned on fourth generation pop punk and the open-chord ethos of emo, the Guitar Hero generation is pushing back, defining its own sound, one that owes far more to the classic rock that dominates the game’s ubiquitous soundtrack. That movement may have just found its leader in 21-year old Cetan Clawson. His power trio, The Cetan Clawson Revolution has already logged hundreds of shows in the Detroit area, carving out a niche between Ted Nugent and Jack White in Detroit’s rich musical history with the reissue White Heat through Universal, an album he made when he was a mere 17-years-old. He has also begun pre-production of his new album, The Feedback Gospel with Mike Daly (Whiskeytown, The Plain White T’s, Ambulance LTD, Pernice Brothers) and will perform on Saturday, March 20th at SXSW in Austin, TX.
Cetan Clawson is what best selling author Malcolm Gladwell calls an “outlier.” Raised by his music instructor father, Cetan (a Lakota name, pronounced ‘Cheta’) began playing as soon as he was big enough to hold a guitar. At the Clawson household, jam sessions were as common as play dates and Cetan logged his 10,000 hours before getting his high school diploma. Amidst all the guitar activity, he also managed to make the honor roll. When offered scholarships from both academics institutions and most notably, the Berklee School of Music, Cetan turned them all down, flat. “I didn’t make full use of it against the advice of certain people,” he says matter- of-factly. Having a sister who had just graduated Berklee, he was too comfortable with the curriculum and felt he didn’t need a degree where he was headed; he knew a real rock n’roll education could only be had via experience on the stage. “I turned it down for personal reasons,” Clawson says. “I could have gotten a free ride, but I am committed to the blues. This was and is my passion, and I was confident I could pursue it with reasonable expectation of success.”
Clawson has rock star in his DNA and it shines through in his playing and his individual style. He is a perfect storm of mind-boggling musical technique, jaw dropping stage presence and a sartorial flair that rivals that of Prince in his prime. Cetan classifies his style in a way similar to the video game that has kidnapped pop culture’s often-fickle attention and places himself within a similar –but not the same- context. “Guitar Hero has combined an older mix of songs with a new way of presenting them,” he theorizes. “They are taking classic rock and putting it in a format that newer kids can understand. That what blues guys do: take old things and make them fresh. They make it new, not better, but in an original way.”
And what better time for the return of the guitar god?
Cetan Clawson Revolution Announce National Release of “White Heat”
SXSW Performance and new Recording Plans
When teenagers view punk as the older generation’s music, as something heard on cruise ship commercials, you can bet a revolution is about to take place. Weaned on fourth generation pop punk and the open-chord ethos of emo, the Guitar Hero generation is pushing back, defining its own sound, one that owes far more to the classic rock that dominates the game’s ubiquitous soundtrack. That movement may have just found its leader in 21-year old Cetan Clawson. His power trio, The Cetan Clawson Revolution has already logged hundreds of shows in the Detroit area, carving out a niche between Ted Nugent and Jack White in Detroit’s rich musical history with the reissue White Heat through Universal, an album he made when he was a mere 17-years-old. He has also begun pre-production of his new album, The Feedback Gospel with Mike Daly (Whiskeytown, The Plain White T’s, Ambulance LTD, Pernice Brothers) and will perform on Saturday, March 20th at SXSW in Austin, TX.
Cetan Clawson is what best selling author Malcolm Gladwell calls an “outlier.” Raised by his music instructor father, Cetan (a Lakota name, pronounced ‘Cheta’) began playing as soon as he was big enough to hold a guitar. At the Clawson household, jam sessions were as common as play dates and Cetan logged his 10,000 hours before getting his high school diploma. Amidst all the guitar activity, he also managed to make the honor roll. When offered scholarships from both academics institutions and most notably, the Berklee School of Music, Cetan turned them all down, flat. “I didn’t make full use of it against the advice of certain people,” he says matter- of-factly. Having a sister who had just graduated Berklee, he was too comfortable with the curriculum and felt he didn’t need a degree where he was headed; he knew a real rock n’roll education could only be had via experience on the stage. “I turned it down for personal reasons,” Clawson says. “I could have gotten a free ride, but I am committed to the blues. This was and is my passion, and I was confident I could pursue it with reasonable expectation of success.”
Clawson has rock star in his DNA and it shines through in his playing and his individual style. He is a perfect storm of mind-boggling musical technique, jaw dropping stage presence and a sartorial flair that rivals that of Prince in his prime. Cetan classifies his style in a way similar to the video game that has kidnapped pop culture’s often-fickle attention and places himself within a similar –but not the same- context. “Guitar Hero has combined an older mix of songs with a new way of presenting them,” he theorizes. “They are taking classic rock and putting it in a format that newer kids can understand. That what blues guys do: take old things and make them fresh. They make it new, not better, but in an original way.”
And what better time for the return of the guitar god?
As kids everywhere rediscover actual playing in both the games and on YouTube, and punk stagnates in a morass of mascara and morality, Cetan doesn’t just commit heresy by playing leads; he plays them behind his head, behind his back, left-handed, right-handed, one handed and even with his teeth, boasting a style that can’t be matched by guitarist nor gamer. “I have one small chip from a slight mishap before I practiced it a lot,” he says with a laugh. “It takes a great deal of skill.” Clawson himself admits that while the game exposes “the kids” to the artistry of the guitar, he thinks that hours spent playing the game would be better as hours spent playing the actual instrument. It’s been years since John Mayer emerged as the new guitar ace whose job it was to re-introduce the blues to a younger audience. Cetan Clawson is now poised as heir to that lineage, pushing into new territory with a skill and acumen that represents everything happening in today’s music. The Cetan Clawson Revolution is a return to classic form; the manifestation of a new generation’s desire for a bona fide Rock Star.
Fri March 20 2 pm SXSW @ Lovejoy’s Austin, Texas (with Bang Camaro, Leslie, etc)
Sat April 5 8 pm The Necto Ann Arbor, Michigan
Fri April 10 8 pm The Lager House Detroit, Michigan
Fri May 8 8 pm The Elbow Room Ypsilanti, Michigan