Formation and early years (1986–90) Around 1985, singer
Scott Blasey, guitarist Robert James Hertweck and drummer David Minarik, Jr. were all enrolled at
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), located in
Indiana, Pennsylvania, approximately 45 miles northeast of
Pittsburgh. Hertweck and Minarik (along with a bass player and saxophonist) were putting together a new band, and through a mutual friend, recruited Blasey to be their lead vocalist. The band, calling themselves the Administration, primarily played
cover versions of songs. After the Administration's sax player graduated and bass player transferred schools in the spring of 1986, Greg Joseph was brought in to round out the band. Settling on the quartet of Blasey, Hertweck, Joseph and Minarik, the group decided upon adopting a new name, effectively ending the Administration. They unceremoniously settled on the name "the Clarks." As the Administration had been, the Clarks were initially a cover band in their earliest months of existence. They covered artists such as
the Replacements,
the Rave-Ups and
Hoodoo Gurus, as well as
Joe Jackson and
U2. However, they soon began writing their own material, helping them to take second place at the Tri-State Rock Competition in Pittsburgh. In early 1988, with some of the band just finishing school at IUP and the rest graduated, the Clarks began recording their first album. Teaming up with producer Hank Lawhead, the band recorded at Aircraft Studios with free studio time won from their finish at the Tri-State Rock Competition. Titled ''
I'll Tell You What Man..., the album was released by the local independent label Dahntahn Records with a release party at the Graffiti Showcase in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland. Initially only released on LP record and cassette tape, the vinyl copies of the album were warped when they were left in the delivery truck for too long. With the release date being too close to return them, the band sent them to the stores as-is. Love Gone Sour, Suspicion, and Bad Debt'' begat the single "Cigarette," which (aside from the Clarks' home tri-state region of western Pennsylvania, northern
West Virginia and eastern
Ohio) saw airplay from radio stations across the
Northeastern United States. The album sold 5,000 copies within three months and went on to sell nearly 17,000. Securing a record deal with the national
Razor & Tie brand, the band began recording
Let It Go at Hound's Ear Studio in
Franklin, Tennessee, near
Nashville. The album was released on June 20, 2000, and the band celebrated with a release party at Pittsburgh's
I.C. Light Amphitheater, playing for over 4,500 fans.
Let It Go proved to be the Clarks' biggest success to date. Unlike MCA, Razor & Tie gave the band significant promotional support. The singles "Better Off Without You" and "Born Too Late" began receiving radio play from coast to coast, and "Snowman" and "Let It Go" also received airtime in Pittsburgh,
Johnstown,
Wheeling and
Youngstown. "Let It Go" appeared in the 2001
Warner Bros. film,
Summer Catch, and "Better Off Without You" appeared in the closing credits of
E!'s
Anna Nicole Show. The album climbed to number 21 on
Billboard's
Heatseekers Albums chart and went on to sell more than 25,000 copies. As a result of this success, the band began touring extensively around the country. The group wasted no time in the aftermath of
Let It Go. In 2001, the Clarks independently released an album of song outtakes recorded between 1997–2000 titled
Strikes and Gutters on King Mouse Records. They then reunited with Niebank at Hound's Ear Studio to begin work on a sixth album. During rehearsals for recording, the
September 11 attacks occurred. In response to the national tragedy, Scott Blasey penned "Hey You."
Another Happy Ending was released on June 11, 2002, spawning the radio singles "Hey You," "On Saturday" and "Maybe." The album found its way to number two on the Heatseekers chart and 143 on the
Billboard 200. The band worked once more with Niebank for 2004's
Fast Moving Cars, again recording in Nashville. "Hell on Wheels," "Shimmy Low" and "Fast Moving Cars" were released as singles and the album settled at number 11 on the Heatseekers chart. In a career highlight, on August 31, 2004, the group performed "Hell on Wheels" on the
Late Show with David Letterman on
CBS. The Penguins won their
third Stanley Cup championship that year, defeating the
Detroit Red Wings four games to three. "What a Wonderful World" was included on the band's next studio album. The Clarks' eighth studio album,
Restless Days, was released on June 9, 2009 after a five-year gap without a studio album. The album was co-released by High Wire Music and Clarkhouse Entertainment, the band's newly-formed label to self-release their own projects.
Restless Days most notably included "What a Wonderful World" and the radio singles "True Believer" and "Inside." The album was followed up with the band's first
EP, the digitally-released-only
Songs in G on November 9, 2010. The EP featured re-recordings of five Clarks classics, plus a rendition of
Whiskeytown's "
16 Days". On December 29, 2010, the band played their 2,000th career show at Pittsburgh's newly-opened
Stage AE on the
North Shore. In honor of the occasion, December 29 was declared "The Clarks Day" by the City of Pittsburgh. Days later, on January 1, 2011, the group performed during the first intermission of the
2011 NHL Winter Classic at
Heinz Field between the Penguins and the
Washington Capitals. The visiting Capitals won the game 3–1. Additionally in 2011, the Clarks recorded a commercial
jingle for
Toyota titled "Life is All About the Ride." In early 2013, the Clarks announced they were beginning work on their ninth studio album. To help fund production of the album, the band invited their fans to contribute to a
crowdfunding campaign on
PledgeMusic. The campaign succeeded beyond their expectations, achieving 317% of their desired goal. The group reunited with producer Sean McDonald, whom they had worked with on
Restless Days, at Red Medicine Recording in
Swissvale, Pennsylvania.
Feathers & Bones was released on July 8, 2014 and was the band's first album to be solely released via Clarkhouse Entertainment. The album spawned the regional radio singles "Take Care of You" and "Irene." The album also counted among its recording personnel Noah Minarik, son of drummer Dave Minarik. Following the release of the album, the younger Minarik began regular touring with the band, playing guitar as an unofficial touring member. Less than a year after recording
Feathers & Bones, the Clarks returned to Red Medicine Recording with McDonald to begin work on another new album, again to be produced in part by donations from PledgeMusic. The new album featured covers of songs by bands they had been inspired by and covered during their early days at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Their tenth studio album,
Rewind, was released on June 9, 2015. The band's eleventh studio album and tenth of originally-composed material,
Madly in Love at the End of the World, was released on June 8, 2018. Among its eleven tracks was the Blasey-penned "In Blood," a response to American
school shootings. Aside from being released to
streaming media and on
compact disc, the album was also released on vinyl, the first Clarks album so released since their 1988 debut. ==Members==