Logan Mohler, Logan and Jordan Slone. Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Clockwork’s pop-heavy sound is crafted to appeal to contemporaries, as well as the band’s parents and grandparents. “We’re not super heavy in any one direction,” says 19-year-old drummer and singer Logan Mohler. “We’re trying to make this work for a lot of people, those in their sixties and 14-year-olds, too.”
The trio of St. Charles natives, also including brothers Jordan and Logan Slone, began working together in high school, playing shows outside St. Louis. They traveled so much, in fact, that keeping up class attendance and grades became a challenge. Today, the road’s a regular place for them. They recently traveled to the East Coast, including a first-time stop in New York.
In St. Louis, working with manager Jimmy Manno, the band is concentrating on specific gigs—not too many, not too few. “We’d like to probably play about five shows a year here and maybe decrease that as we go,” says Jordan. “We want to play bigger and bigger shows, like two shows a year at The Ready Room or Old Rock House, and know that we’re going to bring in 300 to 500 people.”
The group’s already played to 7,000, opening for Blues Traveler at Ballpark Village. An ability to share the stage with other types of bands has resulted in gigs with local heroes The Urge, who offered the band several high-profile gigs over the past several years. All of this is a long way from the band’s pop-punk beginnings, when the group was scratching out Sunday-night gigs as part of multi-band shows at Pop’s, never winning that coveted slot as a PointFest opener.
In January, the band released its sophomore record, Not Meant for the Dark, and the trio hopes to start work on a third album soon. There are many possibilities, depending on whether the three sign publishing or record deals or choose to work with a high-profile producer, à la Vance Powell (who did time behind the board on the group’s last effort). Ideally the project would be a singular thing, allowing them to record a studio-ready batch of tunes outside St. Louis, where there are fewer distractions.
“It’s convenient to have studio time at your own house, but being away allows you to just have what you’re working on,” says Jordan. “If we were recording in Atlanta or Nashville, it’d be easy to be in the studio for 14 hours in a day, then go home, order a pizza, and watch The Walking Dead.”
“As far as quality, we love the way studios here sound,” Logan Slone adds, “but there’s a lot of great stuff taking place in other cities, and we’re really excited to connect with people who’ve produced our favorite songs.”
With clean-cut looks, all-American pop-rock sound and a healthy dose of ambition, Clockwork’s ready to take its teen spirit to the next level, including a slot at LouFest. In piecing together higher-profile, bigger-pressure gigs, the trio hopes that its recording output will soon combine the best of all worlds.
“We love our live shows so much more than our recordings,” Mohler says. “We want to find that balance.”
Clockwork's LouFest Picks
Clockwork will play on the Shade Stage at LouFest on September 12 in an hour-long slot beginning at 2 p.m. We asked the band’s members which acts they’re looking forward to seeing at the fest.
Logan Slone: “The Avett Brothers. I’ve always loved harmonies, and the Avett Brothers do such a great job writing cool parts for their harmonies. I’m going to love seeing how it translates to the live stage.”
Logan Mohler: “Hozier. He’s come up so fast, and he writes some very powerful songs. I’m so I’m excited to see how his music translates at a live show.”
Jordan Slone: “Ludacris. Super pumped about this one. Definitely something I didn’t expect. My wild-card favorite for LouFest. I remember listening to him when I was in middle school, so to be able to say that I’m performing at the same festival as Ludacris is incredibly cool.”
For more info on the band, go to clockworkmusic.net.
