heard he gives great live shows-rebecca
Shane Clouse's calling
Missoula country singer and his band Stomping Ground look for a state title
By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian Shane Clouse and bassist Zach Millar work on the harmonies of a song in progress at their practice space in Missoula. The band practices an average of two times a week for three hours at a time.
Photo by LINDA THOMPSON of the Missoulian
Shane Clouse has been to Nashville. He has been to Hollywood. He has performed his original music in front of crowds at Montana's biggest stadiums and concert halls.
But the way he figures it, as of right now, the road to fame goes through Great Falls.
"I see this as the next and best step toward taking things to the next level," says the Missoula-native singer/guitarist, who with his band, Stomping Ground, will compete this weekend in the state finals of the Colgate Country Music Showdown in Great Falls.
"We're just a couple of breaks away from making it really big, and I truly believe that we have what it takes."
Those are bold words coming from a 32-year-old greenhouse manager playing in his first country band, thousands of miles away from Nashville. But then, Clouse (whose family owns the Pink Grizzly, on Russell Street) isn't one to mince words about his ambitions.
Nor is he one to shortchange the work that it takes to get where he wants to be.
In fact, anyone who has followed the trajectory of Shane Clouse and Stomping Ground knows that the band has, in short order, become one of the busiest acts in western Montana, and one of a small few that focuses on playing original country music. The band has managed to score gigs opening up for Sawyer Brown and the recent Phil Vassar/Joe Nichols double-bill at the Adams Center. And they've played practically everywhere else where live music is heard in this part of Montana.
"We've literally had two weekends off since last January," says Clouse. "We've been working so hard at this, playing as much as we can; and the people of Missoula have really responded to what we're doing."
When Shane Clouse formed Stomping Ground two years ago, he knew he had a decent singing voice (he'd been classically trained as a singer since childhood). But he admits he wasn't much of a guitarist.
His bandmates agree.
"I didn't take Shane very seriously at first," recalls Zach Millar, who at the time was bassist with the Cold Mountain Rhythm Band, a locally popular jam band. Clouse, who was a longtime friend of Millar's brother, had recently moved back to Missoula after stints living in Los Angeles and Nashville, where he had recorded a CD of his original music with the backing support of a handful of studio musicians. When Clouse decided to put on a CD release party at the Union Club, Millar was enlisted - by his brother.
"My older brother said he'd kick my ass if I didn't put together a band for (Clouse's performance)," says Millar.
"My brother is a big guy, so I said I'd do it."
The two recruited a couple other musicians to play the gig. Afterward, Millar's reservations about playing with Clouse melted away.
"As far as where I'm at now, this material suits me much more (than the music of the Cold Mountain Rhythm Band), because I'm much more into songwriting and song-crafting than I was then," says Millar, who shares singing and songwriting duties in the band. "I find it much more rewarding to do this stuff."
The initial lineup of Stomping Ground evolved rather quickly, as three different band members moved out of town. Ryan Fadden, a veteran of several local rock bands, eventually took over on lead guitar. After the band's original drummer called it quits, the band brought on Mark Sickich - the only member of Stomping Ground to have ever previously performed in a country band.
"I never was really a fan of country music before this band," says Fadden. "But these guys weren't too big of assholes, they bought me beer, and I'm a cheap date."
Although said in jest, Fadden's latter statement reflects one of the most endearing aspects of Shane Clouse and Stomping Ground. Meet them off stage, and these four guys don't seem like a bunch of hard-driven musicians. They just seem like a group of good friends, hanging out because they like each other's company.
Clouse is the talkative and occasionally blustery one; Millar takes the role of mellow sage; Sickich is the quiet one; Fadden hangs in the background and lobs self-effacing one-liners.
"Get super rich, play a lot of music, die in a pool of vomit - not necessarily my own: That's all I'm in this for," quips Fadden.
In fact, it was one of Fadden's jokes, tossed out on a road trip to Whitefish, that sparked the title of the original song that Stomping Ground will perform at the Country Music Showdown this weekend. Titled "25 Beers and a Handful of Steering Wheel," the song is an upbeat stomper in the manner of Jerry Reed, doused in a keg of satirical humor.
"We really have to make a strong impression in a very short span of time, and I think this song will serve to do exactly that," says Clouse with a grin.
Past winners of the Country Music Showdown haven't exactly become household names, even in country music circles. The best-known of the 23 past winners is probably Sweethearts of the Rodeo, which briefly became a hot duo on the scene after winning the national title in 1985.
But plenty of big-name acts have competed in the contest, including Garth Brooks, LeAnn Rimes, John Michael Montgomery and Martina McBride.
At the very least, the prize money awarded in the competition would be a welcome reward for any musician. First prize at the state level is $1,000, which Clouse says the band would use - or, in his confident words, "will use" - to purchase a computer-based recording system.
"Our aim is to have a new CD completed and released by next March," says Clouse. "So that money will help us fund that."
Winning the statewide competition would send the band to a regional showdown on Oct. 1 in Elko, Nev., where winners from 10 western states would compete. The national finals will be held on Jan. 31 of next year. Grand prize in that competition is $100,000.
That's a lot of money for any band. Not surprisingly, thousands of performers vie for the title every year. With only seven minutes to wow the judges, Clouse knows that it will take more than simply being good to win the state competition - not to mention the regional and national contests.
"When you go out there and perform, it's like they say in football: You have to beat not only the other team, but the refs too," says Clouse. "You have to play so good that even the referees can't sabotage you - or, in this case, the judges. I believe we have the group and the music that can do it."
It is indeed hard to find any aspect missing in Stomping Ground's formula. Clouse possesses a smooth and powerful voice that fits equally well in high-energy two-steppers and warm ballads. His backing band is rock-solid. And Clouse, with his Tom Cruise jawline, ripped biceps and piercing eyes, cuts an appropriately charismatic figure on stage.
Although the band specializes in so-called "outlaw country," which is generally more hard-driving and raw than the type of music most popular in today's country scene, Clouse believes that puts the band on the leading edge of what's coming next.
"I think country music fans are ripe for a change from the stuff that's in the Top 40 right now," he asserts. "With Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash passing away recently, I think people are going to turn back toward that more outlaw-style country music, which is exactly what we're doing."
Listening to Clouse, it's easy to think that he could be right. Sure, lots of musicians dream of making it big, and plenty think that they've divined the Next Big Thing in popular tastes. But few actually pursue their convictions with the kind of blind faith and vigor that has driven Shane Clouse.
"I think it's totally possible for us to be a respectable act with real integrity, and to make money at the same time," says Clouse. "I believe it so blindly that I'm willing to push."
Reach Joe Nickell at 523-5358 or at jnickell@missoulian.com.
Subscribe to the Missoulian today — get 2 weeks free!
