Made in Moorhead: Carl Clinton & the Great Divide

Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only publishers who think that people own it.
-John Lennon

As technology manifests itself in more and more mysterious ways, the effects continue to astound us. Old science fiction novels may have had a few things right, but no one could have imagined the possibilities technology offers to modern musicians.

This Saturday, Carl Clinton and the Great Divide will release their debut album, featuring representatives from at least 6 local groups, most of whom reside in Moorhead. With a little private recording equipment, some elbow grease, and software innovations like Pro Tools, Clint Wilhelmi and the Moorhead menagerie of musicians managed to create an album that embodies what music ought to be.

According to Jed Bontjes, the main producer, “We had guest players come in and lay down their own brilliances, and lend it strictly for the sake of a musical piece of art.”

At least 14 local artists contributed to the creation. Members from: Sovereign Sect, the Johnson Family Band, Inside Out Strings, Mindfunk Allstars, WBPN and countless other artists made their mark in neon colors. Their collaboration embodies digital globalization on a local scale.

Steve Burket, another participant, said: “With things like YouTube, Andy Warhol would be crapping his pants if he saw today. He had that quote, ‘Everyone in the future will have 15 minutes of fame,’ and now look at this. I mean, the digital age is just mind-boggling how much we can connect and put ourselves out there.”

Dillon Marchus, another key contributor, put it this way: “You get to create synthetic pieces of time where musicians don’t have to be in the same room at the same time to play together.”

The album not only transcends time and place; it cuts through the archaic concept of genres with implausible force.

You could try to give it some kind of hyphenate definition, but the phrase would be so long and cryptic, a brain aneurism would likely ensue. Band leader Clint Wilhelmi described it as channel surfing. “Every track is a different channel,” he said.

Wilhelmi believes that genres are becoming obsolete in the modern world, and that the evolution of music is approaching a zenith of unheard of proportions.

“I think we’re on the verge of a new age,” he said. “Everything’s stagnant now because everyone’s mixing genres. That’s why it’s stagnant. I think something’s about to burst. Right now we’re in the twilight of this stagnant period. I think in the next five years you’re going to see some drastic changes”

The album’s instrumentation alone makes for an eclectic mix. Included are the basics, as well as mandolin, slide guitar, fiddle, organic club beats, a wide array of digital effects and the gospel voice of Clint Wilhelmi.

“I feel like George Steinbrenner,” Wilhelmi said. “I pick the best players to be on my team. I have like a dream team of musicians on this album, really. It should be called ‘Carl Clinton and the All-Star Fargo-Moorhead Band.’”

According to Bontjes, “I think we all went into it with the attitude that we could pretty much do anything with this. We’re not pouring it into a mold, we’re making something organic.”

“I basically made a blueprint of a song,” Wilhelmi said, “and I just gave it to friends and asked, ‘Will you help me build around it.’”

He described music as the one true magic we have left as humans. He said, “You can bend music at will, you can change people’s emotions with it, you can even make somebody forget about the pain…”

The Carl Clinton project united musicians in a way that is seldom seen. “Even though we’re all musicians and want to have a good time, there’s still some competition sometimes,” Burket said, “but on this album there wasn’t any. It was just, ‘Let’s make this music as good as we can.’”

The very house in which the album was recorded is no stranger to the fellowship of musicians. It has a historical legacy of housing several of the area’s musical groups.

Jared DeZeeuw is the owner of the south Moorhead home. Going on ten years, he has played host to Green House, Quadraphonic, WBPN, Sovereign Sect, GypsyFoot and now Carl Clinton and the Great Divide.

“I’ve had a lot of musicians record at my house. I let musicians have cheap rent, because everyone knows musicians are poor, right”

The sheer size of the studio band makes being in the same place at the same time somewhat problematic. To remedy this, Carl Clinton and the Great Divide adopted new members that are both permanent and readily available. Wilhelmi seemed pleased with the transformation and all the new ideas it will provoke. He describes the new sound as heavier, and more rock oriented--yet another example of the ongoing evolution of music.

“The show [CD release] is going to be totally different than what you hear on the CD. What you’ll hear at the show is what direction I’m going to be going into. So if you want to, come on in the car, put your seatbelt on and enjoy the ride.”