Somewhere Angels in Heaven are Crying

RAIN ON ME - The Clams

The Village Voice's influential Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of music critics compiled by Robert Christgau.  In the 1984 edition, three acts from the Twin Cities appeared in the top ten:

Minneapolis music was at its commercial and critical peak. 1985 saw the debut of The Clams, a hard rocking band inspired by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. Singer/guitarist Cindy Lawson's ad in a couple of alt-weeklies looking for women who wanted to play bluesy rock caught the attention of lead guitarist Roxie Terry, bass player Patsy Joe, and drummer Karen Gratz.  Soon, they were playing at the Uptown Bar, 7th St Entry, and other popular local venues.

While The Clams didn't go on to major commercial success, they were a popular live act. They released an LP in 1988, "Exile on Lake Street" - five years before Liz Phair's seminal "Exile in Guyville" album and 16 years before the band Lake Street Dive named itself after the same Minneapolis street.

       

Their most memorable live show took place not in a dive bar or rock club, but in prison.  Located 25 miles east of Minneapolis, the state correctional facility in Stillwater opened in 1914 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1987, The Clams put on a concert there for the inmates. 

Before you read the interview with Cindy Lawson below, head on over to Vimeo (Rain on Me - The Clams) where you can see the band perform a number of songs at the prison.

The Clams at Stillwater Prison

1 - How did The Clams end up playing a gig at Stillwater prison and - since we don't get to see the audience in the video - what was the atmosphere like?

Cindy Lawson - I don't know if they still do this, but back then the inmates would do a 'carnival' annually in the summer to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. Bands played inside an auditorium, then in the courtyard they had a dunk tank (which of course we went in!) and food trucks. 

I believe we learned about this gig from a band we knew, Big Mambo, whose drummer was Tom Cook. We went in a week or two before to do a video interview with the two gents who were in charge of the bands. I think I have a copy of that somewhere-we were unbelievably silly (as we always were) so I look back and appreciate their patience with us!

The audience (the inmates) were extremely well behaved. There wasn't any shouting or dancing-so unlike a bar gig! They were very appreciative and applauded like crazy after each song and then quieted down. I'm sure there was a mandate set forth that in order for them to have fun privileges like bands and carnivals they needed to be on their best behavior. We never felt scared or worried about any of it. None of them really came up afterwards to talk to us-the only ones we communicated with (besides the prison personnel) were the two inmates I mentioned before.

Inside Stillwater Prison

2 - Did your mom really tell you, "When skies are cloudy, somewhere angels in heaven are crying?" 

CL - Yes, I think that was one of hers. Along with "Don't eat raisins in the dark." 😁 But she never said "Powder your nose and kick some ass" that I attributed to her on our EP. That one's mine. 🤓

3 - Your intro quotes the Blues Brothers line, "We like both kinds of music, country and western."  You also performed Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues" (appropriately) at this show.  Did you listen to much country music at the time or was this simply a Stones inspired bluesy song?

CL - We listened to real country-Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash. That music is universal. 

4 - Do you still have that guitar?  Or the Rickenbacker (which I like a lot) that you also played at this concert? 

CL - I don't have the Squier anymore. My first boyfriend (and all-time best friend, Nic Santiago) gave it to me as a birthday present. The Rickenbacker sadly disappeared at some point during the '90s. I tried to find it but never could. I have a hunch who the thief was, but could never prove it, and if he really wanted a guitar that bad, so be it. I only hope he played it and didn't sell it for drugs.

5 - Have you ever run into an ex-con who said," I remember you from that show when I was in the Big House," so to speak?

CL - I haven't, but I remember one of the two inmates who were in contact with us contacted Roxie when he got out just to say hello. And someone from the prison sent her a special leather belt they had made. She had a lot of fans! 

Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater

6 - You say in the clip that you and Roxie just wrote "Rain on Me."  Was one of you more the lyricist and the other more the music, or was it 50/50 in all respects?

CL - She definitely wrote the music and I wrote the words. I didn't start writing melodies on guitar until later. 

7 - Any other thoughts or feelings that seeing this clip now evokes?

CL - Well, thank you so much! This is delightful! I miss those ladies and I certainly miss that time in my life. I still see Karen and Patty (who lives in Lake Tahoe) often. We were so young and had so much fun. It's sad that one never appreciates the time they are in until it's long gone. And we certainly didn't archive things very well. I have no idea how some of our videos end up on the web and then are mysteriously taken down.