Finally, a 2020 feel good story, as Neil Fallon makes a nine-year-old Clutch fan’s dream come true

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Neil Fallon records vocals for a song written by nine-year-old Clutch fan Tyler Pomerantz, and it ROCKS

Clutch kid
(Image credit: Delco Detention)

Clutch frontman Neil Fallon has collaborated with nine-year-old Clutch fan (and trainee riff lord) Tyler Pomerantz on a new song called The Joy Of Homeschooling.

It’s not every day that one of your heroes reaches out and offers to record a song with you, so we'll let Mr Fallon explain how this came to pass:

“A few months back, it was brought to my attention, that there is a father-son duo who cover Clutch and a bunch of other bands and do a great job of it,” Fallon says, in a video introducing the song by Delco Detention. “They are on Twitter, and I believe their handle is @clutch2210. The father's name is Adam and the son's name is Tyler and Tyler, I believe, is nine-years-old. So I reached out to Adam and said, 'Well, why don't I just lay down some vocals on one of these Clutch covers you've been doing?' I figured it'd be fun, and well, why not?”

But wait… 

“Adam got back to me,” continues Fallon, “and said, ‘That's great… however Tyler has a bunch of original material.’ To be honest, when I heard this, I said, 'Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into here?' But then he sent the track and I stood corrected: Tyler knows how to write a mean riff.”

“I’d just like to get this off my chest,” Fallon adds. “I’ve heard the phrase Dad Rock throw around, kind of a derogatory, negative, snarky thing to say, as if Dad Rock is a bad thing. It’s not a bad thing. It’s awesome. So if you want Dad Rock, we'll give you Dad Rock…”

Now, wasn’t that wholesome?

Clutch recently released a rarities collection, WeatherMaker Vault Series Vol. I. The hard-riffing Maryland quartet will play three sets at Ramblin’ Man Fair next summer. 

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.